Summary of AASA Personalized Learning Cohort Meetings and Focus

Kristin Humphries, Superintendent for the East Moline School District

Blog entry for AASA

09.30.19

Dr. Maya Angelou said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” After participating in AASA’s Personalized Learning Cohort for the past two years, I know better. AASA’s Personalized Learning Cohort is a group of superintendents and district leaders who have come together around a problem of practice. How do we move schools that were built around an industrial model into a new world economy and personalize education for each and every child in order to reach their full potential?

For the past two years, I have seen incredible work in the field by our colleagues and their school districts as they move to a model that is tailored to meet the unique needs of every child. In the Dysart Unified School District in Surprise, Arizona, we saw scaffolded, personalized instruction starting in kindergarten. In North Penn, just outside Philadelphia, we were able to see students in charge of their learning and interacting with standards by creating content in high-interest areas to spark engagement. Just last week, we visited the Mehlville School District in St. Louis to see their work in helping all children create and navigate pathways that were personalized to their specific needs. As my colleague and Personalized Learning Cohort member Dr. Jeff Thake, superintendent for the Williston, North Dakota Schools, said, “When we really dig deep to answer the question -- how does each student learn best and what is each student’s strengths and interests, it’s going to transform public education as we know it.”

In the East Moline School District, we have been hard at work for over five years to move to standards-based, student-centered instruction at a rigorous level. It’s been a great deal of work, but our teachers are seeing the fruits of their labor in students that are more in charge of their own learning. As superintendent, it is important for me to communicate our shared vision that every child in the East Moline School District deserves a world-class education that is tailored to their specific needs. Dr. Gail Pletnick, retired superintendent of the Dysart Unified School District and co-chair of the Personalized Learning Cohort said, “This mission that we are all on, to personalize learning, is about equity.” The parents in my school district dream of infinite possibilities for their children just like parents from Dysart, North Penn and Mehlville. The Personalized Learning Cohort has helped me envision those next steps in East Moline as I learn from superintendents and school districts that have worked to create individualized pathways for their students in order to meet their full potential.

I look forward to continuing the work of our Personalized Learning Cohort. We are focused on learner agency by increasing engagement and giving students choice and voice as they take ownership of their education. I hope more superintendents get involved in this important work as we grow and learn together in personalizing education for every child. When we know better, we do better.