Arcadia Unified School District

Creating a “start-up” lab school for seventh graders: The district’s Rancho Lab School creates a culture in which middle school teachers and students are encouraged to innovate education through personalized, student-driven learning. With flexible seating, whiteboard walls and tables, and edtech pilot programs, the Rancho Lab School empowers students to take charge of their own education through exploration, collaboration, and technology.

Supporting teacher-driven professional development cohorts: Moving away from traditional professional development, Arcadia Unified established Small Working Arcadia Groups (SWAGs). Each SWAG meets seven times throughout the year to focus on their selected topic of interest, like how to best meet the needs of English language learners or how to implement a robotics or art curriculum.

Implementing personalized learning: In January 2018, Arcadia Unified began to pilot the AltSchool personalized learning platform. The district has since expanded the platform to hundreds of students across the district. Allowing students to work at their own pace and make choices about their educational path, the district embraces equity and excellence through individual goal setting, a competency-based approach to learning, and increased learner agency.