Quest to Learn

The school was created out of a collaboration between Institute of Play and the New York City Department of Education, with backing from the MacArthur Foundation and support from New Visions for Public Schools.[3] The school began in the 2009–2010 school year with one sixth grade class, and added a new grade every year until 2015 when it became a fully functioning combined middle and high school encompassing grades 6-12. Game designer and educator Katie Salen was one of the chief designers of the school.[4]

Q2L's standards-based curriculum is developed collaboratively by teachers, game designers, and curriculum designers. Curriculum design mimics the design principles of games by framing every piece of the curriculum as a mission that involves game strategies such as collaboration, role-playing, and simulation. The school encourages hands-on problem solving and is designed to promote learning of skills many experts say are necessary for college and career success, such as systems thinking, collaboration, and digital literacy. Not only do students play games in the classrooms, they learn to make them in order to demonstrate their systems thinking skills.

Quest To Learn looks to engage their students through a unique learning style which incorporates games, hands-on activities, and collaborative activities. The student body is very diverse, along the lines of having numerous cultural/ethnic backgrounds.

• Official website