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From the Desk of the Head of School: The new AI Innovation Fellowships

Educational adventures outside of the traditional classroom that are driven by students’ curiosity have long been a hallmark of a Ransom Everglades education. For the past nine years, the Dan Leslie Bowden Fellowships in the Humanities program has provided a powerful illustration of this approach to learning, annually sending enterprising seniors across the globe in pursuit of intellectual discovery in humanities fields. 

Last month, Ransom Everglades announced a STEM-based partner to the Bowden fellowships: RE’s new AI Innovation Fellowships. These fellowships, currently accepting student applications, will allow rising seniors opportunities for novel research, real-world problem solving and growth as ethical leaders.
RE’s inaugural AI Innovation Fellows – who will be named this spring – will dive into AI-based research and development with the goal of bringing novel, high-tech solutions to local and campus problems. Under RE Director of Teaching & Learning Jess Merrick, RE’s AI Innovation Fellows will receive the same level of faculty support and access to mentorship provided to our Bowden fellows, allowing each to conduct original AI research throughout the summer that pushes the boundaries of student innovation. 

We expect the first class of AI Innovation Fellows to tackle a range of exciting projects, and yet certain elements will be the same for every scholar: All will develop ethical reasoning skills as they grapple with how AI impacts humanity and equity. Collaboration with school and industry mentors will help each meet professional standards in design and innovation. A critical goal: ensuring that each project contributes to the RE community and enables our students to use technological advancement to make a positive difference.

These fellowships are special, and yet they are just one of many advanced research opportunities available to students at Ransom Everglades. The emphasis on project-based learning, outside-of-the-box thinking and original research starts early – at the middle school – and is foundational to our seven-year curriculum. 

All of our sixth-grade students create interdisciplinary climate solutions as part of the annual Ransom Everglades Climate Symposium. We are set to launch an eighth-grade program – The Third Class Capstone – that will foster the development of intellectual curiosity, civic responsibility and critical thinking skills. And, under our new Pathways Scholars signature program, many juniors are currently deepening their knowledge with focused and advanced coursework, experiences and original research. 

The work of the Class of 2026 Bowden fellows is so esteemed they will be featured this weekend at an exhibition entitled "Memory, Monuments, Materiality" at IPC ArtSpace (225 NE 59th St., Miami, FL 33137) from 7-9 p.m. on Friday, March 6. RSVP here. The fellows will also be featured in a panel discussion from 12-2 p.m. on March 7 at the ArtSpace studio.

A commitment to providing the best possible student experience drives me, my fellow school leaders and our faculty daily. We constantly deepen our own knowledge and elevate our expectations and standards to ensure that our students receive the highest caliber of education and life preparation. The goal remains the same as more than a century ago: to ensure that RE graduates leave the world better than they find it. 
 
Rachel Rodriguez
Head of School
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Phone: 305 250 6850

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Founded in 1903, Ransom Everglades School is a coeducational, college preparatory day school for grades 6 - 12 located on two campuses in Coconut Grove, Florida. Ransom Everglades School produces graduates who "believe that they are in the world not so much for what they can get out of it as for what they can put into it." The school provides rigorous college preparation that promotes the student's sense of identity, community, personal integrity and values for a productive and satisfying life, and prepares the student to lead and to contribute to society.


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