-blended-learning-in-dc-public-schools_084713921628
-blended-learning-in-dc-public-schools_084713921628
-blended-learning-in-dc-public-schools_084713921628
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BLENDED LEARNING IN DC PUBLIC SHOOLSDANIEL K. LAUTZENHEISER AND TARYN HOCHLEITNERyear, Rice and his team vetted ELA content from 48different vendors, tak<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to account approval fromthe DCPS pedagogical unit to settle on the f<strong>in</strong>al two forpilot<strong>in</strong>g across DCPS: Lexia Read<strong>in</strong>g, a read<strong>in</strong>g technologycompany that helps struggl<strong>in</strong>g K–5 readers, <strong>in</strong>17 <strong>schools</strong>, and myON Reader, an e-library that recommendsbooks on the basis of students’ read<strong>in</strong>g levelsand <strong>in</strong>terests, <strong>in</strong> 27 <strong>schools</strong>.Funders. Build<strong>in</strong>g <strong>blended</strong> classrooms is not free.Money for these new projects comes to DCPS from avariety of sources, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g local dollars, federal grants,and will<strong>in</strong>g partners. The district budget <strong>in</strong>cludes a substantial<strong>in</strong>vestment <strong>in</strong> the technology and <strong>in</strong>frastructurenecessary for <strong>blended</strong> <strong>learn<strong>in</strong>g</strong>. Individual <strong>schools</strong>receive discretionary fund<strong>in</strong>g allocations (termed “localfunds”) to purchase new technology such as computersor whiteboards at their discretion. In fiscal year 2014,about $4.4 million <strong>in</strong> local funds has been budgetedto support the <strong>in</strong>tegration of technology <strong>in</strong> classrooms,which <strong>in</strong>cludes the cost of programs, equipment, andprofessional development for teachers. 11As with many districts pursu<strong>in</strong>g new <strong>in</strong>itiatives,DC has benefited from a number of national and localphilanthropic partners eager to support the district’sefforts. One of these is the DC Public Education Fund,founded <strong>in</strong> 2008 to identify donors and attract philanthropyto help fulfill DCPS Capital Commitment priorities.It has been remarkably successful over the pastfive years <strong>in</strong> do<strong>in</strong>g so.The DC Public Education Fund facilitated the$750,000 grant from Google that allowed DCPS tocreate the central office <strong>blended</strong>-<strong>learn<strong>in</strong>g</strong> team andhelp get the Teach to One (TTO) <strong>blended</strong>-<strong>learn<strong>in</strong>g</strong>math <strong>in</strong>itiative at Hart Middle School off the ground.In 2012, it was the DC Public Education Fund, aga<strong>in</strong>,that shepherded $500,000 from the Michael and SusanDell Foundation and an anonymous donor, a donationthat was split between Ketcham Elementary Schooland Randle Highlands Elementary School to allow thetwo <strong>schools</strong> to transition their core classes to a <strong>blended</strong>station-rotation model. (We describe TTO and RandleHighlands <strong>in</strong> more detail later <strong>in</strong> this paper.)Another organization central to early DCPS <strong>blended</strong>-<strong>learn<strong>in</strong>g</strong>efforts is the CityBridge Foundation, aDC-based family foundation started by David andKather<strong>in</strong>e Bradley that concentrates on educationreform. Abbey Goldste<strong>in</strong>, education director of City-Bridge’s Education Innovation Fellowship, describesCityBridge as “more of a venture philanthropy shopthan anyth<strong>in</strong>g else. We work really hard to research bestpractices <strong>in</strong> education around the country. And thenwe do whatever it takes to br<strong>in</strong>g those ideas to DC.”The foundation’s three current priorities are schoolturnarounds, replicat<strong>in</strong>g high-perform<strong>in</strong>g models, andeducation <strong>in</strong>novation. It is <strong>in</strong> this third area that City-Bridge launched the first Education Innovation Fellowsclass <strong>in</strong> 2013. In partnership with the NewSchoolsVenture Fund and with a $1 million, three-year grantfrom Microsoft, the fellowship recruits DCPS and DC<strong>public</strong> charter school teachers eager to lead <strong>blended</strong><strong>learn<strong>in</strong>g</strong>efforts and supports them with a year-longcohort experience <strong>in</strong> an attempt to catalyze more suchactivity across the city.In the fall of 2013, CityBridge also worked with theNext Generation Learn<strong>in</strong>g Challenges (NGLC) <strong>in</strong>itiativeto establish the Breakthrough Schools: DC challenge,a $2 million grant competition for teachers andschool leaders to create new, whole-school <strong>in</strong>novationmodels. The NGLC <strong>in</strong>itiative has already granted $21million for <strong>blended</strong>-<strong>learn<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>schools</strong> across the nation,and CityBridge hopes the effort will cont<strong>in</strong>ue to makethe district a hub of school <strong>in</strong>novation. 12Under the Hood: Blended Learn<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong> Southeast DCDiscussions of district strategy, the selection of vendors,and fund<strong>in</strong>g are just the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g. What really mattersis how these pieces come together <strong>in</strong> practice. To geta better sense of the district’s <strong>blended</strong>-<strong>learn<strong>in</strong>g</strong> efforts,we tagged along with John Rice on one of his weeklyschool visits, this time across the Anacostia River <strong>in</strong>toSoutheast DC. DC is split <strong>in</strong>to four geographic quadrantsand eight political wards. The Anacostia River is ageographic barrier separat<strong>in</strong>g almost all of Wards 7 and8 from the rest of the city.The river serves as a physical rem<strong>in</strong>der and a symbolof the stark divide with<strong>in</strong> the nation’s capital. CapitolHill, the National Mall, embassy-l<strong>in</strong>ed MassachusettsAvenue, and ritzy Georgetown are but a few miles from6