Community Highlights: Meet Tim Kubik of Project ARC, PBC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tim Kubik.

Hi Tim, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
After several years working as National Faculty Members for The Buck Institute for Education in California, Dr. Dayna Laur and Dr. Tim Kubik formed Project ARC in 2014. Our goal was to take the trend of Project-based Learning beyond classroom walls and into more authentic community spaces so learners could see the impact of their learning immediately, not years later.

Over the last ten years, we’ve worked with schools and districts in 48 states and 14 countries to do exactly that. We became a registered B-Corp in 2023, earning an Education-Impact Business Model designation for our work with schools to improve their communities.

Today, Project ARC, PBC, remains focused on community and educational impact, prioritizing authentic, actionable feedback from teachers and community partners to improve student outcomes and networks.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Of course not! Interest in Project-based Learning reached a high in the mid-teens, but dropped off during the pandemic. Many educators felt it was too hard to connect with the community or that they did not have enough time. We began shifting to a virtual coaching model in 2017, and that shift grew during and after the pandemic. Yet even today, many schools are focused on what learners lost during the pandemic, rather than what they gained in terms of motivation to make an impact on their community. We still believe learners can make an impact, even if they are behind grade-level targets. The schools we continue to work with prove it!

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Project ARC, PBC?
Project ARC was founded because we know that authentic, relevant, and community-connected learning (the ARC) draws kids to school and empowers them as learners to achieve higher outcomes. We’ve seen it in practice, and it’s supported by independent research. Key to our work, however, is that we operate without a “gold standard” model that we expect to be implemented with fidelity to achieve results. Instead, we use an assets-based inquiry approach that understands what’s right about the schools we work with, and tailor professional learning to help their teachers and learners grow beyond that. That led us to structure ourselves as a small, nimble firm relying on our collective decades of experience rather than a giant coaching operation.

The educators we work with appreciate that we walk our talk. There are no trainings; just authentic, problem-focused workshops where educators and school leaders get time to discover how authentic project-learning experiences (APLEs) can work for them and their learners. We’re honored that this approach earned us a B-Corp Education Impact Business Model certification.

What were you like growing up?
Both founders, Tim Kubik and Dayna Laur, moved frequently while growing up. This gave us an appreciation for what was good about the various communities we moved to, and a willingness to think beyond the limits of each community because we had known something else. For both of us, this led to a life of curiosity and inquiry, as well as a focus on growth.

Tim was always focused on the humanities and gaming. Dayna’s strong suit was math and sports. But in the end, we both became history and social studies teachers through very different routes. The question of working in teams to solve problems was central to both of us and has shaped our approach, as it is something we share.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.proj-arc.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProjctARC
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/29328396/admin/dashboard/