Alumna Reimagines Learning

Teaching had been Anne Marie Palazzolo's ('2010 BS) calling since kindergarten. But the bold path she ultimately carved by establishing an innovative school in Farmington Hills took shape through years of related hands-on experience and a persistent belief that education could be approached differently. Her story is one of several innovaton-related features in the summer issue of Northern Magazine.

Palazzolo has turned that belief into a working model as founder and "Princessipal"-a young student's title for her-of AMPed Hybrid Academy. The K-9 school emphasizes small classes, project-based learning, flexible scheduling and a deeply individualized approach to students who often didn't thrive in traditional settings.

Her vision gained momentum through the school's recent participation in an accreditation pilot program through the Middle States Association. AMPed was accredited and recognized as part of a new model for innovative, nontraditional schools. It serves 37 students, with plans to grow to around 60 next year. Even at full capacity, enrollment will cap at 72 to maintain the small, personal environment students and parents prefer. If demand warrants, she said her goal is not to scale up further, but to replicate with additional locations.

Arriving at this point was the result of cumulative insights and lessons gleaned over several years of life experience. After graduating from NMU with a degree in special education, Palazzolo moved to Georgia and served as a support coordinator for adults with developmental disabilities. She soon shifted into education more directly, supporting families who homeschooled children with special needs, particularly those with autism. It was in that capacity that she realized how customized, one-on-one learning could transform a child's experience.

"What I saw over and over again was that families weren't choosing to leave traditional schools lightly; they were doing it because their kids weren't getting what they needed," she said. "And when you're able to slow down, meet a child exactly where they are and build learning around them instead of forcing them into a system, everything changes. Their confidence changes, their willingness to try changes. Suddenly learning becomes something they want to do instead of something they're avoiding."

Palazzolo eventually returned to Michigan with three young children. She said a traditional teaching job wasn't practical with daycare costs, so she began tutoring, leaning on the math courses she took at NMU. The timing coincided with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and demand surged. At her peak, she said she was tutoring 30-40 students a week, even hiring other teachers to keep up.

During school breaks or shutdowns, Palazzolo began working with small "learning pods" of mixed-age students meeting in homes. She experimented with project-based learning, flexible pacing and individualized instruction. She said the response from families was immediate and enlightening.

"Parents kept saying to me, 'This is the first time my child hasn't dreaded school. This is the first time they've felt successful. Why can't we just keep doing this?' My husband and I kind of looked at each other and thought, well … maybe we can. We started researching it and realized that in Michigan, you actually can start a school if you have appropriate credentials. It wasn't nearly as out of reach as we thought; it just required a willingness to take that leap."

AMPed Hybrid Academy began humbly, leasing space in a local temple for two years before the purchase of its own building last summer. The school serves a growing population of students, many of whom are neurodiverse: gifted, ADHD, anxious or "twice exceptional," meaning they possess a dichotomy of both advanced abilities and learning challenges.

But AMPed is not a special education school. It is inclusive by design. Every student has a personalized education plan. Classes are capped at 12 students and ages are mixed. The classrooms are intentionally flexible, with standing desks, couches, sensory seating and tools like voice-to-text. The schedule is a hybrid of in-person attendance every other day, with remote learning, independent custom homework and optional video support sessions on remaining days.

Project-based learning is at the heart of AMPed's approach; it factors prominently through the entire process. Palazzolo said it starts with a guiding question, and then continues through a purposeful progression toward an answer. She provided an example from last year.

"Instead of, 'Oh, we learned about the solar system and then we made a model of it,' we did one that led with, 'In the next 50 years, the earth is going to add another billion people. So given this prediction, should humanity be refocusing its efforts on cleaning up Earth, or should we focus on exploring new planets and other places to live?'

"The amount of learning that comes out of that one question is enormous, Students have to understand why life works on Earth, what other planets are like, what resources we need, and even ethical questions about responsibility and sustainability. And because it's framed as a real decision, they stay engaged the entire time."

Palazzolo said AMPed is guided by progressive values and a guiding philosophy that because learning is "inherently vulnerable," students cannot learn unless they feel safe. This extends beyond physical safety to being emotionally secure enough to take risks, make mistakes and be seen.

"I teach middle schoolers as well and have a group right now who, in a traditional setting, probably would have been the quiet kids in the back of the room," she said during the April interview. "And now I'm constantly telling them to stop talking so we can get through the lesson. Honestly, part of me loves that, because it means they feel comfortable. They have friends. They're confident enough to speak up. That's the environment we're trying to create."

Palazzolo also credits her NMU experience with influencing her distinctive approach to education. The education program placed students in public school classrooms as early as their freshman year.

"I remember being so excited to get into area classrooms with experienced, talented teachers right away, but also realizing pretty quickly that a lot of the incredible strategies we were learning about just weren't possible in a traditional setting," she said. "There wasn't enough time, there weren't enough resources, and there was such a heavy emphasis on testing. That stuck with me. I always knew I wanted to teach in a way that actually aligned with what the research says is best for kids.

"I deeply believe in public schools. We absolutely need them in our country, and I am not cheering for vouchers by any means. It would be ideal if the things we're doing at AMPed could be done in public school setting, but it's just not possible right now with the amount of staff and funding it would require, not to mention a shift in priorities. It's definitely a challenge."

Palazzolo said the small class sizes and supportive faculty at Northern-particularly her mentor, Laura Reissner-were very beneficial to her career preparation. Professors knew her name and she felt comfortable asking questions and being part of discussions. She recalls thinking that if such an environment works so well for college students, why wouldn't it work for younger kids? That idea never really left her, she added.

As Palazzolo has demonstrated through her out-of-the box vision in establishing AMPed Hybrid Academy, meaningful innovations in education do not necessarily come from abandoning tradition, but reimagining it.

"I tell my students this all the time. You don't have to reinvent the wheel. Innovation is about looking at what already exists and asking how we can make it better, or how we can adapt it to serve people more effectively. We build on each other's ideas, and that's how we move forward."

This story was written by Kristi Evans, NMU News Director. Read other features in Northern Magazine's summer "Journeys to Innovation" issue here.