One unique project making students the subject in school & strengthening social structures.

BHS Weslee and Bullshoe.jpeg

#urart

Unreserved places windows and mirrors in classrooms where students expand their vision on themselves, others, and the world around them.

— Dr. Denise Clark Pope with Stanford’s Masters of Education Department.


Participants prepare four pictures to complete the project; they can be hand-drawn or photocopied. Each picture represents one of four themes: Heritage, Happiness, Hurdles, and Hope. The images are traced into 1/4 circle shapes and glued into designated places in the project. In conclusion, students share the stories behind their images in small talk circles. One theme at a time is covered as a group, each student getting four equal times to speak and contribute. The project visually represents each student and their uniqueness.

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Running it in schools…

The Unreserved project is made for any school! Schools on reservations, in rural areas, and other schools use the project, including college classes. This enrichment project typically runs with a grade level and an English or history department for the narrating, story-driven nature of the project. Those two content areas get to zoom out of books or textbooks and zoom into student stories as the main text to learn from. Health and art classes, World Geography, counseling departments, student councils, and more have benefited from the project. Some college students groups run the project to build a feeling of home away from home, quickly creating strong campus connections while honing listening and speaking capacities and orienting learning - in any content area - toward student identity and value. The project has also run as a half-day or daylong worksop in both colleges and high schools. Teaching staffs, likewise, has completed the project as a team building experience at both the high school and college level.

The project comes with a user-friendly packet that explains details for students and teachers. The materials are shipped or delivered in a branded box. Schools often welcome in community members to see projects, or they display them in their library, in their front office, at sporting events, and more, brightening and student-centering school culture.

See it for yourself…

A catchy school tool

A catchy school tool

Some Feature Implementing Schools

  • Flathead High School

    Flathead High in Kalispell, Montana ran the project with (350) their sophomores, calling it “Sophomore Strengths.” The above image shows the talking circles taking place in their gym. Some 50 Seniors were selected to also do the project and facilitate the talking circles with their underclassmen; this apart of the vision and volition of Principal/Leader Michele Paine's whole child development strategies.

  • Great Falls High School

    Great Falls High School leaders Whitney Staub, Principal Geoff Habel, and Dugan Coburn ran the project with 500 students where any teacher had the option to use the project in their class for relationship building.

  • Fergus & LockwooHigh School

    This year Fergus High (Lewistown, MT) and Lockwood High School did the project with the DII Montana State University- Billings men’s college basketball team and GNAC Conference Champions. Head Coach Luke Fennelly wanted to amplify his men’s notion of “Team” and leadership skills.

  • Glacier High School

    Glacier High in Kalispell, Montana ran the project with all of their Freshmen! They selected 50 Seniors to make their own projects, also, who then helped to facilitate the talking circles in their Commons area. All students also got to all gather together for “additional creative and finishing time” before the talking circles. This activity replaced a Listening and Speaking Standards unit normally done in ELA classes. Thank you Principal/Leader Brad Holloway and team for taking on the project so thoroughly.

  • Missoula Big Sky High School

    Missoula Big Sky High School ran the project with 90 students in their World Geography classes! Teacher Nicole Sarrazin-Strong initiated and drove home the project with her students. Nicole has taught in places, also, such as Alaska and Hawaii. She brought in a student leader, Snpaqsin Morigeau, to talk about talking circles traditions from his Nation. School leader Duran Caffero also helped with the experience. Thank you Nicole and team for setting up such a cool experience for World Geography students!

  • Lockwood High School

    Lockwood High School in Billings, Montana runs the project through a tiered system, led by their counselor Nycole LaRowe. Sophomores each meet 30 minutes with Nycole to talk about their life through the four Unreserved themes: Heritage, Hurdle, Happiness, and Hope. This builds powerful rapport with students and the counselors at a young age. Juniors then make the actual project in History classes through Rob Tedlund! Lastly, Seniors will portfolio actionable steps made toward one of their Hopes. Thank you Lockwood High and Nycole for this whole school approach and teamwork.

  • St. Ignatius High School

    Art teacher Caitlin Shelman helmed a dynamic running of the Unreserved project with the St. Ignatius School. Their school displayed the project for the community to also come in and see and the experience was reported on by one of the local news outlets! Thank you, Caitlin for reaching out to Unreserved and bringing in the project to your area!

  • Lodge Grass Boys Basketball

    Coach Josh Stewart of Lodge Grass High on the Crow Reservation runs this project with his team to deepen their teamwork, ability to be vulnerable and courageous with each other and more. Josh and boys visit schools, also, to share their Unreserved projects and life experiences and histories with surrounding area schools. Thank you Josh for your caring leadership.

  • Polson High School

    Polson High Principal Andrew Fohrs connected the Unreserved project with their History teacher Katrina Holmes. Katrina is highly touted for her ability to develop great relationships with students. She uses the Unreserved project to further and uniquely deepen teacher-student and peer relationships in her space. Students become the subject! Thank you Andrew and Katrina!

Photo Recap on Charles M. Russell’s Experience

Great Falls’s CMR freshmen in Health classes

“To be honest, my students were highly skeptical of spending time ‘talking about their feelings,’ but there isn’t a single student balking at the opportunity to do it again. They feel valued. They feel heard. Connected. Empowered. Confident. And liberated from the notion that they are alone in their struggles.”

Hali Kirby -Award winning English teacher in Gardiner, Montana

2021-2022 Unreserved student survey results

Results

2021-2022 Surveyed students report feeling less alone with their struggles (98%), more empathetic (and able to see others as more dimensional)(98%) and more confident to contribute to groups or teams (96%). One-hundred percent of students would share again (100%) and notes were made in side comments such as, “I wish we could share the project all throughout the year.”

Unreserved unreserves more in more students in a zany, creatively disruptive way and makes students the subject in school.

The program began on a Wednesday school day in April of 2019 where students from two schools on reservations were brought together with a mostly-white school. Students from Lewistown (agricultural community in Montana), Browning (Blackfeet Reservation), and Hardin (Crow Reservation) joined in Lewistown; the very center point of the country’s fourth largest state; Montana. These three schools were sports rivals and came together as one group and team for one school day. Students courageously connected through the project and its themes. See “Short Film” for the video about this event. Hardin’s co-valedictorian wrote in her Yale application letter, where she now attends, that it was one of her most formative high school experiences.

Once upon a time…

Meet the Team

  • Steven Davis

    COLLEGE IMPLEMENTOR & CONSULTANT

    Montana State University Honors College Assistant Dean, using the project with different groups on his campus. Honors college graduate in Biological and Chemical Engineering. Blackfeet descendant and Lower Brule Sioux member. Attends events/gatherings and consults on operation

  • Dani Phillips

    DIRECTOR

    Previous teacher on two reservations and Director of Operations for a college D1 girl’s basketball team. Presents about the project, organizes implementation with schools, ships supplies and manages inventory, outreach, etc.

  • Merritt Grace Davis

    WELLNESS LEADER & CONSULTANT

    Wellness consultant for businesses, non-profits, and individuals and students. Was previously a professional pole vaulter and is now a Tulane Track and Field HOF inductee. Attends events/gatherings and consults on operations.

  • Aaron Yost

    SCHOOL RECRUITMENT & IMPLEMENTATION

    Writing professor and school literacy coach with 20 plus years of experience in public education as an English teacher. College writing professor. Attends events/gatherings. Consults on school implementation and recruits schools.

  • Josh Stewart

    SCHOOL ADVISOR AND ADVOCACY

    Championship high school basketball coach in Lodge Grass, Montana. Previous suicide interventionist. Attends events/gatherings and advises the project’s initiatives in his school on the Crow reservation, including bringing some of his basketball boys and their projects to other schools to share their projects.

  • Meggan Cirrincione

    SCHOOL ADVISOR & CONSULTANT

    Advanced Placement Senior English teacher in rural Montana. Helped organized the first ever event in 2019. Attends events/gatherings and helps advise her school’s multi-dimensional project initiatives. Co-leads the program’s first club structure where teachers at her school share their own project with a cohort of students during lunch time once a quarter.

  • Sydney Wagner

    SCHOOL ADVISOR & HISTORY AUTHOR

    Advanced Placement World History teacher. Co-authored an optional, intriguing history piece on reciprocity with Dr. Shane Doyle that Montana teachers may use. Co-leads the program’s first club structure where teachers at her school share their own project with a cohort of students during lunch time once a quarter.

  • Shane Doyle

    CULTURAL TEACHER

    National cultural teacher and helps Montana implement Indian Education on many topics, including helping with the Unreserved project as the shape of the project resembles the Native American Medicine Wheel shape. Phd in Education. Crow.

  • Hayden Hooker

    SCHOOL ADVISOR

    Advanced Placement senior English teacher in Montana’s most diverse high school. Attends events/gatherings. Oversees school project initiatives for his school.

  • Tom Webb

    SCHOOL ADVISOR

    Helps with his school’s multi-dimensional project initiatives. Attends events/gatherings. English teacher, coach, and ex-Veteran. Has also taken a hand in helping recruit schools.

  • Cheyenne Whiteman

    STUDENT ADVISOR

    Nursing student, dancer, and previous co-valedictorian at Montana’s most diverse high school. Crow/Northern Cheyenne.

  • Hannah Mark

    STUDENT ADVISOR

    Previous co-valedictorian at Montana’s most diverse high school. Currently at Yale University driving the project into Yale. Majoring in Community Health.

  • Trajan Hill

    STUDENT ADVISOR

    Honors college nursing student from the Crow reservation.

  • Stan Parker

    VIDEOGRAPHER

    Storytells humanities topics. His recent feature documentary was revealed at a historic Billings, Montana theater where the subject was a Vietnam vet that returned to Vietnam with his son. See “Short Film” to see some of his work. Pepperdine graduate.

  • Mike Phillips

    CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

    Oversees budget and financial review with 30 plus years of banking experience with business loans and vice president and president positions.

  • James Zormeir

    ADVOCACY AND OUTREACH

    Nike shoe designer for Nike’s Move to Zero sustainability design team that has designed futuristic shoes with recycled material sported by professional athletes; such shoes are the Cosmic Unity and Space hippie shoes. He has made and shared his own project with students. James connects the project to the public and high-impact partners.

  • Tracie Jackson

    ADVOCACY & OUTREACH

    Nike shoe designer for Nike’s ISPA team and previously their N7 Native design team. She has made and shared her own project with students. Tracie is Navajo! She connects the project to the greater public and high-impact partners.

  • Nycole LaRowe

    SCHOOL COUNSELOR

    School counselor, using the project as an innovative intervention and relationship tool for her school’s counseling department. Meets with every sophomore in her school to listen closely to their stories through the project. Is working on then focusing on actionable steps for her student’s Hope theme that she can help counsel and guide.

Unreserved is the primary service of a 501(c)(3) organization that brings creative expression and social connection to students, believing in the healing and empowering impact of both.

Sponsors include The PD (Phil) Jackson Foundation and colleges in the project’s state of origin: Montana State University, University of Montana, Rocky Mountain College. Unreserved is growing its sponsorship team. These awesome sponsors, school leaders, and implementing teachers, and their shared vision and initiative, make the unique Unreserved project possible. Thanks is also given to the state of Montana’s Office of Public Instruction officials Mike Jetty and Donnie Wetzel Jr. who permit the program to dynamically serve Montana schools.