Kino Learning Center

I’m a Kino high school graduate class of ’94. Ahh that was a great year. Some of the best memories of music, movies and lost love. And the backdrop of it was this alternative K-​12 school, which back then had the motto «Preparing kids for the year 2000.»
I went to Kino in ’86 and again for my 4 years of high school. It doesn’t have classrooms in the conventional sense, but rather much of your learning is based on self-​paced. Things may have changed a little since 1994, but back then I was able to work with teachers and students to design my own classes and what I wanted to learn as long as they stayed within the accredited guidelines. That was cool. It let me feel in control and taught me a lot about managing myself.
At Kino you have a homeroom with other students of all ages and you meet in the morning and afternoon to discuss what you will be doing and what you did. There are classes, an outdoor gardening area, animals to care for, play and recreational games, basketball, possibly mechanics, a wonderful photography lab. Kino also has a mock space shuttle made for the Challenger. You used to be able to stay in there and simulate flights.
I made friends at Kino I still am best friends with today. It continues to touch and enrich me many years later in ways I didn’t think possible at the time as a cocky 18 year old. I don’t think I was as prepared for college as I would have liked coming out of Kino, but so many tools I picked up from there have shaped me.