Yuma District Plans Massive Personalized Learning Campaign

• By Michael Hart
• 05/04/15

Following the successful passage of a $4.8-million bond issue in November, the Yuma Elementary School District 1 in Yuma, AZ, is planning a personalized learning program that the district hopes will enhance educational opportunities for all of its 9,000 K-8 students.

Working with Education Elements, a company that is helping the Yuma district plan how to spend the money it now has available for technology, the district has a number of programs it is beginning to implement:

• Straight Curve Math focuses on math concepts for K-6 students;
• Education City is a Web-based intervention tool aligned with state and Common Core standards in pre-K through sixth-grade language arts, math, science and ESL;
• Reading Eggs provides online reading games and activities tied to the five pillars of reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension;
• Reading Eggspress is intended to improve spelling skills and build reading comprehension;
• LearnZillion is an individualized set of lessons all aligned with the Common Core State Standards;
• Learning A-Z is a set of downloadable reading, writing, science and vocabulary resources;
• RAZ Kids delivers interactive, leveled e-books and quizzes spanning 27 levels of difficulty, covering a wide range of subjects;
• LiveBinders allows teachers and students to organize digital content and provides new opportunities for collaborating and sharing; and
• Edmodo is an educational Web site that takes the ideas of a social network and filters them and makes it appropriate for the educational setting.

"Our initiative for personalized learning will be the catalyst that catapults our student learning to a whole new level," said District Superintendent Darwin Stiffler. "Personalized learning will marshal increased student engagement, bolster differentiated instruction and foster an environment of increased communication between students, educators and parents."