August 9, 2017

Dear KPBSD families,

Welcome to a new school year in the KPBSD! Our district is very excited to have all of our students, staff, and parents back in school. We are committed to meeting the needs of every individual student every day. This is an integral part of our overall philosophy of strong, positive relationships and providing a high quality educational experience for all of our students.

As the year begins, I ask you to think about how your child would answer this question,

“Where do you want your learning to take you and how can KPBSD help you get there?”

We want to directly connect your child to rigorous learning that is relevant and an excellent preparation for life, college, and the careers they will encounter after high school. The deliberate integration of personalized learning (PL) into every classroom in the school district over the next three years will accomplish this KPBSD goal. Personalized Learning in KPBSD empowers every student to reach their lifelong learning potential.

I recognize that you may have questions concerning personalized learning and what this will entail for your child or children. Please contact your school principal directly with your questions. Additionally, if you have questions, or want to learn more, please visit the KPBSD Personalized Learning Blog, and check out the FAQs. There’s also a link on the KPBSD homepage www.kpbsd.org, and more information at the end of this letter.

We invite parents and community members to join us by volunteering in the schools and becoming involved in partnerships to support students. In order to be successful, schools need the help of parents and community members. It is also critical for our youth to know that their parents, guardians, relatives, and friends are supportive of their schooling process. A child without this support may at times feel at a loss to find the necessary focus to excel at his or her studies.

I hope to see you in the coming months and wish you a great start to this school year. We look forward to another outstanding year!

Sincerely,

Sean Dusek, Superintendent

Click to Learn more about PL, or read on:

Personalized Learning in KPBSD
Personalized learning shifts from a one-size-fits-all factory model of education to better prepare students for the jobs and needs of their future. The design of instruction and the classroom allow educators to respond to the individual needs of students instead of expecting students to fit the current mold or adapt to unsuccessful learning structures. PL does not replace teachers with computers. Many of our teachers implement elements of PL in their classrooms right now, and we will now build on this foundation to create an even better learning environment. Key elements your child will experience include:

• Teachers offer flexible content and tools, which allow for  differentiated path, pace, and performance tasks based on individual student needs
• Teachers use targeted instruction based on specific student needs and learning goals
• Teachers use current and relevant data to help inform instructional decisions and groupings
• Students engage in ongoing self-reflection that promotes ownership of their learning

When will PL formally start in KPBSD schools?

Every KPBSD school is doing some degree of work with personalized learning. However, the formal work of individual schools and teachers working directly toward personalized learning will be rolled out in three “waves” over the next year.

• Wave 1 schools began their work in spring 2017, and will continue in the fall of 2017.
• Wave 2 schools will begin their formal work with Education Elements in the fall of 2017.
• Wave 3 schools will begin their formal work with Education Elements in the spring of 2018.

Links
Personalized Learning webpage
KPBSD Personalized Learning Blog

Personalized Learning FAQs