Weaving Community and Purpose into Learning

This year, Mead welcomes Jess Hauben as our first-ever Director of Public Purpose, a role dedicated to deepening connections—within our school and beyond. Her mission? To weave community, purpose, and place into the heart of student learning.

From the start, Jess has launched meaningful programs that reflect Mead’s values. Students began the year with multi-aged team-building to foster leadership and belonging. Book Buddies, supported by therapy dogs from The Good Dog Foundation, blends literacy with compassion. The Leadership Club empowers students to turn ideas into action, while The Mead Marketplace—an in-school thrift store—teaches sustainability, empathy, and reuse by providing clothing and gear for trips and seasonal needs.

One of the most exciting initiatives is the Mead Alumni/Buddy Project, where current students partner with alumni to explore and preserve the school’s legacy. Through interviews, storytelling, and interactive displays—including voice-activated recordings and historical artifacts—students will engage in a living history of Mead’s culture, traditions, and impact.

Jess is also cultivating partnerships with other schools for collaborative learning and building a “living document” of community expertise—tapping into the knowledge of teachers, parents, and caregivers to enrich our curriculum.

In April, she’s helping lead A.C.T: Artists Creating Together, a two-day celebration of the arts featuring local artists, workshops, and a community festival.

Fresh from the National Place-Based Education Conference at Eastern Michigan University, Jess brings inspiration from a growing movement: when students connect deeply with their environment and community, learning becomes rooted, relevant, and transformative.

At Mead, public purpose isn’t an add-on—it’s part of who we are. And with Jess leading the way, we’re building a future where students don’t just learn about the world, but actively shape it.