Helping Students Get Back on Track

1. Re-Imagining High School through Blended LearningSam Sherwood, Assistant Principal Bronx Arena High School

2. Helping Students Get Back on Track Students arrive at transfer schools with a track record of failure, but eager for a second chance at success. To help these student succeed, as educators we must help them discover strengths. Bronx Arena’s first entering class at time of enrollment Prior Attendance : 62% Prior Course Passing: 43% Chance of Graduating: 23% A 2003 study estimated that there are 140,000 students like Bronx Arena’s in New York City.

3. Re-Imagining High School When we designed Bronx Arena, we re-imagined learning with these students in mind, and an innovative new high school took shape. It looked a lot like… elementary school. In most high schools, teachers specialize in teaching their subject area. In our pilot, generalist teachers specialize in teaching students; content specialists push in. In most high schools, a teacher works with 4-5 classrooms of students, a caseload of 100-150. We piloted a model where a generalist teacher works with 1 classroom of 25 students. In most high school classrooms, the teacher stands front and center. We piloted classrooms where the challenge of learning lies at the center.

4. Blended Learning Enables a New Model Our model is only possible with the use of blended learning to allow asynchronous learning supported by a single teacher. …We piloted classrooms where the challenge of learning lies at the center. Blended learning lets students access varied content to experience at their own pace. …In our pilot, generalist teachers specialize in teaching students; content specialists push in. Blended learning lets the content teacher provide targeted support based on individual student need. …We piloted a model where a generalist teacher works with 1 classroom of 25 students. Blended learning lets the generalist teacher circulate and provide personalized guidance to each student.

5. Bronx Arena Course Creation Process Map With learning challenges at the center, curriculum must be of high quality; commercially available materials are insufficient. We embedded a process of design and quality control in our school. Course Designer Curriculum Design Team • Review schoolwide maps • Identify skills and courses needed • Provide feedback on course design • Research content • Develop assessments • Design rubrics • Design tasks Curriculum Coordinator • Finalize content and put online • Gather student/teacher feedback