Bellevue Iowa is a beautiful town in Northeast Iowa, tucked right along the upper Mississippi river. Bellevue high school serves just 365 in grades 6-12. Today you’re meeting Matt Jaeger, a teacher at Bellevue High School, to learn about Bellevue Big. Initially, I thought Bellevue Big was perhaps an alternative or charter school, but as I was researching for the interview, I realized that Bellevue Big is part of the high school’s course offerings for all juniors and seniors, and it inspires students to solve real problems and create something impactful from scratch. Physically, Bellevue Big is not at the High School, and that’s by design. Hm…I don’t want to steal any more of Matt’s thunder. As you’re listening, be thinking of how you could bring this back to your high school. There are lots of great ideas here!

Recommended Books and Sources of Mentorship for the Bellevue Big Team:

• Iowa Big: https://iowabig.org/
• Disrupting Class by Clayton M Christensen
• Hip Hop Genius by Sam Seidel
• Blended by Michael B Horn and Heather Staker
• Stop Stealing Dreams by Seth Godin
• Most Likely to Succeed by Tony Wagner
• Anything by George Couros

Contact Information:

• Matt Jaeger (mattjaeger@bellevue.k12.ia.us)
• Curt Ernst (curternst@bellevue.k12.ia.us)
• Matt Cook (mattcook@bellevue.k12.ia.us)