Colorado Department of Education and Colorado Education Initiative Receive Investment to Accelerate Student-Centered Learning
Cupertino, CA – April 2, 2015 – The Learning Accelerator, a nonprofit supporting the implementation of high-quality blended learning in school districts and states across the U.S., today announced a new state partnership with Colorado. The Learning Accelerator, the Colorado Department of Education, and The Colorado Education Initiative (CEI) will advance a large-scale opportunity to make student-centered learning available to every child in Colorado.
“Education systems that have been unchanged for a 100 years are now being redesigned through the lens of student-centered innovation,” said Lisa Duty, Partner at The Learning Accelerator. “The future of education is coming to life in Colorado where learning will be personalized for each student.” Over time, The Learning Accelerator expects to invest in a portfolio of innovations, share lessons and resources, and ultimately make successful strategies available for replication across the country.
The partnership is launching a community engagement initiative to explore the priorities and educational competencies parents, community members and educators believe students should achieve before graduation. Colorado districts are increasingly redesigning their education system to respond to the individual needs of every student as well as requirements from the broader community. Results learned from the community engagement sessions will help shape changes needed to make students more successful in ways that are valued by parents and the community.
“We are excited to be supporting districts and partners who are shifting their local education systems to support each student in maximizing their unique potential to be successful 21st century adults,” said Gretchen Morgan, Executive Director of Choice and Innovation at the Colorado Department of Education. “What is most exciting about the work of the districts in this project is they are engaging the primary consumers of their local education systems: students, parents, postsecondary and local industry, to learn from them about the competencies that matter most.”
“This work is a significant step forward as educators rethink when, where, and how learning and teaching take place — and how schools respond to the individual needs of every student,” said Samantha Olson, Director of the Next Generation Learning Initiative, CEI. “Increasingly, schools are working to provide students not only with a solid foundation in math, reading, and other academic subjects, but other 21st century student outcomes such as managing time, collaborating with others, taking risks, and learning from failure. CEI is eager to share what we learn statewide.”
The community engagement initiative will occur at Mesa County Valley School District 51 and Archuleta School District 50. Colorado is home to one of The Learning Accelerator’s national blended learning demonstration sites, Greeley-Evans School District 6.
For more information about The Learning Accelerator’s State Initiatives, contact TLA Partner Lisa Duty, Ph.D at lisa.duty@learningaccelerator.org or on Twitter @LisaDuty1.
