Options civics class demonstrates how “together we achieve more than alone”

For the fourth time in just under two years, the Options High School civics class taught by Joe Wooding has invited in the Community Engagement Fellows (CEF), a program nestled within the Center for Community Learning at Western Washington University.

The goals of the CEF cohorts are simple and clear: to learn together, to build relationships and to serve in some way the public, our region and the planet.

Wooding first met Western’s CEF founder and director of the Center for Community Learning Dr. Travis Tennessen and CEF coordinator Laurel Hammond in 2018 when he participated in one of their early cohorts. After the remote learning of the pandemic, Wooding noted students had a harder time engaging within the larger community once they came back in person to school. He says he was “confident the structure of the Community Engagement Fellows would help build their capacity” using the CEF protocols.

The CEF cohorts at Options High School create an intergenerational approach. While CE Fellows started as a program for adult professionals, in recent years it has expanded to include middle and high schoolers learning alongside adults.

"One of our facilitation partners, Troy Olsen from Whiteswan Environmental, wisely pointed out that we need youth and adults to learn how to learn together if we want to truly transform our communities for the better," explains Dr. Tennessen.  

"He was right. We've been delighted and amazed at how deep and rich the learning has been in these cohorts,” Tennessen continued, “and the powerful work that's emerged. I can hardly imagine CEF cohorts without youth now."

In the four cohorts that have taken place at Options, a wide range of topics have been addressed — from health care, teen court and neurodivergence advocacy to a skate park proposal and a campaign for using Smart Trips. The issues presented by the students come from the heart, from a passion, or from a desire to change something.

The community members participating have included staff in local businesses and organizations, public service employees, retirees, etc. Approximately 10 to 15 attend each cohort.

Tennessen also shared that it is a two-way interaction within the cohorts and that “an important dimension of the learning (for the students and adults alike) is that the adults in the group also present challenges related to their work.”

“The students get to learn about and weigh in on community challenges and be true learning partners with adults.”

The structure and framework of the meetings include full group discussions as well as small group sessions to discuss the various topics more intimately. It includes intention tiles to stimulate discussion and new ways of thinking about a problem.

Tennessen described the format this way: "Social learning tools that stimulate group conversations include Talk Tiles, colorful blocks with words that help people think about different dimensions of life and learning, and design clinics, a facilitated process with sentence-starters that helps people dig into a challenge to learn together."

“It’s been energizing to witness,” Wooding shared in an email after his first cohort in February 2024. “The goal of CEF is to provide a place and space to engage the collective wisdom of the group around a particular challenge of a member, and to think publicly together.”

“Each cohort has been distinct,” Wooding shared more recently, “which largely depends on who shows up and how they add their flavor to the mix.”

“The rituals and routines provide predictability and structure. Participation creates the synergy,” he continued. “Once people become comfortable with the process, they make the shift from going through the motions to ‘playing jazz.’ That's when the magic happens.”

In an example of this magic happening in the most recent cohort in fall 2025, two students (Olle and Archer) were passionate about the idea of driving less and getting students engaged in the local Smart Trips program. And lo and behold, in this cohort, one of the community members in attendance Jamie Donaldson helped them think through their campaign as she was an avid user of the program herself, pulling out her card during a small group discussion about the program.

Whatever the activity, members of the cohort are consistently working to build a rich social learning experience by (1) engaging uncertainty (using what we don't know and want help with to drive the learning), (2) paying attention to each other's feelings, experiences, and the communities around us, and (3) striving to make a difference for each other, ourselves, and our communities.

Another community member in attendance during the fall 2025 cohort was Colton Kaltenfeldt who works with the Washington State Board of Education. He shared that he was “impressed by the depth of interest and knowledge these students brought to the issues.”

He was struck how the students were thinking broadly and deeply about issues that were not just about them.  “For many, the desire to make change wasn’t just about something that impacted themselves,” Kaltenfeldt said, “it was about helping others and improving their communities.”

“Hearing their passion and appetite for change was refreshing, and it’s inspired me to think more about how I can make a difference in my own community.”

In these intergenerational cohorts, student-led tours of Options High are also an important part of their time together. The students have a chance to show off their school as tour guide, speaking to some of the features of the building and school. These include the new Health Center, the Nook (a place for students to decompress during the school day), the makerspace where Aeronautics class takes place and the EV vehicle class, as well as the outdoor roof top space.

To kick off this latest cohort, student Autumn Linde was selected to read from her poem “Trivial Holy Moment” reflecting some of the uncertainty and the action of being present for each other. She writes:

“It doesn’t matter - it all matters; it’s just that trivial holy moment pulsating through infinity. And yet I choose peace. I choose to put out the fire I light in others so that I may keep myself warm. I choose peace. I’ve found my people, I’ve found my patience. In a world full of distractions where we are encouraged to fill our lives and yet no guidance is structured. I choose Peace."

The Bellingham Promise core belief that “together we achieve more than alone” has been demonstrated through the structure and guidance of these community engagement cohorts within Options High civics.

If you are interested in joining the next cohort of Community Engagement Fellows at Options High School, you can sign up here.  The next cohort begins Feb. 18.

Voices of Options students after participating in the CEF cohorts

"This experience felt like a breath of fresh air due to the fact that so many people showed up in hopes of bettering our community and youth, It showed me and others that adults do care and are trying to do what they can to help.” — Mercedes Beyer, Options graduate

“It felt reassuring to hear other people in the community were talking about the problems in the community and potential solutions. It's made me feel more connected to my community and reinforced my already strong will to improve the things around me.” — Justin Reed, Options graduate

“I feel comforted knowing there are so many different people in our community who have different goals and programs for different groups of people.” — Sara Hodges, Options graduate

“I see our community differently in the sense that there’s more action being done than I thought. I’m more interested in becoming a part of that change too.” — Ashley Marquez-Policarpo, Options graduate