Superintendent's 1st Quarter Update
October 2018
We have come to the end of the 1st quarter in the district and we continue to make progress with students’ achievement. We recently learned that our graduation rate continues to improve as well as our PEAKS assessments. More importantly, we are seeing increased instructional strategies that meet the individual needs of students, which are highly engaging and relevant.
We are hard at work on next year’s budget, with many opportunities for public input. Our borough provides a large investment in public education and I believe our district is very responsible with those funds. I also believe our borough is getting an excellent return on investment as evidenced by our improved achievement and by our staff and students’ community engagement efforts.
Once again, we have costs that are really out of our control. Healthcare costs continue to rise, which is simply unsustainable for KPBSD and the entire State of Alaska. We stand ready to work with local and state leaders to get these costs under control and use any savings in our classrooms to provide all students the best possible opportunity to learn.
I look forward to what the future brings as we all work hard to meet the individual needs of all of our students in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District.
Sean Dusek, Superintendent
Learn more about PL, or read on:
Personalized Learning in KPBSD
Personalized learning shifts from a one-size-fits-all factory model of education to better prepare students for the jobs and needs of their future. The design of instruction and the classroom allow educators to respond to the individual needs of students instead of expecting students to fit the current mold or adapt to unsuccessful learning structures. PL does not replace teachers with computers. Many of our teachers implement elements of PL in their classrooms right now, and we will now build on this foundation to create an even better learning environment. Key elements your child will experience include:
- Teachers integrate digital content, which allows for a differentiated path and pace based on individual student needs
- Teachers use targeted instruction based on specific student needs and learning goals
- Teachers use current and relevant data to help inform instructional decisions and groupings
- Students engage in ongoing self-reflection that promotes ownership of their learning
When will PL formally start in KPBSD schools?
Every KPBSD school is doing some degree of work with personalized learning. However, the formal work of individual schools and teachers working directly toward personalized learning will be rolled out in three "waves" over the next year.
- Wave 1 schools began their work in spring 2017, and will continue in the fall of 2017.
- Wave 2 schools will begin their formal work with Education Elements in the fall of 2017.
- Wave 3 schools will begin their formal work with Education Elements in the spring of 2018.
Links
Personalized Learning
webpage
KPBSD Personalized Learning Blog
Personalized Learning
FAQs
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