Read our final report and toolkit!
Throughout the Rural LIFE project, we found that personalization could not thrive at the student level without existing at the school level. In fact, creating a tailored implementation plan was a key component of making personalized learning “work” for Rural LIFE clasrooms, schools, and districts.
A team of school leaders, classroom teachers, and instructional coaches should collaboratively build a structured, intentional plan that considers goal alignment on all levels (classroom, school, district, and/or project), school team dynamics, and sustainable practices.
Schools need support from leaders in their district, an implementation coach, and/or an external partner to craft, implement, and sustain progress on their plans.
Rural LIFE coaches Stephanie Boyd and Brandi Wilson explain the vision alignment within the Washington County school system.
Rural LIFE schools each needed a personalized implementation plan to effectively personalize student learning. Under the guidance of their coach, school and teacher leaders documented their school’s data-driven strengths and needs, readiness for change, available resources, and district/school initiatives or mandates in a two-part school plan. Rural LIFE leadership then reviewed school plans and financial requests, either approving or denying them based on alignment with the goals of the project. The school plan document evolved as the project did, and in 2021, staff created a shareable spreadsheet and made extensive revisions to the literacy action plan and financial plan components. The revised plan prompted schools to consider their overarching school improvement plan goals; literacy improvement goals; district-, school-, and classroom-level data; their school’s 3-year history of supporting literacy; and the challenges of sustaining RL initiatives. Additionally, this detailed, proactive school plan asked school leaders to describe their adult learning design, consider school and district-wide collaboration, and outline 1-3 progress indicators. This updated, detailed planning process prompted school teams to think more holistically about their implementation plan and helped them choose more intentional, sustainable resources to support student learning.
The most recent version of the Rural LIFE school plan is more process-oriented, data-driven, and practical. Its components are more connected to each other and to the implementation process schools completed under the guidance of Rural LIFE coaches.
V1School Plan_Literacy Action Profile and Financial Plan_Sample.pdfThe original Rural LIFE school plan relied more heavily on teachers and leaders already understanding the intersections of the principles of personalized learning and the components of a literacy action plan.
Ridgeview Elementary
Gray, TN | Grades K-8 | 740 Students
The Ridgeview Rural LIFE team (L to R: Leslie Lyons, Arielle Abraham, and Ashley Delavega Haren) presents their research during a speed session at the 2022 Annual AMLE Conference.
Principal Leslie Lyons knew she wanted to elevate student voice and choice at Ridgeview, so she worked with Rural LIFE coach Brandi Wilson to do just that. After bringing on board two teacher leaders—Ashley Delavega Haren and Arielle Abraham—a plan to use choice boards during RTI time started to take shape. This practice started to spread other grade levels in their school and eventually to other schools in their district. The Ridgeview team has since presented their innovative RTI plan at conferences like AMLE and has met with several schools outside their district to teach others how to make RTI choice boards work for their students. Lyons sees only growth moving forward, "This program is going to continue to grow because we have that mindset of 'what can we do next?'"
How to Build a Culture of Literacy in Schools (Blog, Alliance for Excellent Education/WestED)
