All RISE
BSSD middle school students are rising to the challenge of learning Real World skills, utilizing critical skills, and creating practical solutions through the new RISE class.
RISE (Real World Insights, Skills and Exploration) is an engaging, hands-on course designed to help middle school students discover their interests, strengths, and identity as learners while developing success-ready skills (SRS). The course also expands awareness of career pathways, helping students connect their talents and interests to future opportunities through authentic, meaningful experiences.
Students in Jason Stuchlik’s RISE class at Paul Kinder Middle School recently took on the challenge of designing Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant, all-inclusive playground equipment. Students first looked at playground equipment at Sunny Pointe Elementary School, then researched equipment and various inclusive designs.
PKMS eighth grade student Stella H said researching the various playgrounds and equipment available was eye-opening.
“This project was neat because I can see things from other people’s perspective. It was fun working with others because my ideas are OK, but then we all add in things and make it work. I like RISE because I get to be creative and it’s different from all my other classes.”
RISE began as a pilot program at PKMS for the 2025-2026 school year. Now it has expanded to all BSSD middle schools. All seventh grade students take RISE for one semester in and another semester in eighth grade.
“RISE began as an initiative to teach students real world skills,” Stuchlik said. “We sought to design the RISE class to provide students with a hands-on way to meet this need.”
“Some of the biggest feedback the middle schools were getting was that students were entering high school without these soft skills. Here at PKMS we developed our PEAK Competencies that we wanted students to develop: Curiosity, Empathy, Critical Thinking, Perseverance, and Communication.
Dr. Leimkuehler and Annalisa Stonner put together a team of teachers here at PKMS to create a Design Thinking class based around these PEAK Competencies.
We sought to design the RISE class to provide students with a hands-on way to meet this need.”
RISE prepares students for high school and beyond. The seventh grade class focuses on building a strong foundation of success-ready skills and mindsets. Students learn how to collaborate, communicate, think creatively, solve problems, and use the Design Thinking process. In eighth grade, students apply those skills in authentic, real-world experiences. Students take on more complex projects, tackle meaningful challenges, and create solutions that impact their school and community.