Since 2014, Humanities Amped has sought ways to humanize learning and amplify possibility within East Baton Rouge public schools. An amped education is one that expands the purposes of school to honor human connectedness; it turns up the volume so that the voices of young people can be heard and respected by our larger community, and ultimately empowers young people to analyze and take action on social issues that affect their lives. Now in our sixth year, we have expanded our reach to amplify learning for over 1,000 students in 50 classrooms at five East Baton Rouge Parish Public Schools: McKinley High School, Belaire High School, Broadmoor High School, Westdale Middle School, and Park Forest Middle School. 

Many of you are probably wondering how we’ve managed to expand from one to five schools this year. The answer is the Amped Educator’s Network. This network brings together 16 EBRPSS educators with seven Humanities Amped co-teachers (four of whom are PhD students from LSU) to form a professional learning community. The educators meet for monthly professional learning, work together to implement the strategies outlined in the newly published Amplified Classrooms Curriculum, and receive weekly coaching sessions from Humanities Amped co-founder, Destiny Cooper, who is now the HA Instructional Leader for teachers throughout the district. We are so thankful to the visionary leaders at EBRPSS who have made space for this work to happen across the district and at each school.

This new programmatic structure allows us to build stronger community connections and secure resources so that youth in our schools gain access to the opportunities they deserve. Humanities Amped co-founder, Dr. Anna West, now serves Humanities Amped as our Executive Director. In this, role Anna is able to work with our board of directors and staff, including Community Engagement Director, Alex Torres; Forward Arts Poetry Educators Donney Rose and Desiree Dallagiacomo; College Access Coordinator, Diana Aviles; Outreach Coordinator, Emma Gist; and Serve Louisiana Member, Jorissa Hebert, to amplify civic engagement, youth voice, and human connections for young people both inside and outside of classrooms.

In many senses, we are at a new starting line as we work to amplify learning in so many more classrooms, impacting so many more young people and teachers than ever before. Please visit our website to learn more about how to get involved, and to become a monthly donor. We need you to help us keep this vital work alive for Baton Rouge youth, so please stay in touch and grow with us.