SoRo School and Personalized Learning

6-20-14 Mary Waterman mwaterman@soroschool.orgOn June 6, 2013 Governor Peter Shumlin signed the Flexible Pathways bill

What does this mean for So.Royalton School?Thanks VT Agency of Education for this opportunity!

Reflections of Our Path

• Two committees simultaneously met – PLP-Advisory and Work Based Learning– WBL comparatively easy, 8 Gold Standards• Our program aligned well

• Overwhelmed by self-assessment, esp. with guidance in transition and Principal departing midstream. Red Flag realization

• Revise and prioritize in an ‘Emergency Mode’

Divide, Conquer, and Produce

• Committee: 1 person gather data and share back…– Also present to school board– Also gather student data– Also communicate to public—parents—business – Make recommendations what to do!?!– End school year whole committee work 2-days– Recommend: focus on an area: ‘Practice’

• eye on ‘Academic Standards’….

• Role: ‘Plant Seeds’ ‘Take Root=Success’• Create Ownership

• School Board: all components presented– dialog primarily money and policy examples– ie) Dual Enrollment VT vs. a NY example

• NY: Advanced Studies at Genesee Community College (20+ yrs. in western NY)… HS teachers at 50 schools: each school hosts 3-10 dual enrolled courses. Cost: If students want credits = $50 per credit hour (most =$150). Schools pay $0, Counties add some $. GCC site: http://www.genesee.edu/ace/advanced/?HSCode=HALE

• Student Survey (grades 6-12) – Interesting responses around college questions:

• Location preferences for college courses, 68% indicated a combination of local & campus; transportation issues

• 5% have taken college courses; 61% intend to in the future

Who, where, …what

• More of the student survey:41% complete interest inventory while 55% have done 1+ job shadow; Nearly 1/3 don’t request homework help; 50% think PLP’s will help them--11% are excited about the idea.

• Communicate to public—parents—business– newsletter, newspaper, direct

• Real examples, data, technology applications...– Thanks to many schools and agencies for practical pieces.– Utilized Google Docs for meetings, cooperatively write. ETC.

held at school/day

prefer only college campus

prefer both school/campus

not interested

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%

I would take college courses at

%

SoRo Advisory and PLPs Product of past two PLP work days…

Developed new Advisory system, wrote early phases of a handbook, strategies, priorities and started lesson plans.

Supporting PLPWhat does research show?

*Improve student motivation and engagement; Improve students’ understanding of postsecondary options and long-term planning.*Improve school-family communication and foster family involvement in academic and career planning.*Increase student awareness of their individual strengths and weaknesses.Source: Many VT Schoos, Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy, June 2011 Policy Brief - Student Learning Plans: Supporting Every Student’s Transition to College and Career.

- Next phase: buy-in

and participation from

other teachers,

students, parents,

community…

- Identified some next

steps.