By CHRISTINE HAINES
California Area School District is one of seven recipients of a Moonshot Grant from Remake Learning.
Remake Learning made the selection from 90 applicants who were asked to envision what education should be like in 10 years. California Area Superintendent Dr. Laura Jacob proposed new paths, paces and places for education, and the grant will allow the district to explore those options next year.
“This will pay for a staff member, salary and benefits,” Jacob said. “Each child in the program will have their own individualized instruction plan, just like a child who has a disability. If you’re reading at a third-grade level and doing math at sixth-grade, you’ll be educated at that level.”
Jacob said the program will initially be limited to about 30 students and participation will be voluntary.
“The children who participate in this program will get no grades,” she said. “They’ll just get feedback on their work. Studies have shown that when you get an A, learning stops, and when you fail, you give up.”
Participants will still take the same standardized tests as other students, but their progress will undergo other assessments to evaluate engagement and other learning aspects.
Jacob said the participants won’t be selected from a particular grade level, nor will they be placed in a particular grade level.
“I’m going to do a presentation at the school board meeting and at the PTO,” she said. “I’ll leave it open for parents who want their child to participate.”
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