This year marks the 10th anniversary of Grow Beyond Grades—and we’re celebrating by bringing together the educators whose work has shaped our community and our forthcoming book, Beyond the Grade.

Each Community Gathering this year continues a conversation begun on the Grow Beyond Grades podcast the Sunday before. This week, we’re joined by former and current New College of Florida educators Jenn Wells, Jessica K. Young, Becca Black, and Liz Leininger.

For decades, New College offered a remarkable example of what could happen when an entire institution organized learning without traditional grades or GPAs. Students received narrative evaluations, worked with faculty through individualized contracts, pursued independent study projects and tutorials, and completed substantial undergraduate research. But beginning in 2023, a Ron DeSantis-led takeover of New College threatened its distinctive culture of teaching, learning, and academic freedom.

In Sunday’s podcast episode, Jenn, Jessica, Becca, and Liz reflect on what it was actually like to teach and learn within that system, what narrative assessment made possible, what was difficult about sustaining it, and what the New College story might teach educators facing growing pressures on higher education today.

At our Community Gathering, we’ll continue that conversation—and invite you into it. What can New College teach us about creating cultures of learning beyond grades? What happens when those cultures come under pressure? And what is worth preserving, rebuilding, or carrying somewhere new?

You don’t need to have listened to the podcast to join us. Come with your questions, experiences, and curiosity.

Please RSVP to let us know you are coming. And help us spread the word!