Lawrence school board to review plan for districtwide rollout of new teaching model

Second-graders in Paula Barr's Quail Run Elementary class — from left, Richard Li, Matthew Liu, and Cayman Cook — work together on a math assignment, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2015.

The Lawrence school district’s blended learning initiative — which “blends” traditional instruction methods with individual and small-group work that relies largely on online resources — is set to become a districtwide approach.

District officials will share a report detailing the rollout plan for next school year at the Lawrence school board’s meeting on Monday. Blended learning in the district began with an initial field test of eight classrooms in the 2012-2013 school year. Since then, the total number of district-supported blended classrooms has increased to more than 300, most of which are at the elementary level.

As part of the report, classroom teachers will share their experiences using the approach, including student achievement and observational data. The approach has been aligned with the district’s goal to “develop and align district expectations for curriculum and instruction to raise the achievement of all students.”

District officials have previously said another 75 classrooms are expected to become blended classrooms next school year, and one of the report’s first points is the communication to staff that all classrooms will eventually transition to the model.

The district has spent considerable sums of money equipping classrooms with additional technology in order to become blended. District officials recently said the majority of the technology purchases in next school year’s capital outlay plan — or between $500,000 and $600,000 — will go toward purchases of technology for additional blended learning classrooms.

While many district administrators and teachers have touted the model’s ability to tailor lessons to individual student needs and provide a wider range of sources to teach lessons, some teachers and students have said they would like traditional models to continue to be an option. Last week, the Lawrence High School student newspaper published an opinion piece advocating for students to be given the choice between a standard textbook and online resources.

The district report, “Update on Expansion of Blended Learning Districtwide,” will be presented by Angelique Nedved, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, and Terry McEwen, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment.

In other business, the board will:

  • Review a report on the district’s “Learning Forward/Future Ready Initiative.” The initiative seeks to increase the ratio of devices to students.
  • Vote on whether to approve the district’s capital improvement plan for next school year. The plan lays out expenditures on facility improvements or projects for the upcoming school year, and was reviewed at the board’s most recent meeting.

The school board will meet at 7 p.m. Monday at the district offices, 110 McDonald Drive.