The end of the school year is a fun time! Students and staff are proud of their accomplishments, there is a lot to celebrate and reflect on.
The 2021-2022 school year was the first year personalized learning was implemented at three campuses, Shields and Hopkins Elementary and Patti Welder Middle School, and it was successful at all campuses. Personalized Learning is an educational model that acknowledges all students’ unique learning styles and allows teachers to create individualized learning activities. Personalized Learning allows teachers to work directly in small groups with students to support and enrich student mastery of academic skills.
Shields Elementary
Shields Elementary successfully launched its first year as a personalized learning campus for grades 2-5. The campus was granted autonomy for an earlier school start time and flexibility on educational technology programs to enhance student learning.
The earlier start time allowed Shields to focus on having a strong start each day. Students and teachers were able to navigate interpersonal and intrapersonal learning skills. The Shields school model allowed for a consistent student-to-staff ratio that maximized the ability of teachers to work with students in small groups.
Shields students participated in various learning activities in all content areas that focused on working collaboratively with peers and hands-on project-based learning. In addition, students at Shields independently tracked their own academic progress with real-time data and worked on goal setting both in and out of the classroom.
Student data was reviewed consistently to ensure that students were getting individualized learning menu options while also completing required content at a level of rigor appropriate for each grade.
In the Spring, Shields piloted the personalized learning model with Kinder and 1st grade.
Shields' successful implementation of the personalized learning pathway for grades 2-5 will extend to K-5 for the 2022-2023 school year.
Hopkins Elementary
Hopkins Elementary implemented the Personalized Learning model in Kinder and grade 3 and also implemented the Math Innovation Zone grant.
During the 2021-2022 school year, the entire campus staff received professional development on best practices of personalized learning in preparation for the whole campus launch in the 2022-2023 school year.
The Hopkins team also participated in the redesign plan for the school model for the 22-23 school year launch. This process included stakeholder input from students, parents, teachers, and campus volunteers, and guided the way in which the campus functioned to serve students in the community.
Students at Hopkins experienced a variety of opportunities to participate in service and community building. For several years Hopkins Elementary has participated in the Mentor Connect program, with one mentor partner being the University of Houston-Victoria girls softball team. The ability for students at Hopkins to participate in a mentor program with individual community members and collegiate groups provides a resource for students. They have mentors that help empower them, express understanding of students' aspirations and fears, and support their success. Mentors also provide tutoring and post-secondary exposure for students at the campus.
Hopkins will serve K through grade 5 as a personalized learning campus with a high focus on community engagement and student exploration of extracurricular interests in addition to social and academic growth for the 2022-2023 school year.
Patti Welder Middle School
Patti Welder Middle School launched personalized learning for 6th-grade students during the 2021-2022 school year.
The campus created a block schedule on Wednesdays and Thursdays where students took half their classes for an extended amount of time each day so that they had more time to navigate through the station rotation model and work in small groups with the teacher. The block schedule also allowed for students to work collaboratively with peers, and individually with the educational technology programs that are paired with the core curriculum.
All Patti Welder 6th grade students participated in the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) class. The AVID class provided students with academic skills such as time management, goal setting, and academic discourse. Students used the skills they learned in AVID across all content areas.
Patti Welder piloted personalized learning with grades 7 and 8 in the Spring. The pilot was successful, and the campus is excited to extend the personalized learning station rotation model throughout all grade levels for the 2022-2023 school year.
VISD personalized learning students and staff saw great success throughout the first year, and we cannot wait to see the success of student learning and staff growth for the 2022-2023 school year.
To learn more about personalized learning and CHOICE schools in VISD, visit www.VISD.net/choiceschools.
Joe Castillo is an innovation specialist with Victoria ISD.