At ASU Preparatory Academy, the K-12 division of Arizona State University, we are committed to designing new models for educational success and raising academic achievement for all learners. Our creative model includes seven brick and mortar campuses throughout Maricopa County and Casa Grande, hybrid microschools, as well as fully-online schools, ASU Prep Digital and Khan World School. Our personalized student pathways are designed to ensure our learners are prepared for their future, building critical skills to be successful life-long learners. ASU Prep provides students with personalized courses, flexible schedules, digital tools, real-world learning experiences, free access to college courses, and a college-going culture to put them on a pathway to college and career while empowering them to be conscientious and engaged citizens. We aspire for the next generation to work at the intersection of their passions and their talents in order to become engaged civically and economically.
Student-Centered Design at ASU Prep
In the spirit of building new models, a hybrid microschool program was developed called ASU Prep Digital+. This initiative aims to bring flexibility, personalization, and in-person, real-world experiential learning solutions, meeting the needs of all of our learners.
It also allows us to test, adapt, and grow this model in diverse settings to further refine the approach to better serve our learners. By embedding these microschools in real-world, diverse, and practical settings through key partnerships, we are preparing students for lifelong success.
Flexible Scheduling
ASU Prep Digital high school students can enroll at any of our one-to-three days a week microschool programs that are currently embedded on ASU campuses. Students spend the other days from home, virtually attending classes and completing coursework, getting internships or jobs to support their family, or engaging in out-of-school activities such as competitive sports, music, and theater. ASU Prep’s Arizona campus high school students may also enroll in a microschool program through our new Family Choice Friday initiative that allows students to choose to learn from school or from home on Fridays.
Collaborative In-Person Time
Students spend their in-person time engaging with peers and a Personalized Learning Advisor (essentially the lead teacher and administrator onsite) through intentional community-building, centering students’ voices, interests, and strengths. Through a project-based approach, students also engage with faculty members and/or industry professionals on a variety of topics that align with their interests and future goals, producing an end-of-semester project to share with the broader community. Students have time to work independently or collaboratively on their digital classwork, attend live lessons and receive direct-instruction by their Personalized Learning Advisor, aligned to the Profile of a Learner competencies.
Creative Approach to Microschooling
Our solution involves launching adaptable microschools that emphasize personalized learning and real-world practical application. We’re doing this through three key strategies: (1) establishing ASU Prep microschools on college and corporate campuses for direct industry engagement; (2) creating “school within a school” programs that integrate our microschool model within existing schools; and (3) initiating a “Powered by ASU Prep Microschool Entrepreneur Fellowship” to support educators and entrepreneurs in developing their own microschools using our resources and framework.
ASU Prep’s innovative approach to education and diverse offerings stand as a beacon for the student-centered future of education. Recognizing the shifting demands of the 21st Century, ASU Prep pioneers a transformative approach, leveraging adaptive scheduling, 1:1 advising, and alternative microschools to provide a variety of options for students to succeed. It’s a bold step toward doing school differently, which is essential to our DNA at ASU Prep.
Want to learn more? Explore TLA’s profile of ASU Prep Digital here.
The Future of Learning Series explores how purposefully balancing virtual and in-person learning can make student-centered learning a reality. Check out other installments of the blog series here:
- The Future of Learning is Student Centered
- Plymouth-Canton’s Virtual Academy: Learning Through Purposeful Hybrid Design
- Reimagining High School: Map Academy’s Student-Centered Hybrid Model
