April 1, 2016
The Garfield Middle School has been chosen as one of two schools statewide to participate in a $450,000 grant program by the Center for Collaborative Education – a grant that will try to bring the middle school in line with the high school’s Student Centered Learning model.
“It will be an effort to expand what’s happening at the high school already,” said Supt. Dianne Kelly. “We want to have Student-Centered Learning at all schools in the future. This will be the first time we’ve expanded the model beyond the high school, which is significant.” The Center for Collaborative Education said the time is now to change the way teachers introduce information to students.
“As the state’s student population grows more diverse, the one-size-fits-all model of schooling from the past will not close achievement gaps or produce citizens who are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and entrepreneurial spirit that will be necessary for success in the 21st century,” explains Dan French, Executive Director of the Center for Collaborative Education. “With the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), schools, districts and states have the opportunity to shift away from the traditional approach of schooling to one that enables the increasing diversity of our students to excel in relevant and rigorous instruction and real-life assessments of progress.”
