At its core, personalized learning is about recognizing that no two students learn exactly the same way. It moves beyond the one-size-fits-all approach by focusing on each student’s strengths, needs and learning pace. By creating more flexible, student-centered classrooms, personalized learning empowers students to take ownership of their education, developing the skills they need to thrive both academically and personally.

To learn more about how districts are integrating innovative instructional practices and data-driven tools for more personalized learning, EdSurge spoke with Dr. Joseph Mancuso, Superintendent of Eastern York School District, and Michael Calvert, Director of Elementary Education at South Allegheny School District. Their Pennsylvania districts are using real-time data to inform instruction, foster student ownership of learning and support teachers in meeting the varied needs of their students.

EdSurge: What inspired your districts to shift to more personalized instructional practices?

Mancuso: When I entered the district in 2018, Eastern York already had innovative practices in place, such as K-5 coding and STEM initiatives. As superintendent, I wanted to explore these practices further. I asked teachers if they wanted to move forward and how we could get there. From their responses, we began developing a plan to set a new vision for the district.

In October 2018, we brought everyone together in our auditorium to watch “Most Likely to Succeed,” which showcased personalized learning. Additionally, my administrators studied innovative school models at various locations. We examined Battelle for Kids and the Portrait of a Graduate, among other experiences.

Next, we collaborated with a thought partner on a framework around modern learning that embedded the Portrait of a Graduate model. In April 2019, we began our journey to personalize learning. Our approach focused on addressing learner variability — how students learn at different rates — and tailoring instruction on an individual basis.

We've branded our district with the belief that there’s no average student; every student has a jagged learning profile. In our district now, we talk about designing, teaching and learning to the edges, which is our personalized approach.

Calvert: We follow the data as a district. We’re not just talking about the [Pennsylvania System of School Assessments], but our formative data and what we see in classrooms. Our building data showed that the number of students proficient in math was not sufficient. We needed to improve that number and send kids to middle school proficient in math. Even the formative data in classrooms showed a greater variety of needs, with students at different levels of learning in every classroom. We obviously needed to change our approach to math to identify what each student needed and tailor instruction accordingly.

What initial obstacles did you face when you began your transformations?

Calvert: The biggest obstacle was getting teachers up to speed and supporting them in their practice. It wasn’t about buy-in but instead helping teachers feel comfortable making changes successfully. This involved professional development, providing space for collaboration, sharing best practices and challenges, and offering administrative support. We gave teachers the opportunity to fail, succeed and learn from mistakes.

McGraw Hill has been an excellent partner in helping us design support for our teachers. Our main challenge was ensuring that as we asked teachers to change their practice, we could hear them, support them, provide necessary professional development and offer trust and opportunities to work together to get it right.

Mancuso: For us, it was important to develop a shared understanding of personalized learning: how we as a district define it and what it looks like in classrooms. We focused on implementing this systematically rather than on a small scale.

Our professional development was centered on helping teachers move from a teacher-centered classroom to a student-centered one. Once we established that, we focused on scaling it. We created a common glossary of terms, so when teachers come into the district, we’ve defined what these concepts mean specifically at Eastern York.

What have you found that teachers and students need most to succeed in a modern learning environment?

Mancuso: To support teachers, we found that data analysis with prescriptive plans is crucial, along with technology for flexible grouping and small-group instruction. We’re exploring resources that allow teachers to assist multiple groups simultaneously, access grade-level content, remediate struggling students and accelerate others. Teachers have expressed a need for a repository of resources for creating learning plans, which has been key in implementing personalized learning.

For students, they need to know who they are as learners. We start talking about learner profiles and how [those profiles] connect to students. When we ask them to make choices in their learning, they need to know why they’re making that choice. So now we’re talking about student ownership and student agency.

How has McGraw Hill helped you use student performance data better?

Calvert: McGraw Hill Plus for PreK-12 helps teachers effectively use student performance data by integrating various sources, including ALEKS, Reveal Math assignments and assessments, and NWEA MAP. Rather than spending time pulling, organizing and analyzing data from these sources individually, the Standards and Skills Graphs enable teachers to easily use a more complete picture of student progress. Additionally, McGraw Hill Plus enables our educators to quickly form groups and assign specific learning activities for personalization.

Mancuso: We have data in front of us consistently and constantly. Whenever we use an exit ticket or create a new assignment, we have new student data for teachers to analyze.

We’ve become much more data-rich because the information is readily available for teachers to use, rather than having to do manual analysis. Teachers can easily navigate through the McGraw Hill tools to build optimal student groups and be ready for the next day’s lesson.

What additional advice or insights would you offer to other districts considering similar shifts toward personalized instruction and innovative practices?

Mancuso: We took a systematic, methodical approach to personalizing learning in our district. We used the design process, which we teach even to kindergarten students, to transform our district. My advice is to know why you’re doing this and take your time.

Start by knowing what you want to accomplish and why. Change management is crucial to this process. Consider the steps to work with your administrative team, who will then work with your teaching staff. Think about how you’ll share this with families, as many parents didn’t learn this way.

Calvert: First, personalization is the right thing to do, and your students are worth it! During the change process, ensure that you create a vision around the need for personalization (answer the "why") and what instruction should ideally look like. Pay careful attention to processes and systems that will support teachers and students. We updated our master schedule to increase and maximize time spent in math blocks, created daily professional learning communities (PLCs), differentiated the PLCs to include grade-level and content-area team time and created shared folders to facilitate the sharing of resources.

Professional learning opportunities are also critical. We scheduled different types of professional learning with McGraw Hill to include onsite and virtual training, onsite coaching days and virtual office hours for teachers to ask questions and get embedded support. Most importantly, administrators encouraged and rewarded change efforts, supported teachers as they learned from mistakes or challenges and fostered communication and collaboration.

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To hear from classroom teachers in Calvert and Mancuso’s districts about their experience with personalization, read How Two Teachers Use Advanced AI to Personalize Math Instruction.