Colorado School Blends Courses with Online Curricula
The Poudre
School District Global Academy (PGA) in Fort Collins, CO, has gone public with its use of online curricula for hybrid learning.
The
school employs a mix of online courses that
students take at home and blended classes on campus. PGA uses FuelEd's
personalized learning software, curriculum and content that calls for
most
students to work at their own pace at home three days a week and attend
teacher-led classes on campus two days each week.
PGA
Principal Heather Hiebsch said her teachers "look
at the data to see what the students are mastering and where they have
gaps. It's
not 'What do I plan to teach today?' but 'What do these individual
students
need to learn today?'"
All
students' core courses are taught by local
teachers who oversee instruction, both online and at school. PGA uses
FuelEd's
certified instructors for most elective courses. While the company's
personalized learning platform allows teachers to customize courses
with their
own content, it also supplies its own courses, third-party content and
open
educational resources.
When
PGA opened in 2009, it was intended to be a
credit recovery and dropout prevention school. However, the hybrid
model now
attracts a mix of former homeschoolers and students who had attended
more
traditional schools as well.
"They're
in charge, going it on their own,"
Hiebsch said of the school's students, "but they also have social
connection
and one-on-one help from teachers."
Along
with more than 500 students who have
attended PGA over the last six years, another 500 students at other
Poudre
School District schools take supplemental online courses, such as AP,
world
languages and electives.
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.