Scattergood Focus Program
Empowering students to shape their learning around their interests.
Scattergood is introducing an exciting expansion of its current offerings in the areas of Peace & Social Transformation, Sustainable Agriculture, and Arts & Craftsmanship. Students may elect to focus their Scattergood experience around one of these areas, deepening their understanding of a topic they are passionate about. To do so, they will concentrate a portion of their elective classes, trips, and writing topics on their focus of choice; in addition, all students in the Focus program must take a financial literacy class and complete a capstone project during their senior year.
This progrmammatic expension will allow for more impactful trips, student attendance at regional conferences, admission to cultural centers, and will foster connections with outside organizations. By formally identifying these three areas as core to the Scattergood experience, we bolster them across all aspects of our program for all students, whether or not they choose to align with a focus area.
Scattergood is offering eight, $10,000 scholarships for students in the focus program. Scholarship decisions are based on a student's potential to contribute to the Scattergood community and to benefit from the focus program. Students who wish to apply for a focus program scholarship may do so when they apply for the program.
Peace & Social Transformation
Peace & Social Transformation students will equip themselves with the necessary skills to become community members advocating for and working towards positive change. Drawing inspiration from a history of social advocacy that is distinctly Quaker, students will consider outside perspectives and harness our abundance of creativity to investigate complex problems. Students will gain practical experience through a community-oriented capstone project.
Meet Laryah, class of 2027
When Laryah graduates, she’ll be a part of the first class, the class of 2027, to have attended Scattergood for all seven years of our program. Her commitment to Peace & Social Transformation is deeply personal: early childhood experiences of being the recipient of others’ charitable work sparked Laryah’s interest in community service. As a volunteer at a food pantry, she learned the gratification of giving back to the community.
Laryah longs for a world that supports people regardless of their identities. Laryah feels passionate about completing the Peace & Social Transformation focus because she dreams of a brighter tomorrow and seeks the tools she’ll need to enact the desired change.
Sustainable Agriculture
Students in the Sustainable Agriculture focus will grow alongside the plants and animals they work with, utilizing the farm as a living laboratory and participating in the difficult and rewarding labor of feeding the community. Students will also benefit from collaborations with professional organizations like Practical Farmers of Iowa to study agriculture that strives to benefit both land and people. Through their capstone projects, students directly add to Scattergood’s farming practice in an area of their interest.
Meet Elias, class of 2024
Elias joined Scattergood because of our farm. They knew they wanted to learn about the processes employed by a sustainable farming operation with the hopes of incorporating aspects into their family’s farm after graduating. They are committed to this cause and will be studying an agriculture-related major at Berea College next fall.
The Sustainable Agriculture focus, as an optional aspect of the program, appealed to Elias because it offered them a way to demonstrate their initiative as a student. For their capstone project, Elias has been learning to graft trees with support from mentors they met through the Marbleseed Organic Farming Conference and the Scattergood network.
Arts & Craftsmanship
Students in this focus will hone their skills through the exploration of different creative mediums, exposure to the financial side of creating art, engagement with the art community, and refinement of their craftsmanship. Students will discover new corners of the art world, opening doors and a wealth of creative possibilities in the areas of visual, performing, media, and language arts. Through their capstone project, seniors in the Arts & Craftsmanship focus will share their works in a public setting to instill confidence.
Meet Larke, class of 2025
Larke joined Scattergood as an eighth grader and is now nearly finished with her junior year. Her eagerness to participate in the pilot year of the Arts & Craftsmanship focus radiated from her as she learned about the program. Larke identifies as an artist. She is happiest when creating art because it allows her to express her emotions—love, sadness, anger, joy.
Larke hopes the capstone project will increase her self-advocacy as she plans and structures her art showcase. She anticipates this program will assist with college admittance into an art program. And at the end of the day, Larke wants to leave her mark on campus through her art.