FTK

One of the ACE Teaching Fellows' favorite sayings is "FTK," which stands for "for the kids." Everything we do, we do on behalf of the students we serve. So how is the Higher-Powered Learning Program impacting students?

We posed this question to the teachers and school leaders of the HPLP schools in the Twin Cities at our most recent professional development session, which served as a great time for the BLASTs (Blended Learning Advancement and Strategy Teams) to reflect on their progress and their participation in the program more generally. The responses we received were so moving that we decided to share them with you today.

Straight from the hearts and minds of the teachers and school leaders of the HPLP in Minnesota, here is how blended learning is impacting the students we serve:

"I love how invested my students have become in their learning...They're having conversations about their learning and the games that they are playing. They're slowly becoming more aware of their own progress and how far they are coming in their learning." - Third grade teacher

"My students love it! One student comes to my back table at least once a week and says, "I wonder what we are meeting about today? I just love our meetings!" They are all starting to understand the growth mindset piece of everyone having their own pathway and how neat is it that we all learn in our own special way. It is really fun to be a part of these conversations." - Second grade teacher

"My students champion for each other and are excited about the learning of their classmates." - Third grade teacher

"I feel that Higher-Powered Learning has helped my students to dive into the 'why' instead of being on the surface of the 'what' when it comes to learning. I also feel that my students have begun to reflect more on their learning and are more willing to share their work with me and what they are struggling with whenever we meet in small groups." - Middle school ELA teacher

"Blended learning has helped our students cultivate a growth mindset. Recently, a student reflected on her growth award and said, 'I've never received an award before.' She was beaming!" - School leader

Our schools have not yet taken their mid-year diagnostic assessments that will reveal just how much academic growth their students have made in this short amount of time. We have no doubt that the academic growth will be significant, but as Catholic schools that are of human persons and for human persons, we are particularly proud of the impact blended learning is having on the growth of students as joyful, confident children of God.

Stay tuned to learn more about how the Higher-Powered Learning Program has impacted teachers in the coming weeks.