For two weeks in December, the usual bell schedule at The Young Women’s Leadership School of Astoria didn’t signal a rush from algebra to English or history to science. Instead, students at the 6–12 all-girls school in Queens spent their school days immersed in single projects — building competition-ready robots, designing makeup artifacts that explore cultural identity, crushing dried insects to make medieval pigments, storyboarding stop-motion films frame by frame, and more.

The pause from regular classes was intentional and all thanks to the Progressive Redesign Opportunity Schools for Excellence (PROSE) program of which TYWLS of Astoria is part. PROSE was established in the 2014 DOE-UFT contract and affords schools the freedom to experiment and innovate.

TYWLS of Astoria’s “intensives” temporarily replace the traditional school schedule with deep, project-based learning experiences designed to mirror real-world work. “We stop our regular schedule — history, English, whatever it may be — and then we’re able to do a two-week, intense project,” said Chapter Leader and Dean Jackie Shendler. “We’re a mastery-based school. We believe in outcomes.”

Instead of grades, students demonstrate whether they are meeting or exceeding standards in skills like planning, collaboration, communication and critical thinking. “They’re not just filling out worksheets,” Shendler said. “They’re immersed. They can see all the different skills within one project — discerning information, working with peers, planning, collaborating. That’s what they’ll need in college and in jobs.”

In one classroom, the robotics team used the extended time to prepare for a tournament. Teacher Andy Jordan said the flexibility allows students to tackle challenges that simply don’t fit into a standard class period. “3D printing can take several hours. Analyzing what’s wrong with a robot takes time,” he said. “We have time to figure it out.”

The robotics intensive pulls together the disciplines of math, physics, engineering, budgeting and marketing. Students calculate launch angles, gear ratios and motor strength, manage team finances, develop branding strategies and prove the sustainability of their program. The team is also focused on changing perceptions. “It’s not enough to tell our girls, ‘You got this,’” Jordan said. “They already know; they’re confident and highly skilled. We have to change the opinions of the boys” during citywide tournaments.

Around the building, other students explored topics as diverse as stop-motion animation, crime scene investigation, urban history tours, and literary arts. In the “Painted Pages” intensive, teachers Denise Scarfi and Paula Zadigian partnered with the Morgan Library & Museum to help students create illuminated manuscripts using medieval techniques. They crushed dried cochineal bugs to make red pigment, saffron flowers for yellow and malachite and lapis lazuli stones for blue, binding the paint with gum arabic and applying gold leaf with fish glue.

The “intensive” format benefits both students and educators.

“It gives us a chance to dive deep into some of the content that we love,” Zadigian said of herself and her colleagues, while “students really get a chance to explore their stories more intentionally, they get to go deeper into the story and art relationship, and they get to learn — from the Morgan, from the experts we bring in — how they can take these skills that they’re learning and apply them in real life.”

Silvia Smythe, an ENL teacher in her second year at the school, co-taught an intensive in creative comics that addressed issues young people face. Smythe said intensives expose students to careers they might never encounter otherwise — illustrators, publishing professionals, honey-making — and spark long-term interest. “My students came back and said, ‘We did this intensive and it was so cool. We can teach others about our culture and we could write about this,’” she said of another class she taught. That enthusiasm turned into a full classroom unit.

Special education teacher Brittany Hines co-taught an intensive examining makeup across cultures, identity and self-expression. Students designed masks and artifacts inspired by traditions ranging from Indigenous body art to drag and stage makeup. “Meeting students where their interests are and watching them create something that’s their own — it’s amazing,” she said.

For students, the shift in structure can be transformative. “All of us look forward to intensives,” said Safa, a 10th grader. “You hone all your time and effort into something you love. I actually want to come in to school every day.”

School counselor Eliza Ossorio said engagement increases even for students who struggle in traditional academic settings. “It’s easier to motivate them,” she said. “You see their brains open up.”