The P3 Curricular Framework is the vehicle for creating a school culture where the conditions exist to develop the habits of the heart, mind, and voice. P3 was born directly out of The Project School’s core beliefs, and is grounded in years of lived and practiced classroom experience, as well as extensive research. P3 is the mechanism through which we tie together the physical sciences, social sciences, history, and civics with our interdisciplinary approach to reading, writing, mathematics, and the arts.

The work of Project Zero at Harvard University, and in particular Teaching for Understanding (TFU), served as a starting point for the development of the P3 framework. Our founding educators embedded the conceptual frameworks of project-, problem-, and place-based learning to create a curricular model that leads to a highly rigorous and relevant curriculum for children – directly connected to issues in their local, national, and global communities. Students, teachers, families, and community members work together annually to arrive at school-wide topics and essential questions that guide P3 projects. These projects then directly address identified problems. While students work on these interdisciplinary projects, they learn about the historical, geographic, economic, political, cultural, technological, environmental, and/or scientific components of the topic.

The goal of the P3 Framework is for students to come to recognize that they can make a difference in their community, and for the community to see the school as a source for social justice. Through P3, TPS graduates students with the will, skill, capacity, knowledge, and commitment to contribute to the greater good for the rest of their lives.