When students return from winter break in early January, Mount Vernon High School’s hallways look unusually still. Traditional classes pause. Desks sit empty. The normal rhythm of bells and passing periods disappears.

For nine days each year, Mount Vernon trades algebra lessons and vocabulary quizzes for something entirely different: January Term, or J-Term, a short, intensive learning period built around hands-on courses, career exploration, travel, and experiences designed to push students beyond the boundaries of a typical school day.

Students scatter to physical therapy clinics, roller rinks, Disney World, local farms, theater spaces, and the Florida Keys. They film hype videos, shadow veterinarians, kayak mangroves, serve meals at a homeless shelter, and learn practical skills that often stick with them far longer than a worksheet.

“It is real-world learning, experiential learning,” Mount Vernon Principal Steve Brand said. “Opportunities for kids to find their passion, do something completely different, and become involved in one class for nine days.”

Now in its 10th year, J-Term has become one of the school’s defining practices— a program built on the belief that students learn best not only by reading or listening, but by doing.

A scheduling fix that became a major program

Mount Vernon launched J-Term in 2015 after the state required all schools to begin classes after the Iowa State Fair. The new calendar pushed the fall semester later, leaving it significantly shorter than the spring. Brand said the imbalance created problems for semester-long classes.

Instead of stretching content across uneven terms, the district created a new stand-alone term between semesters.

“We thought, let’s run this J-Term in the middle,” Brand said. “It balances out the days and gives us time to do something completely different.”

Teachers were encouraged to design courses around their passions and collaborate across departments. Over time, offerings expanded, trips were added, and internships became a central option for upperclassmen.

J-Term includes courses such as Creative Collaboration: Art & Poetry, Latino Experience, Digging Into Finance, Theatre After High School, Farm to Table, Digital Content Creation, and Science of Sport. Many include field trips, guest speakers, or community partnerships.

The result is a catalog that looks more like a small college’s January term than a typical high school offering.

Exercise Science brings sports medicine into the classroom

Senior Lillian Hotz spent last year’s J-Term in Exercise Science, a course that blends anatomy, athletic training, and hands-on medical skills.

“We spent a lot of time talking about sports injuries and how we can take care of them,” Hotz said.

Students practiced wrapping ankles and wrists, learned first-aid techniques, and reviewed a packet of injury terminology — from layers of skin to common joint damage. Before hands-on work, they built a foundation in anatomical vocabulary.

The course also featured guest speakers, including a physical trainer, and visits to two sports medicine facilities.

“We went to the University of Iowa and saw their training facilities,” Hotz said. “It was pretty cool.”

The class confirmed her plans to enter the University of Iowa’s nursing program.

“It’s right up my alley,” she said. “You see a bunch of injuries that happen in real life.”

Leadership lesson at Disney World

While Hotz learned medical skills, senior Lily Cook spent J-Term in a course that took her more than 1,000 miles from Iowa.

Cook participated in Disney Leadership, a class that introduces leadership theories before sending students to Disney World in Orlando for on-site lessons from cast members.

“We learned how to be a leader and the different types of leaders,” Cook said. “Then we took a trip to Disney World and heard from cast members about how they got to where they are.”

The course blends team-building, professional development, and a behind-the-scenes look at how one of the world’s most recognizable companies trains employees.

Cook said the experience helped her discover her own leadership style — something she uses working at a daycare and when assisting in an elementary classroom.

“Finding out what type of leader I am helped me,” she said.

Her favorite part, though, was simply spending time learning and traveling with friends.

Learning storytelling through digital media

Junior Mavrik Schweer chose Digital Media, a course focused on visual storytelling, editing, and social platforms.

“We worked a lot with social media and cameras,” Schweer said. “We made a video about our state championship volleyball team.”

Students practiced shooting with DSLR cameras and microphones, editing footage, and creating graphics. They experimented with iMovie, Canva, and other tools that mirror what media creators use daily.

“It helps a lot, especially for the day and age we’re in,” Schweer said. “I’ve taken pictures a couple times for our school, so it’s something I’m interested in.”

She said she doesn’t expect media to become her full-time career, but she likes keeping the skill in her back pocket.

Up Next: The Florida Keys

This year, Hotz, Cook, and Schweer all selected the Marine Biology Trip, one of J-Term’s most popular options.

Each had a different reason for choosing it.

For Cook, it’s a chance to make memories before graduation.

“It’s my senior year, so I just thought of a fun trip to do with my friends,” she said. “We get to swim with dolphins, see a turtle hospital, kayak in the mangroves.”

Schweer wanted a new kind of travel experience.

“All my friends are seniors and leaving me next year,” she said. “I’ve traveled a lot for volleyball, but never as a tourist.”

Hotz saw it as a chance to explore places she’d never seen before.

“I’ve not traveled a whole lot,” she said. “It’s so cool that we get the opportunity to go and learn about these animals and biomes.”

The trip includes snorkeling, kayaking, a visit to a turtle hospital, and a day trip to Dry Tortugas National Park.

Internships give students a professional preview

One of the most intensive J-Term options is the internship program for juniors and seniors. This year, 63 students are completing internships full-time for the entire nine days.

Placements include law offices, veterinary clinics, engineering firms, schools, hospitals and construction trades.

“Ideally, they intern with a career they’d actually like to do,” Brand said.

Students secure their internships months in advance so they can begin meaningful work on the first day of J-Term. The program is structured to give them exposure to real workplaces — not jobs they might hold in the summer, but careers they may someday pursue.

Brand said he has seen the impact firsthand. One former student changed his college major after realizing during J-Term that his internship field was a better fit than the major he had originally chosen.

“He said, ‘If it weren’t for that J-Term course, I don’t think I’d be doing this,’” Brand said.

Freshmen experience a guided introduction to high school life

While upperclassmen choose courses, ninth graders participate in a structured Freshman Experience, designed to help them adjust to high school expectations.

The course focuses on the district’s Four Foundations of Mustang Nation:

• Just be here, get involved

• Excellence in the arena

• Service above self

• Champions in life

Freshmen take college visits, tour workplaces such as Jones Regional Medical Center in Anamosa and Elite Stone Fabrication, go roller skating and ice skating, bowl, complete career activities and spend a couple days preparing meals for Mission of Hope in Cedar Rapids.

The goal is not only exposure, but confidence-building, Brand said.

“We want ninth graders to become self-aware, build confidence and prepare for life as a high school student,” he said.

Not every student loves it — at least not immediately

Brand acknowledges that some students struggle to see the purpose of J-Term while they’re in it.

“Does everybody love it? ‘No,’” he said. “Does everybody find value in it? I think most will, but sometimes they struggle to understand the learning that comes with experiential work.”

He believes the value becomes clearer with age.

“I don’t think they understand until they’re out of the system and look back,” he said. “They say, ‘Wow, that changed my life.’”

Even with the logistical complexity — transportation, off-site supervision, staffing, planning — Brand said the program is worth the effort.

“It’s complicated and a big commitment,” he said. “But it’s worth it for them to experience things outside these four walls.”