Submitted by Gerri St.Gelais, Principal
Note: The information in this profile represents SY2013-14 unless otherwise indicated.
School Overview
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School Description
Milan Village School is located in Milan, N.H., in the Milan School District. It first became interested in blended learning when it was looking for a way to not only better engage students but also provide them with the skills they would need in an increasing technological world. The school began experimenting with blended learning in SY2007-08, and when the state of New Hampshire moved toward a competency-based learning system, the school focused on how to leverage technology to aid in that transition. In SY2013-14, the school expanded the blended-learning program so students in every grade except pre-kindergarten engage in some amount of blended-learning each day.
Blended Learning Program
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Program Model
Program model: Station Rotation, Individual Rotation
Model Description
For math, kindergartners and first-graders use a Station Rotation model where they rotate at the teacher’s discretion between online learning using Khan Academy and offline-learning modalities, including whole-group, teacher-led instruction and individual or small-group collaborative work.
For core subjects, students in grades 2-6 use an Individual Rotation model where they rotate at the teacher’s discretion between online learning; whole-group, teacher-led instruction; independent learning; or small-group collaborative learning. Rather than using a rigid three-station in-class Rotation model, teachers direct individual students to different online- and offline-learning modalities based on the student’s individual learning needs as determined by weekly assessments.
Program Description
How much time do students spend on campus in this blended-learning program? How much of this time do students spend learning online or with educational software?
Students are on campus every day of the school week. Kindergartners and first-graders spend roughly 30-60 minutes online each school day. For students in grades 2-6, the amount of time spent learning online or using educational software varies from student-to-student depending on the students’ individual learning needs. Teachers have autonomy to decide which students use online learning and for how long. Some students may spend the whole day learning online, whereas others may spend only a short amount of time learning online depending on where the student is in the curriculum and from which modality they learn better.
Briefly describe the offline components of this blended-learning program.
When not learning online, students engage in small-group instruction; individual face-to-face instruction; and whole-group, teacher-led instruction. The school places a strong emphasis on project-based learning and experiential learning where students solve real-world problems. Students also receive some paper worksheets and assignments and engage in reading discussions.
How are the online and offline components of the program connected to provide an integrated learning experience for students? How do data from different learning modalities inform each other?
The school has put together what it calls “power teams,” which are groups of teachers who analyze online and offline student data and determine the best ways to use that data to improve student learning. Additionally, teachers give assessments at the beginning of a subject or lesson to gauge what each student knows, and they constantly gather online and offline student data that they can use to not only ensure student progress, but also to make on-the-fly changes in instruction for individual students.
How does this blended-learning program fit into the rest of the students’ school day?
Online instruction and use of educational software is used at varying times throughout the day.
What are the teachers’ roles and responsibilities in both the online and offline components of this blended-learning program?
Teachers have traditional responsibilities like leading whole-group instruction, conducting breakout sessions for small-group instruction, giving assessments, assigning worksheets, and grading work. But they also have other responsibilities, such as occasionally dictating how students will divide their time between online- and offline-learning modalities as well as collecting, analyzing, and acting on online and offline student data. The school makes it a point to give teachers autonomy over the learning in their classrooms and the school also tries to make sure that teachers do not lack for resources to help students learn.
What other adults are involved in this blended-learning program (e.g., paraprofessionals, learning coaches, counselors) and what are their roles and responsibilities?
In addition to classroom-based teachers, the school employs a computer technology teacher who comes to the classrooms to help students with their online coursework. The school also employs an IT professional who is on campus once every two weeks to assist with computer troubles or anything else related to the hardware. Additionally, the school principal assists teachers with the integration of technology in their classrooms and leads weekly professional development sessions to ensure teachers are comfortable engaging with the different learning modalities.
Briefly describe the set-up of physical space for this blended-learning program.
The physical setup of the blended-learning program differs depending on the classroom and the teacher. School administrators allow teachers to set up their classrooms as they see fit. Some teachers opt for a more traditional classroom with rows of desks and tables set up around the room for breakout sessions, whereas other teachers opt to make their classrooms look more like a Starbucks in which students have multiple areas in the room where they can learn and comfy chairs, sofas, or even bean bag chairs where they can sit instead of using desks or tables. The school doesn’t have banks of desktop computers because kindergartners and first-graders use iPads and all the other students have laptops.
How are students grouped within this blended-learning program?
For the online components of the blended-learning program, teachers group students by achievement that is determined by assessments given to students at the beginning of a unit or a particular lesson. The school tries to group students based on their individual needs, so the groups aren’t leveled by achievement alone but also based on the individual needs of the students according to the instruction they are receiving on that day. It does this by using short-term formative assessments in which students take an assessment on Monday that determines their groupings for that week.
Do students have some element of control over the pacing of their learning? Are students tied to a semester-based course schedule or can they complete courses at any time? Briefly describe any requirements or benchmarks in place to ensure student progress.
Students progress through the online courses at their own pace and can finish a course and move on to a new one as soon as they’ve demonstrated mastery. For example, some students might be working on complicated pre-Algebra problems while other students in the same math class are learning fractions.
Describe the academic results of the program, using quantitative data where possible.
The New Hampshire Department of Education, in partnership with Rhode Island Department of Education and Vermont Department of Education, has developed a common set of grade-level expectations. These expectations are known as the New England Common Assessment Program Grade-Level Expectations (NECAP) and test specifications in mathematics and reading. NECAP is administered in October in grades 3-8 and 11 in mathematics and reading. In 2012, the average score in mathematics across the state was 230 and the average score at Milan Village School was 250. The average score in reading was 249 across the state and 250 at Milan Village School.
Describe any financial impact this blended-learning program has had on your cost of operations. Use numbers when possible.
Despite adding a blended-learning program, the school has not had to make significant changes to its budget in the last five years. It has been able to do this by obtaining grants and donations from local businesses and other organizations and by moving money around. For example, instead of spending money on textbooks, the school spends money designated for textbooks on technology.
What have been the biggest obstacles in implementing this blended-learning program? What has needed adjustment along the way?
The biggest obstacle has been making sure all the teachers are on the same page when it comes to understanding what it means to blend a classroom. Another big obstacle initially was finding high-quality technology with which to start the personalized school model because a lot of the technology the school is currently using didn’t exist when the school first shifted to a more personalized model, so school administrators have had to let the technology catch up to their vision.
Links to webpages with more information about the program (news articles, blogs, etc.)
https://sites.google.com/a/sau20.org/mvs-ipad-site/
https://sites.google.com/a/sau20.org/saxon-grade-4/home
Have you or are you planning to scale your program model to more/other schools?
The school has no plans to scale its program at this time.
Contact Information
Name: Gerri St.Gelais
Title: Principal
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.milanvillageschool.org