Students in the Springfield School District will now be able to customize their education. The district will allow students to take courses outside of the classroom through a new education model that school officials say will attract more students and better prepare them for college.
Springfield schools are now implementing what they call blended learning. The program allows students develop their own way of navigating through school. Students can choose from several available options, such as traditional high school classes or post-secondary college courses and the district’s online school to complete their required courses and electives.
Springfield's Superintendent of Schools, David Estrop, says the program was developed with the help of community input.
"We started listening to the community through our community forums on what they wanted. What they said was, is that we want to be able to customize and personalize our educational programs for our children.We heard that exactly from our students too, particularly at the high school level," Estrop said.
Several schools are participating in this program: the Keifer Academy Alternative program, Clark Career Tech Center, Springfield's K -12 online virtual school and The Learning Cafe after school program.
Estrop says the flexibility and options offered by the blended curriculum will draw more students and families to the city's school system.
"We as consumers expect to have choices and expect to be able to customize and personalize services and products. Very rarely, is there one size that fits all anymore," he said.
The school district says it stands to save money with the blended curriculum, since more students will be attracted to the district and the dropout rates should fall.