Re-Imagining High School through Blended

Learning

Sam Sherwood, Assistant Principal Bronx Arena High School

Helping Students Get Back on Track

Prior Attendance :

62% Prior Course Passing:

43% Chance of Graduating:

23%

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.

A 2003 study estimated that there are 140,000 students like Bronx Arena’s in New York City.

Bronx Arena’s first entering class at time of enrollment

Re-Imagining High 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.

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 school classrooms, the teacher stands front and center.

We piloted classrooms where the challenge of learning lies at the center.

Blended Learning Enables a New Model

…We piloted classrooms where the challenge of learning lies at the center.

…In our pilot, generalist teachers specialize in teaching students; content specialists push in.

…We piloted a model where a generalist teacher works with 1 classroom of 25 students.

Blended learning lets students access varied content to experience at their own pace.

Blended learning lets the content teacher provide targeted support based on individual student need.

Blended learning lets the generalist teacher circulate and provide personalized guidance to each student.

Our model is only possible with the use of blended learning to allow asynchronous learning supported by a single teacher.

Bronx Arena Course Creation Process Map

Curriculum Coordinator

Course Designer

Curriculum Design Team

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.

• Research content• Develop assessments• Design rubrics• Design tasks

• Review schoolwide maps• Identify skills and courses needed• Provide feedback on course design

• Finalize content and put online• Gather student/teacher feedback