Pasadena USD Expands Blended Learning To Improve Student Support -- THE Journal

Distance Learning

Pasadena USD Expands Blended Learning To Improve Student Support

By Joshua Bolkan
11/03/14

The Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) has teamed with a private partner in an effort to support struggling high school students and those interested in accelerating their learning with a series of blended learning programs.

Using programs provided by Thesys International, the four initiatives will focus on improving student retention, improving academic performance, increasing participation in online learning and preparing students for college.

The new contract with Thesys builds on an existing partnership in which the company provided blended course content for one of the district's alternative schools, the Pasadena Unified Center for Independent Study Academy (CIS). Students in the program met with teachers two to four times a week, depending on the course, and spent the remainder of their time in a teacher-supervised lab to work on blended learning materials.

"Through the new contract, Thesys will work with Pasadena Unified to continue existing blended learning programs operating in the district's alternative education schools, initiate a Thesys online school program in the district's high schools for GPA and credit recovery, implement the Thesys ELLoquence English language learner program across the district and create a repository of courses that will support the district's work with designing an online school," according to a news release.

"Through its partnership with Thesys, Pasadena Unified is making strides in its longstanding commitment to equip more students for college," said Jack Loos, CIS and Rose City High School principal, in a prepared statement. "The results show that blended learning has enhanced the classroom experience for both teachers and students to such a degree that it makes college a viable option for those who previously had little interest in school."

The Pasadena Unified School District serves approximately 19,000 students in grades preK-12 with about 1,000 teachers and 1,400 staff at 15 elementary schools, three K-8 schools, five middle schools, four high schools and three alternative schools. More information is available at pusd.us.

Visit thesysintl.com to learn more about Thesys.

About the Author

Joshua Bolkan is contributing editor for Campus Technology, THE Journal and STEAM Universe. He can be reached at [email protected].

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