SPOTLIGHT | Publications

Personalized Learning is a Mindset Not a Prescribed Model

Guest post for EdWeek, By Jennifer Ferrari, and Jin-Soo Huh: Distinctive Schools embarked on its journey into personalized learning in the 2013-2014 school year.

Q&A with Colleen Collins: Director at CICS West Belden

Mastery Communications Week: When we looked at our students, we saw that each student had unique strengths and areas of growth. For example, our data provided information that allowed us to identify students that needed additional supports to attain mastery, as well as students that were exceeding mastery in several areas. 

New Designs for School Grantee CICS West Belden

From NGLC: CICS West Belden outlines the transition to personalized learning.

Rethinking Grade Levels and School Design for Personalized Learning

From The Hechinger Report, by Tara Garcia Mathewson: featuring CICS West Belden's openness to multiage classrooms gives both students and teachers extra choice and support.​

​What Makes a School System Successful? Study the Redwoods

Guest post for EdSurge, by Jin-Soo Huh: The redwood forest offers a metaphor to describe the rich and complex nature of a school system. As we strive to create a symbiotic and interdependent growing environment for students and educators alike, where a wide variety of education initiatives exist, we realized that we could take some lessons from the redwoods.

​Can SEL Support Personalized Learning? How One Chicago School is Finding Out

From EdSurge, by Amanda Ronan: The transition to a personalized learning model went beyond altering the physical space. Students were also expected to take more ownership over their learning.

​Working to Broaden the Definition of Success 

Guest post for EdWeek by Jennifer Ferrari: success is narrowly defined, and the measure that ultimately determine our value as good/bad educators does not accurately correspond to our work, our efforts to prepare our kids for bright futures.

Q&A with Sami Smith: Middle School Mentor Teacher at CICS West Belden

Mastery Communications Week: Mastery-based learning is different than traditional learning. It’s is a student-centered process as opposed to traditional teaching, which is more one-and-done. With traditional learning, teachers teach, kids learn, then they do a “thing”—like a paper, project, or tests.

A virtual tour of blended-learning schools, so others can see how it’s done

From The Hechinger Report, by Nichole Dobo: featuring CICS West Belden, one of six schools considered leaders in innovation are featured online​.

SPOTLIGHT | Video