IN Peters Township August/September 2017 | Page 67
Education
Students are using tools such as Skype to tap into their
network of resources.
Live streaming enables students to have face-to-face contact
with students, teachers, community leaders and industry experts
like never before. Visualization is a proven tool for success, as
teachers on the other end are able to demonstrate lessons instead
of simply lecturing. This is exceedingly helpful in the matter of virtual
learning. Instead of teachers working through chat, they have the opportunity to talk
directly to their students, allowing for a more personalized experience for online
learning.
COMMUNITY SCHOOLS
The idea of community schools was born with the thought of a school becoming
the center of a community, instead of just a place located within it. A community
school is built on partnerships between schools and other community resources and
focuses on academics, social services, and youth and community development with
the goal of being a hub for students, teachers, parents and community leaders to come
together to provide support and opportunities to one another.
COMMUNITY SCHOOLS OFFER:
• Engaging Instruction – Community schools
provide real-world learning and problem solving
opportunities for students both within and outside
of the classroom. Instruction goes beyond the
teachers, encouraging students to engage with
community leaders, local businesses and other
public organizations.
• Expanded Learning Opportunities –
Community schools, which are typically open
24/7/365, offer and encourage students to
pursue both academic and non-academic success
by enhanced opportunities to learn and grow.
• College, Career and Citizenship – Whether this
is readiness for college, technical school, or simply
to enter the workforce, community schools focus on
ensuring that students are comfortable and
confident after graduation to become engaged members of society.
• Health and Social Support – A strong community starts with
healthy members. Ensuring mental and physical well-being is a
high priority in community schools.
• Community Engagement – Community schools are
run by a collective number of teachers, community
organizations and other stakeholders that monitor and
grow the well-being of the entire community.
• Early Childhood Development – Community schools
focus on ensuring that high-quality early learners enter
school with confidence and readiness to learn.
• Family Engagement – Community schools offer critical
support for family growth and development through activities
to increase family engagement.
• Youth Development Activities – Students are given the
opportunity to engage in hobbies outside of the classroom for the
chance to find out what makes them excited to learn.
TEACHING THE FUTURE
Teachers are tasked every day with correcting spelling tests, entering grades, writing
lesson plans, and now with integrating technology along the way. They would be
PERSONALIZED
LEARNING FOR
HIGH SCHOOL
Personalized learning adapts
a structured educational
environment into a malleable
approach to learning and teaching.
Each learning style is different,
and there is not one approach to teaching that
fits them all. Personalized learning provides
students with attainable success in the
classroom by allowing teachers to understand
the strengths and weaknesses of each
individual student and adapt lesson plans to
allow students to work at their own pace.
Building Student Profiles: Personalized
learning pulls from the strengths and
weaknesses of individual students and tailors
lessons to improve learning outcomes.
Teachers are able to utilize these
pathways to learning to guide their
students to success.
Digital Approach to
Personalized Learning: Utilizing
data from digital coursework
provides an even stronger
approach to personalized
learning through analytics. These
analytics monitor a student’s
performance and can predict fu