Reimagining the High School Classroom: the Global Classroom
Chaminade is a private Catholic high school in New York known for academic rigor and innovation. In 2024, after a successful Global Learning Lab with Shared_Studios, the school became the first in the world to install a permanent Noro Classroom. What began as a one-month experiment has become a core part of Chaminade’s academic strategy, spanning disciplines and grade levels.
Client
Chaminade High School
The Experience
Today, Chaminade’s Noro Classroom is used up to six times per week across 24 different courses—from AP Literature to Engineering to Spanish Language and Culture.
Each session connects students with communities and experts around the world in real time, giving them a direct, personal understanding of global issues and perspectives.
Courses have explored topics like colonization, migration, environmental change, and identity through immersive, dialog-based learning. In one project-based learning unit, students conducted comparative research on colonial histories by engaging with people in formerly colonized nations across Africa—gathering lived experiences and reflecting on their implications. Other classes have connected with Spanish speakers in Nigeria, engineers in Brazil, and climate experts in Jakarta.
The impact has been profound. Teachers report that students engage more deeply with complex material and demonstrate stronger critical thinking and empathy. Shared_Studios works closely with a single Chaminade liaison to develop custom sessions that align with each course’s goals, minimizing teacher prep time and ensuring relevance to the curriculum.
The Results
The Global Classroom has redefined what’s possible in a high school setting—fostering global fluency, enhancing curriculum delivery, and giving students the tools to see themselves in a global context.
Student Outcomes
24 classes have integrated our global programming into their teachings, with an average of 600 student interactions per month.
Project-based learning and global discussions deepen understanding of course content and connect abstract concepts to real-world lived experience
Faculty Outcomes
Faculty across language, history, art, and science disciplines integrate the Global Classroom into existing coursework
Teachers report greater student engagement, improved understanding, and more meaningful classroom discussions
Streamlined program design handled by Shared_Studios reduces faculty workload and lowers barriers to global learning
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“What we can do with the Portal and how that helps shape the evolution of our curriculum—it really blows the ceiling off what a modern high school can be.”
Robert O’Keefe, Assistant Principal for Curriculum
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“The Portal facilitator was able to make my students understand concepts I’ve never been able to get across in 20 years of teaching history—just by speaking to them from her own, lived experience.”
Gregory Kay, Chief Academic Officer
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"For our students to truly understand the world, to lead and remain grounded to the needs of a common good, we need connection and the portal offers our students that practical, real-time connection to the world."
Bob Paul, Principal
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"The portal has transformed how I approach teaching culture and language. Offering live stories helps students understand traditions and values authentically. Instead of learning through textbooks, students gain a dynamic perspective that makes the learning experience more engaging and memorable."
Marcela Lopez, World Languages Teacher
WHAT’S NEXT?
With the Noro Classroom now a signature part of the Chaminade experience, the school is continuing to expand its use—designing new interdisciplinary sessions, piloting more project-based learning units, and reaching more students each term.
