vision and culture

How the need for equity and access drove a cultural shift and aligned all aspects of work in the district.

This is all about equity and access.

Setting the vision for teaching and learning meant not only researching best practices and existing models, but building on past successes. With a changing demographic, and a need to meet every student where they are and help them thrive, a shift from a more traditional practices of teaching and learning to a culture of personalization was not only natural, but necessary. This focus on equity and access to personalized learning experiences set the vision for the system-wide transformation.

Growing a culture of entrepreneurialism, risk-taking, and innovation to personalize experiences for all learners - students and adults - was a primary focus of the transition. This established a floor for culture in the district, and a set of goals and targets to align work from Board of Directors down to the classroom.

Why Personalize? Students at the Center.

Our world is rapidly changing as a result of access to information and innovation. What we have learned about brain theory and pedagogy drive us to reevaluate what we can offer our students in preparation. Ultimately we want our students to become strategic, collaborative learning partners, who are innovative and competitive in a global community. Therefore we strive to create an environment in which students are at the center of their own learning and are intimately involved in defining the learning path. A place where:

students are empowered to develop a growth mindset, cultivate habits of work, and engage in rich reflective practice.
students are offered multiple pathways to achieve personal and academic goals.
students are afforded flexibility of time, space and resources to explore learning at a deeper level.
teachers facilitate informed decision-making and advocacy for self and others.
teachers challenge students to take risks, unleash their curiosity, and exercise their critical and creative minds.
assessment is learning and students are assessed on evidence of mastery of learning targets.
cultural and community connections are leveraged to engage learners in authentic experiences that have personal meaning and community impact.

It is this type of personalized learning environment that students deserve to experience in Evergreen Public Schools.

How We Define Personalized Learning

Personalized learning, as defined by the International Association for K12 Online Learning (iNACOL), is “tailoring learning for each student’s strengths, needs, and interests - including enabling student voice and choice in what, how, when, and where they learn - to provide flexibility and support to ensure mastery of the highest standards possible.”

For Evergreen students in a personalized environment, the following elements are essential ways of doing business:

EPS Essentials of Personalized Learning

Student Agency
Access to Learning
Four Cs - Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Creativity
Measures of Individual Proficiency
Flexible Learning Environments
Personalized Learning Profiles
Community and Cultural Resources

If we teach today's children like we taught yesterday's, we rob them of tomorrow.

--John Dewey

SUPPORTING RESOURCES

Charting Our Course: Evergreen Public Schools Strategic Plan
EPS Essentials of Personalized Learning
Why personalize?
Personalization vs. Differentiation vs. Individualization, Bray and McClaskey
New Learning Models, iNACOL
learningpersonalized.com
Multipliers, Liz Wiseman
Most Likely to Succeed: Preparing Our Kids for the Innovation Era, Tony Wagner, Ted Dintersmith
Students At the Center, Bena Kallick, Allison Zmuda
Learning Personalized: The Evolution of the Contemporary Classroom, Allison Zmuda, Greg Curtis Diane Ullman
Personalized Learning: A Guide for Engaging Students with Technology, Peggy Grant, Dale Basye
Student-Centered Learning: Functional Requirements for Integrated Systems to Optimize Learning, Elizabeth Glowa, Jim Goodell iNACOL
ISTE Standards for Digital Age Learning
Amplify: Digital Teaching and Learning in the K-6 Classroom, Kristin Ziemke, Katie Muhtaris

The Case(s) Against Personalized LearningCritics say personalized learning isn't supported by evidence, leads to bad teaching, and depends on data-mining students. What do educators and policymakers need to know?

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

Ways that aligning around equity and access connected every aspect of the district's work in a student-centered focus. John Steach, Superintendent

Cabinet.m4a

From School Board to classroom, personalization is founded on equity. John Steach, Superintendent

Steach on Equity.m4a

How cabinet level collaboration and alignment facilitates cohesion, communication, and collective organizational movement at every level. Scott Munro, Executive Director of Elementary Schools

Munro on Cabinet Structure.m4a

RELEVANT RESEARCH

Specific research, common language, and ideas surrounding systems thinking, learning organizations, innovation, and shared vision helped drive change at Evergreen. Below are some short video clips that offer insight into the complex change work at Evergreen.

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