FAQs

	Frequently Asked Questions
Has the school board approved the new vision and Danville's shift towards customized learning? When does the corporation predict that customized learning will become a reality at DCSC? What is Customized Learning? How is Customized Learning different than traditional learning? How will students progress through curriculum topics? Has this process been used in other locations? Did anyone make site visits prior to identifying this process as the one you wanted to use? Are our students going to be "guinea pigs" for this experiment? Will students be able to graduate early? Will students be challenged to their own personal potential? Will students recieve help if they can't move at the same paces as other students? Will this change cause teachers to lose their jobs? Does the video "Lori's Day" reflect what all student's school day will be like? Who are the teachers involved with the 3rd/4th grade pilot? What kind of training have these teachers had in this model of education? If my son goes beyond what the teachers are teaching, how are they going to monitor what he is learning, how well it was learned, etc? I am picturing a class of 28 students who are at many different levels and 3 teachers monitoring how well they are doing. It seems like a daunting task for the teachers. Are there going to be many different assessments for many different levels? Are there only going to be three levels? Can you speak to how specifically that will work? It sounded to me from the meeting as if there may be a lot more testing to monitor proficiency, is that true? Are the kids still going to be taking SRI and SMI and Acuity and all of the other tests? I am concerned that this will eat into instructional time or exploratory time. I do not foresee any additional testing being added. Any additional information you can provide would be appreciated as we transition. We are excited about the prospects and worried about the “how’s”.
	Has the school board approved the new vision and Danville's shift towards customized learning? The Danville School Board has approved the vision statement. The school board has not approved any of the specifics of how we achieve the mission yet. Dr. Ward has been given the task to make this vision a reality.
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	When does the corporation predict that customized learning will become a reality at DCSC? There is currently not a set start date for when customized learning will become a reality at DCSC. Our focus this school year is aligning our curriculum K-12. This is the first step to ensure the success of our transition to customized learning.
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	What is Customized Learning? A process of making learning more personalized, meaningful, individualized, and motivational for each learner. It provides flexible learning options for learners.
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	How is Customized Learning different than traditional learning? One of the main differences between these two approaches is the method by which student's progress through their educational experience. In traditional settings students all progress at the same time based upon a schedule of learning established by the teacher. In a customized learning setting students progress based upon their demonstration of proficiency on defined curriculum topics. In this setting students are not forced to move onto new curriculum material without first mastering current curriculum topics. Another major difference is that in a customized learning setting, learning is designed to each student's readiness to master materials not that of an entire class of students.
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	How will students progress through curriculum topics? Students will progress through curriculum topics based upon their demonstration of proficiency on each topic. Demonstration of proficiency may come in various ways; project-based learning, demonstrations, individual work, small group work, large group presentations, and other appropriate methods agreed upon by the teacher and student(s).
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	Has this process been used in other locations? The components of this method have been used in schools over many decades. Performance-based assessment and Standards-based instruction have both been utilized effectively in educating the youth of this nation. The basic idea of an individualized education has also proven very successful with our special needs students for many years. The extension of that concept to all students is a new approach based upon the availability of new technology and approaches.
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	Did anyone make site visits prior to identifying this process as the one you wanted to use? Yes, we have already visited Adams-50 School Corporation outside of Denver, Colorado and Lindsay Unified School District in California.
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	Are our students going to be "guinea pigs" for this experiment? Absolutely not! As mentioned in question #6 the components of this method have been used successfully with students for many years. While the organizational structure may be somewhat different than what we have not, the educating of our students will occur as it has in the past.
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	Will students be able to graduate early? Yes, in much the same way as they are currently. Once a student has completed the required curriculum for their specific "type" of diploma, they would be eligible to graduate. This doesn't mean that they must graduate early; the timing of their graduation would be a parental and student decision. Additional educational activities will be made available for those students who are eligible to graduate but whose parents wish for them to continue due to their early graduation status.
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	Will students be challenged to their own personal potential? Yes, that is one of the strongest parts of this program. With the focus of instruction taking place at each student's ability level, personal potential will more easily be pursued. Within customized learning instruction will no longer be focused at the middle ability students within the classroom, instruction will be focused on each student's needs and abilities.
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	Will students recieve help if they can't move at the same paces as other students? Yes, an increase of the amount of small group instruction will be provided within the customized learning framework. More consistent assessment activities will be included which will allow for a greater awareness of those students who not only are having difficulty but also those students who need to be challenged at a higher level.
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	Will this change cause teachers to lose their jobs? No, we do not see this initiative causing us to reduce staff. Some staff members may see their responsibilities re-defined.
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	Does the video "Lori's Day" reflect what all student's school day will be like? No, the video depicts what some high school student's day may be like, but it does not depict what all students' school day will be like. Students in grades K-8 will continue to attend school during the hours that they attend today. Some high school students whose programming calls for a different schedule than the traditional 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. may relfect a schedule as depicted in the video.
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	Who are the teachers involved with the 3rd/4th grade pilot? Kris Adolf, Becky Foltz, Abby Ogden, Jennifer Rhoades, and Lacy Wooten.
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	What kind of training have these teachers had in this model of education? Each of our teachers attend weekly professional development training on best practices in instruction such as lesson planning, differentiated instruction, creating highly engaging lessons, checking for understanding, etc. These best practices transcend any classroom. The teachers have the skill set needed, they have just been chomping at the bit to have "restrictions" lifted so they can group and re-group kids, give more meaningful feedback other than grades and having the freedom to create assignments across multiple subjects. The teachers will continue to receive professional development on a weekly basis on topics including Mass Customized Learning, using technology effectively in the classroom , student engagement, differentiation and checking for understanding (all highly concentrated areas on the RISE model, the new teacher evaluation tool.)
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	If my son goes beyond what the teachers are teaching, how are they going to monitor what he is learning, how well it was learned, etc? I am picturing a class of 28 students who are at many different levels and 3 teachers monitoring how well they are doing. It seems like a daunting task for the teachers. Are there going to be many different assessments for many different levels? Are there only going to be three levels? Can you speak to how specifically that will work? If your son goes beyond all others, he will still be taught at his level. If he is at the same level with a small group, they will be taught together. If he is at the same level as a large group, they will be taught together. Imagine it set up similarly to how we have our literacy workstations set up. Students will have whole group instruction, independent work, practice stations, and small group instruction. The small group instruction is with the teacher and where the specific instruction is given to the student for the new skill set. For the major "must have" standards, teachers will ensure mastery with three pieces of evidence.
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	It sounded to me from the meeting as if there may be a lot more testing to monitor proficiency, is that true? Are the kids still going to be taking SRI and SMI and Acuity and all of the other tests? I am concerned that this will eat into instructional time or exploratory time. I do not foresee any additional testing being added. South Elementary will continue SRI, SMI, ISTEP+ and Predictive Acuity. Other than those, the teachers will still assess what kids know based on the skills introduced and practiced. Whatever standards that can be assessed in other formats such as project, etc, will be. (I will be interested to see if the number of "tests" actually go down because of the freedom to create cross discipline projects.) This will be something we will look for in the pilot.
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	Any additional information you can provide would be appreciated as we transition. We are excited about the prospects and worried about the “how’s”. I understand the "worry." If it puts your mind at ease at all, I can share that most teachers have always wanted to teach in this manner but have been up against the constraints of a traditional system.
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