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Students and the stories they share regarding the feeling of empowerment they have learning in this instructional model.

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This picture is a group of girls who are participating in a student led tutoring session. The Connect model of instruction builds strong trusting relationships. Students have the confidence and skill set to tutor/mentor their peers. Along with academic success, we are building a sense of community where students are happy to work together and support each other.

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We have seen so much change and growth in the culture of Shannon High School. Every teacher and student feels so much more fufilled and student success is skyrocketing

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I continue to do this work because of the girls. Claudia joined KIPP in 2010 as a 6th grader who didn't speak much English. I was her math teacher and advisor. Claudia remained a KIPPster through 2017, when she graduated from KNCP at the top of her class. Seeing her progress through middle & high school and now at UT keeps me grounded and reminds me that our students can and will rise to any challenge we set before them!

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This is a picture of my 9th grade, informal, "lunch chat" group. We talk about school and get a gauge for how they are feeling and how they are being supported by the school. It also reminds me of how old I am since they don't listen the cool music I listen to. They are awesome students and they only get one chance at HS so we have to work with a sense of urgency to provide a phenomenal student experience everyday.

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Kindergarten student excited about the work and wants to improve! Even Kinder Kids can set, track and achieve goals!

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I continue to do this work because I love to see the smiles and joy that are all over our students' and teachers' faces that have successfully "experimented" with Blended Learning implementation. The confidence that this student is exuding in his pose is exactly what we want ALL of our students to have in learning!

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I see the level of engagement and motivation in students to continue growing and learning. They are excited about working on what they need through their agency and engaged in meaningful work, all the while having fun with their friends. Our scholars can communicate with regards to data, goals and successes.

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I continue to this work because it is all about kids and what awaits them. How we were taught, is no longer enough in order to meet the demands of the 21st century. We have to adapt our classrooms to be able to teach and capture a different generation of students. Students want to be engaged, valued, and respected. They want to be able to take control of their learning and lead. We want change agents, creators, and problem solvers. Blended Learning allows for that to take place.

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In our profession everything we do is for the kids. We are preparing them for a future that is still being developed. We are working to meet their educational and social needs but in a way that doesn't leave anyone behind. We can't teach to the middle and be focussed on a test that we forget about our actual mission, to prepare students for their fututre.

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We must help students become independent thinkers.

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One day, the generation of students I educate will be responsible for my care. I care about this work, because I want smart, caring, loving, compassionate people taking care of me so I can act like this...

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I continue to do this work to support the specific needs of all my students and staff. These students and staff deserve my best effort on a daily basis. Hard work has is its rewards not only academically but spiritually and socially. These students worked hard to reach a goal and was rewarded for their efforts.

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After a formal observation in a kinder class, I reflected and compared the teacher's instructional practices from last year to this year. I saw tremendous growth in the teacher's practices within one year. I saw students, as pictured above, monitoring their progress and tracking mastery of their TEKS. I saw students creating flipped videos to share with their teacher and peers. I saw students motivated and engaged all the while smiling and having fun at their station... All in a kinder bilingual classroom!
Gone are the days when we limited students' capacities. The possibilities are certainly endless.
I see the tremendous value in analyzing data and using it to address students' weaknesses. The data gives us direction on how to approach an individualized student's instructional needs and drives how students/teachers/parents view the data and learning.

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It's so many things. I think for me a big part of it is seeing the work that's been done with little ones.....building their agency has been a great thing to see. They have been able to verbalize their mastery and progress and speak to us about what a SMART goal is. I'm curious and excited to see what they will look like academically in a couple of years. In addition, it really comes back to the data. The data tells a story. A large part of our work comes back to the data. Teachers are looking and studying the data like they've never done before. It's great to see. The work is much more intentional.

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These pictures are from a 'Dad Date' I went on with my four-year-old son Spencer. Spencer is the third of my four children. For his 'Dad Date,' Spencer chose to go to the local Friday night football game. My kids like to go to to the football games because I get access to the press box where they have hot dogs, nachos, and soda. Spencer had a blast talking to anyone and everyone who would listen. The topics ranged from dinosaurs and power rangers to what he ate for lunch that day and why he chose the orange soda. As you can see in the images, he was quite worn out at the end of the night.

I believe in the value of the work I am doing as part of Raising Blended Learners because of the impact it will have on my own four children. Each of them is unique, and each of them loves their own time with daddy on our Dad Dates. The same goes for the students in our schools today. Every student is unique, and every student benefits from being able to make their own choices and owning their learning. They will also benefit from the personalized experience their teachers can create for them as part of Blended Learning.

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I love this picture for the simple fact that these one-on-one conversations are taking place. Here is a teacher and student reviewing student data and having a conversation about where to go next. The student is able to identify points of weakness because of the transparency that enables her to see and interact with her own data.

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I know that others are counting on me and depending on me to continue to do this work.

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Our students are owning the work that they do. In this picture a group of second graders are reviewing their Unit 3 goals. Student Agency at work!

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To see middle school students empowered with their learning validates the need and impact of personalized learning. Many of these students are first year students and to hear them plan, collaborate and articulate what they are learning is absolutely amazing!

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My story is probably not as compelling and as aligned as others, but to see a senior who has struggled all of his life academically go to college half a day every day to prepare himself for his career choice is SO encouraging to me. This young man has a smile on his face a mile wide whenever you ask him how he is doing in school. We are so proud of him.

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I have worked in this school system for almost 30 years. Being in a Title 1 school environment can sometimes feel like a constant uphill, losing battle with no way to ever catch up or make it to the summit of successful learning. Our students often come to school with a deficit in vocabulary skills and "ready to learn" skills. We work and they work, and everyone tries very hard, however, we often are not able to help them get to where they need to be academically successful. Blended Learning, from the moment I first was exposed to the concept in 2015, is the answer for our students to have the chance to find the lion in them. Things fell in place at the right time for us to be able to bring this to Ozona and with it comes the opportunity for our students to realize their dream to become The Lion in Me. We are the Ozona Lions. Lions are confident and successful in their place in the world. Lions are not afraid of a challenge, and they are proficient in the skills necessary to be successful in their environment. More than test scores, more than accountability grades, more than anything, I want our students to realize their full potential and believe that they can reach the summit of that potential. My hope for them is the reason I am able to get up early, stay late and work as hard as necessary so that each one believes that the lion they see in the mirror is an attainable goal. I am so grateful for the opportunity to bring Blended Learning to Ozona because this work provides the pathway for each one to achieve the reality of The Lion in Me.

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There is a specific quote from one of our students in this video that just hits home for me, "whenever you are seeking the learning instead of learning being forced upon you." My goal has always been to enhance student learning through encouraging teachers to empower students to take ownership of their learning, because that is when real change in education happens.

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The Student Voice_ Student Engagement - Kara Ledkins.mp4

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A magnifying glass represents this work for me because through it all, learning becomes vividly transparent to student, teacher, and leadership team.

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I want to help students become the best person they can possibly be. Better than they even though possible. I want school to be a safe fun place where students want to come and learn every single day.

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I continue to do this work because I believe just as no two people are the same, no two educational journeys are the same, and no two post secondary pathways are the same. The only constant should be that we as educators are providing our students with the building blocks to succeed no matter what they choose to do. We must rise to meet the needs of our students, not bring them down to meet our expectations of them.

I look at my own family and I see people with all types of educational backgrounds and paths. My mother went to both private school and boarding school for her primary and secondary education in Australia. She went to college to be a nurse and that was her career. However, she went back to school for fun and focused on marine biology when she was in her 40s and 50s. My dad barely graduated from high school. He got a job with the weather bureau right out of high school and then traveled the world with the air force. When my sister and I were in high school he finally went to college and received his bachelors in history. My husband struggled through school due to his dyslexia and dropped out of college. However, he can conceptualize a boat from start to finish and is a general manager of a very successful boat company. I on the other hand was successful in primary and secondary school with minimal effort and have continued my post secondary education through to my masters. A common thread with all of us is that none of us really enjoyed school. My Dad and husband hated it because they struggled with their learning disabilities and were considered stupid. My Mom never felt challenged and I was bored. We were all taught in a traditional style classroom with no differentiation. My Mom and I were always told we would succeed, while my Dad and husband we told that they were failures.

Now I have two nieces, two nephews, and a son. One of my nieces is in daycare and is focusing on her A,B,Cs and reading beginner books. My nephew Parker is in a traditional, third grade classroom and is striving; I was told he has read 700,000 words this year alone. My other nephew Campbell, also in third grade, has struggled since day one. He goes to tutoring three days a week for reading and math, his mother is fearful of him taking the STAAR test, and considered retaining him. This year he is in a blended learning classroom and he is doing much better. He shares his grades with me and he really likes math. I cannot attribute all of his success to blended learning and differentiation, but I do know if has played a part in his improvement this school year. My oldest niece is in seventh grade and she is in a Summit Learning school and loves it. She stops me daily o tell me what she has mastered or about the goals she has set. She is thriving and is ahead; she is motivated to do well. She is not bored and always has something that she is working on. She is already planning for high school because she wants to focus on STEM. I see her success and enthusiasm and that is what I want for all students. I want them to find their educational niche and to run with it and see where it takes them.

There is such a contrast between the education my parents, husband and I received and what my nieces and nephews are getting. I find it encouraging to think that as educators we can adjust and adapt to meet the various needs our students have to help them succeed. It makes me optimistic for the education my own son will receive.

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Video - Armando from Ysleta ES. He is new to YISD - from another district. Armando says that he absolutely LOVES school! He's new to YISD/blended, but articulates in his own words that he's successful and challenged here in our district.
If we focus on our "WHY" - students, then it's worth the effort to continue to challenge the status quo!

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I believe in the combined impact of academic achievement, socio-political awareness and critical consciousness, and I think that blended learning has the potential to support students experiencing all three of these components of culturally relevant pedagogy.

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Through disruptive innovation we have transformed the old institutional model of learning and replace it with a station rotation model to meet the needs of all our students. By redesigning our delivery of instruction and incorporating new structures we can support all our students in their learning. The teacher is now available to provide targeted interventions on a daily basis based on data. Students progress monitor using TEKS Trackers and are able to verbalize why they are engaged in learning activities. Goal setting and mentoring sessions with the teacher have been an integral part of developing student agency and building teacher student relationships.

Our journey began with one pilot teacher at each elementary campus and we are now in the process of transitioning both campuses to blended learning across all grade levels. The initial results were evident in classroom culture and student agency. Our struggling learners now could spend time daily with the teacher and receive extra support they needed. Although our focus was not on STAAR results we did see that our bilingual students were performing at higher levels than ever before. The performance gap between EL’s and the general education students was closing. The extra supports provided through flipped videos and online resources on the platform were helping our bilingual students. This inspired other bilingual teachers and interest in the work began to spread.

There has been push back and tears along the way because changing teacher practice is not an easy task. To support the work, campus leaders have restructured the master schedule and established structures for data meetings, discovery driven planning and collaborative work spaces. We are still in the midst of shifting the pendulum to a more student centered approach with the goal of personalized instruction for all students.

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I continue to do this work because I feel as though it is my way of paying it forward. Great teachers and mentors once helped me become college ready, workplace ready and simply put; future ready. It is now my turn to help our students do just that!

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Portrait of a Graduate - Karen Lopez.PNG

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I continue to do this work to reinvigorate our teachers and provide them with power over their learning environments! When our teachers are energized and passionate about the work they are doing, it impacts our students' experience and academic achievement. Through this work, many teachers are saying that they finally feel like they have control back and feel equipped to meet the needs of their individual students! Personalized learning has created an excitement and dedication to the work that is unparalleled.

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I continue to do this work because I have a 1 year old grand daughter who is already a digital native. I want her to experience learning that is designed to engage, grow, and provide relevance to her.

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I continue to do this work because it is evident that our students have truly assumed control of their learning and developed a growth mindset, which has translated into the closing of academic gaps and great academic growth. This picture is of a 4th grade bilingual student in her second year of blended learning. She is explaining to Regional Blended Learning Showcase participants how she sets goals, tracks her learning, and determines the skills to focus upon at her station.

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The joy a kid experience when they have mastered objectives and have grown in their learning journey.

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I want to continue this work because I am confident that we are on the right track to maximize all students' potential to better prepare them for the college or career of their choice. Honestly, this work is personal for me....My own kids are enrolled in our public education system and not only do I want the best for them, but I want the best for all students. The attached picture is from one of my personal Facebook posts from August 2018. In my post I am sharing some information about my oldest son Phillip who is 19. Overall, he is a well-mannered kid that is charismatic and social. He knew how to play the educational system; he passed his TSI in high school, did enough to pass his classes, earned dual enrollment credits, and would ask for extra credit or extensions if he fell behind. According to our standards, he graduated from HS as a distinguished graduate that was college and career ready. In my heart, I know that he is capable of doing so much more, but he never felt the urgency to try harder. (By the way, I am only the nagging mother, so why would he listen to me.) With that being said, I also have Daniel (11 year old, 6th grader) and Elise (6 year old, kindergartner) and I want more for them from their public education experience. Daniel is currently in a flex model at school and he comes home excited to tell me about passing assessments, he can talk to me about the content he is learning, and he routinely tells me when does or doesn't set goals. Coincidentally, Daniel even spoke with a university professor during the RBL showcase and shared how he was working on a storyboard and had to work on the resolution of the story. I was so proud to hear him talk about his learning. For transparency, Daniel has always just thought of school being "blah," but I have noticed a difference in how he talks with me about his learning. Last but not least, I have Elise. She is curious, creative and she loves learning. She tells me about goals that she is setting and is eager to use online programs to extend her learning experience when she is at home. While all three of my kids are very different, I can see a change in the learning experiences that Daniel and Elise have compared to Phillip's. Additionally, as I walk into classrooms and talk to students, I see the same similarities that my own children have with other students. While the district is not where we need to be with blended learning implementation, I can say that I have seen the tremendous amount of progress that has been made and we must continue to make adjustments, refine practices, and move forward.

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I continue to do this work because it's important for ALL students.

Education should be ahead of the curve when it comes to educating children but unfortunately we are caught in a loop...repeating the same things over and over, regardless of whether it is beneficial for kids. Students are unique individuals and begin school with varying experiences. How can we expect them to be successful when we offer a blanket approach to acquiring knowledge? Blended learning provides a framework for students to be their very best, unique person. How can we NOT provide this same opportunity for EVERY student?

I continue this work because it is important for ALL students!

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The children entrusted to our care are all unique and are in the process of creating their own story. It is my job to lead our organization so that each of these children have personalized learning that build upon their strengths and is customized to their unique needs and goals. The K-12 chapter we create in Mineola ISD with them is critical to their success in further chapters of their life.

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I continue to do this work because it's the right thing to do for our students. The picture represents the diversity of our school and my why.

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My motivation when Birdville ISD embarked on Blended Learning was and continues to be the future of education. I imagine for my granddaughters (and all students) a school experience that is personalized and meaningful. I want my girls to have every possible learning experience that allows them to pursue any dreams they have for the future.

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I believe we must, as educators, prepare the students for a world that doesn't exist yet. In doing this work I have discovered the need to prepare not only the students but parents for a world their children will be leader in.

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These two snapshots combine to tell the story I keep in my mind every day about why we do this work. The top shows a young man who started in our very first blended room. He wasn't a trouble maker, but he was just "there". Lost in math and floating through never engaging and never getting the help he needed. Blended enabled us to "find" this young man and target his needs. His growth has been astounding! The bottom shot shows the other side of our blended program. The student who needed to be pushed, who needed to have more competency based work and progression. She has called blended "freedom" because she has the ability to learn at her pace and to move ahead. Similarly, her growth has been wonderful. These two students have been in our RBL classrooms from day one and are the two images that immediately pop into my mind when the days get long and hard.

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I continue to do this work because I know what is possible when you personalize learning. We have seen the academic gains, and every child deserves to reach possible outcomes today.

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I continue to do this work so that my son (7th grader) and other kiddos will have the tools to access unlimited opportunities in school and life (College and Career Readiness, Habits of Success, Self-Directed Learning)

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I continue to do this work because the benefits and successes that go far beyond measurable student achievement give me chills. The picture depicts a 5th grader and his teacher in a goal setting session in which the student is writing weekly goals. The student expressed the desire to "get better in science." The teacher asked, "what does 'get better' mean?" The student continued to explain using data from two sources that his science performance is lower than he hoped and he plans on a career in marine biology, so he has to be great in science. The teacher continued the conversation to assist the student in identifying three different learning opportunities to help him meet his goal. The immeasurable benefits are unspoken in the conversation. The strong bond evident between a student, taking charge of his learning and a caring educator is indescribable. One of the problems PIISD sought to solve was student apathy. To listen to a 5th grade student quote two sources of data, with data points over time to justify his desire to improve in science was impressive. The act of students setting career related goals, and measuring their progress against themselves, rather than arbitrary performance standards is the true art of teaching and learning. In the past, this student, being a high achiever, would have never gained this level of one on one attention from his teacher or been encouraged to excel beyond "passing the test." This demonstration of student ownership of their learning is what keeps me going in my 31st year in education.

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I continue to do this work because it's important for ALL students.

Education should be ahead of the curve when it comes to educating children but unfortunately we are caught in a loop...repeating the same things over and over, regardless of whether it is beneficial for kids. Students are unique individuals and begin school with varying experiences. How can we expect them to be successful when we offer a blanket approach to acquiring knowledge? Blended learning provides a framework for students to be their very best, unique person. How can we NOT provide this same opportunity for EVERY student?

I continue this work because it is important for ALL students!