PERSONALIZED FLES

OUR VISION & MISSION The vision of FLES is to focus on personalized learning every day so all students will perform to the best of their ability and be prepared to graduate high school with a readiness for career and college real world experiences. Our mission is simply “Focusing on Learning for Every Student”. Each student possesses a unique set of gifts, abilities, talents and preferred learning styles. We value those unique differences and strive to facilitate student growth by providing opportunities for students to interact with the curriculum using a variety of methods and strategies including: differentiated instruction, station teaching, technology, STEM activities, and project based learning. We believe students should take ownership of their own learning by having a voice and a choice.

WILL THIS PLAN CAN AND WILL CHANGE!!! AS WE LEARN WE WILL MAKE CHANGES. IF IT DOESN’T WORK, WE WILL MAKE CHANGES. IF IT IS NOT THE BEST FOR OUR STUDENTS WE WILL MAKE CHANGES!!!

MATH/ELA BLOCKS Teacher created competency pre/post assessments based on performance indicators will be given in Math and ELA/Writing for competency based placement throughout the year. Student placement will be changed based on the data from these pre/post assessments. Teachers will use various formative assessments to measure the student’s level of competency. When this data supports advancement, students will take a summative competency post assessment to show mastery before moving to the next area. Students will have the ability to cross grade levels depending on their needs. We will have a K-2 stand and a 3-5 strand. We recognize that the academic ability level for some K-2 students will go beyond 2 nd grade but most of these students are not socially ready to be in a class with students one or two years older. Our guidance department will work with the teachers on a case-by-case basis. Students that have mastered elementary school standards set by the graduation competencies in one or more areas will then be placed in an Edgenuity type class for the content needed. These students will have a teacher advisor to monitor their work. These students will also have two check-in days a week to meet with the advisor, ask questions and get help if needed.

DISCOVERY BLOCKS – SCIENCE & SOCIAL STUDIES Science and social studies will be taught thematically. We will have life, physical and earth science blocks as well as thematic blocks for social studies that will align with the graduate competencies of history, geography, government, economics and application of social studies processes, knowledge, skills and civic engagement. Students will pick the thematic blocks they are interested in studying. Within these themes, various grade level standards will be covered. Once mastery is shown on the theme, students will be able to move to another block or continue in the same block to do more in-depth study on topics of interest. Each Discovery Block can have multiple grade levels within the block. The thematic nature of the blocks will allow students of various grade levels to work together on the overarching theme. Along with the thematic content units being taught the K-2 Discovery Blocks will focus on strengthening the students’ ability to communicate and collaborate with peers and adults as well as improve their critical thinking and creativity skills. The Discovery Blocks in 3-5 will focus on the integration of project based learning within the themes taught. Academic support will also be provided for students that fail to meet expected learning goals. Students will be able to attend a support block during the day for extra practice and additional instruction. FLES will work with our cluster schools to adopt a common language and performance indicators for the county content area competencies as they are introduced.

PBL/STEM BLOCK Students will also have a voice and a choice in their learning during PBL/STEM Cells. They will be able to cross- grade levels giving them the opportunity to learn and participate in projects with deeper, more meaningful learning activities. This will provide students with interdisciplinary content incorporating real-world problem solving.

LEARNER PROFILES Students will create Learner Profiles based on data in their classroom portfolios. At the beginning of the school year, students will create SMART goals for their academic success. Students will use data from the previous year to reflect on their successes/challenges, strengths/weaknesses and likes/dislikes to create an action plan to meet these goals. Learner profiles will be reviewed at the end of each grading period for revision. These goals and supporting data will be shared with parents during student-led conferences. Students will also be surveyed at the end of the school year to have a voice in the PBL/STEM Cell project ideas for the school year. PBL/STEM Cell projects will be a part of student portfolios which provide opportunities for students to monitor and evaluate their growth throughout the year. During progress monitoring weeks, teachers will meet one-on-one with students to discuss and review student growth and achievement. SMART goal action plans will be revised and/or new goals will be written based on the nine week pre/posttests. The learner profiles will have a place for students to track content mastery, based on the Henry County competency performance indicators, throughout the year. We will have K-2 and 3-5 learning strand profile cards where students will track and provide data to show mastery of graduation competencies. Student led conference nights will provide an opportunity for students to share their progress with parents and allow parents the opportunity to ask questions.

21 ST CENTURY SKILLS All 21 st century skills can and should be taught in the context of core academic subjects. K-2 strands will focus on introducing, modeling and practicing the skills of collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity (4Cs). When the students move to the 3-5 strand, they will continue to practice their 4C skills during Discovery Block, math and ELA. These skills are reinforced during goal setting, student-led conferences, and project presentations. We also reinforce these skills daily during group work, interactions with peers/adults, as well as on the playground, on the bus, and in the hallways. A school wide 4C rubric will be created. The language and rigor of the rubric will change as it progresses with the students. PBL/STEM Cell projects and PBL products also require creativity, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking which are life skills constantly being taught. Students will need to work together to come up with inventive ways to complete their projects. Throughout the process, the teacher facilitates the student projects to ensure they are on task. Students will have a choice in the product they use to demonstrate what they have learned. Students will become teachers at PBL/STEM Cell showcase nights when they present the knowledge they gained to faculty, staff, parents, and the community.

TECHNOLOGY-ENABLED LEARNING Students will be fully technology-enabled with one-to-one devices. This will allow our students to create/produce original products, collaborate with students globally, and publish/disseminate original work through the use of Google Docs, classroom blogs, podcasts and webinars in all content areas. Edgenuity will also be utilized for students surpassing the content available at the elementary level. All students will have the opportunity to use technology throughout the day, but the different strands will have focused instruction on grade level appropriate computer skills. K-2 will emphasize keyboarding and word processing while the 3-5 strand will focus on using technology for efficient research and product production. The current technology lab will be changed into a distance learning lab with the addition of video conferencing equipment. Classes will be able to video conference with other classes around the world, experts involved in the areas being studied in PBL/STEM Cells and Discovery Blocks, or attend/host webinars on topics related to the various PBL projects.

PLANNING  We feel FLES will benefit from having a full time substitute in the computer lab. The lab will support students in achieving 21 st Century competencies through various technology applications.  We feel FLES will benefit from having a full time substitute in the STEM Lab. This lab will engage students in science, technology, engineering and math education.  Providing these labs with Art/Music and PE, will allow teachers to have additional planning to support classroom instruction and grade-level collaboration.  Teachers would also be hired to work during the summer to create units and activities for the upcoming school year.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING Grades for Roll Out Year 1Year 2Year 3 4 th / 5 th PBL 9 Week Differentiated Instruction class based on course taught for gifted certification. Class would be taught 3 times during the school year. 9 Week 21 st Century Skills in the Classroom. Class would be taught 3 times during the school year. 9 Week Integrating Technology in the Classroom. Class would be taught 3 times during the school year. 2 nd / 3 rd PBL K / 1 st PBL Problem-Based Learning professional development will be yearlong for the grade levels involved in the roll out. This class will be developed and taught by the county trainers from BIE. All teachers will also attend a nine week class on the tenant focus for that year. Teachers will be able to choose which 9 week period they take the class according to their schedule. Year 1 – Differentiate Instruction – This class will focus not only on providing voice and choice to students on projects, but also how to write tiered lessons for instruction and assessment. Year 2 – Implementing 21 st Century Skills in the Classroom– Focus areas (based on P21 Partnership for 21 st Century Schools) - All 21 st century skills can and should be taught in the context of core academic subjects. In addition to core subject mastery, how do schools help students become- Critical thinkers? Problem solvers? Good communicators? Good collaborators? Information and technology literate? Flexible and adaptable? Innovative and creative? Globally competent? Financially literate? Year 3 – Integrating Technology in the Classroom - Focus on using tools such as wikis, podcasts, and blogs effectively, ways to integrate technology to enhance your subject material and meet your course goals. Standards-based solutions for more interactive lesson plans, as well as Google Docs, Live Binders and digital portfolios.

ROLLOUT PLAN Grades for Roll Out Year Year Year Full Implementation 4 th / 5 th Leveled ELA/Math Discovery Blocks (if available) PBL/STEM Cell Electronic Portfolios(if available) PBL will be added to Discovery Blocks 2 nd / 3 rd Differentiated instruction, project based learning opportunities, weekly STEM activities within the classroom. Continue ELA/mathematics IF and one-on-one teacher/student progress monitoring with hard copy student portfolios. Leveled ELA/Math Discovery Blocks PBL/STEM Cell Electronic Portfolios PBL will be added to Discovery Blocks K / 1 st Leveled ELA/Math Discovery Blocks PBL/STEM Cell Electronic Portfolios