To support students’ and family members’ understanding of how a student is performing in school while also working to increase student agency of their learning, teachers at Henry B. Gonzalez Personalized Learning Academy of Dallas Independent School District participated in student-led conferences.
Austin ISD created and maintained a community-wide partnership to increase “arts-rich” opportunities for all students in the pandemic.
To improve internet access during remote learning, Austin ISD partnered with the local housing authority to identify locations where students were under connected. Buses equipped with hotspots were then parked in strategic locations across the city to improve connectivity.
The shift to remote learning at Austin ISD created an opportunity for new collaboration across the district, including grade-alike professional learning communities (PLCs). To maximize the collaboration time, the Austin ISD academic team developed an orientation for teachers to learn about PLCs.
Leveraging the shift to remote schooling, Austin ISD fostered cross-district collaboration between teachers and leaders from across the city.
Weekly, one-to-one conferences supported by all staff members to aid in student development of academic skills, goal setting, and personal relationship building.
Teacher guide on how to structure and hold a one-to-one student conference with options for three different structures:
An advice-based conference with a focus on relationship building
An assessment-based conference with a focus on designing instruction
A reflection-based conference with a focus on setting and monitoring goals
This communication sent from the district to families and students explained the launch of and thinking behind the virtual personalized learning days. The document contains links to guiding choice boards for projects in early childhood, elementary, middle, and high school grade levels. All of the choice boards are aligned to the competencies of the district’s graduate profile.
This video, featuring students, introduces the THRIVE on Five virtual personalized learning days piloted at Liberty Public Schools. This was an initiative developed in partnership with students as a result of the switch to remote learning at the start of the pandemic. On Fridays, students got to pick the activities they completed on a choice board and students were encouraged to share their learnings with peers, family members, and on social media.
A professional development slide deck on how to self-assess the quality of a student conference.
