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Dear Friends,

At The Learning Accelerator (TLA), we’re deeply passionate about ensuring that every child has a highly engaging, effective, and equitable education that prepares them to reach their full potential. Our efforts, which focus on connecting practitioners and leaders with the knowledge, tools, and networks they need to transform learning, are simply impossible without those of the amazing educators all across the country working to make student experiences more personalized, mastery-based, and data-informed on a day-to-day basis.

So, as we head into this week of Thanksgiving, the TLA team is especially grateful for all the teachers and leaders who have opened their doors - classroom, office, or otherwise - to show what can be possible for kids and families. Thank you.

Beth Rabbitt, CEO


Recent Highlights
Innovation Directors Network
TLA launched the Innovation Directors Network (IDN) this June in Denver, CO, bringing together system leaders from around the country who are charged with scaling innovation initiatives across their districts and school management organizations.

With participants serving a highly diverse group of over 800,000 students nationwide, the IDN’s goal is to accelerate collective learning through knowledge development, sharing, and evidence-building. Through ongoing virtual and in-person meetings, this network is collaboratively identifying and testing approaches for solving commonly-held problems and sharing that knowledge broadly with the field.

Follow us on Twitter @LearningAccel with the hashtag #TLAInnovationDirectors to receive updates on the work. On Giving Tuesday, you can help TLA further the work of our IDN cohort. Visit our fundraiser on Mightycause to donate and support innovation.
Innovation Directors Network group smiling at camera at first convening
TLA 2019 Measurement Fellows
TLA launched our annual measurement fellowship in 2017 to build the pipeline of relevant and actionable research for blended and personalized learning. We're excited to announce the Independent Study cohort of our 2019 Measurement Fellowship:
  • Dr. Edward Cremata of Aspire Public Schools, CA will be investigating how blended learning approaches are currently used across Aspire, and how data and systems can be used to capture, share knowledge, and provide appropriate support across the organization.

  • Cecil Short of Brigham Young University, UT will be determining what performance-based tasks and artifacts would present a valid, adequate means of scaffolding and measuring teachers’ blended teaching competence.

  • Dr. Joshua Tabor of Denton Independent School District, TX will be exploring what drove Denton ISD's version of blended learning, and whether the chosen method of blended learning delivers content to students in an effective manner.
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This year, TLA is also offering a Partner Studies fellowship, which will be research on blended learning driven by the needs of a specific school system that has partnered with TLA to collaborate on testing and adaptation of blended practices. We will be accepting applications for Partner Studies until November 30, 2018. Apply here.
Learning Commons Playlists
The ability to create, save, and share playlists of professional learning content from multiple expert resource providers has proven to be a favorite feature of the Learning Commons. For example, our content partners (and TLA) have been creating playlists based on content shared during sessions at important conferences and convenings. And school districts have been using playlists to model personalized learning and differentiate professional development, creating multiple pathways to allow adult learners to build their skill based on their specific needs and interests.

Check out these examples of popular playlists and explore more at the Learning Commons.



Coming Soon
Register for the 2019 Blended & Personalized Learning Conference!
On April 4-6, the Highlander Institute and The Learning Accelerator will showcase the best classroom, school, and district implementers from across the nation at our 2019 Blended & Personalized Learning Conference in Providence, RI. This event is a chance for educators and leaders to discuss blended learning as it exists today on the ground – both in terms of day-to-day implementation in blended classrooms, and the strategies and systems that have effectively supported replication and scale across schools and districts. 
Graphic advertisement for the Blended and Personalized Learning Conference
TLA will be hosting an invite-only, full-day workshop on Friday, April 5, designed to bring advanced practitioners and leaders together to share learnings and tackle collective impact challenges. Registration for this day (which includes a few application questions) and the full conference is now open. Join us!
Open Educational Resources
High-quality open educational resources (OER) hold incredible promise as a tool for equitably improving classroom instruction while freeing up critical financial resources. TLA is in the middle of a six-month project to investigate the current state of OER practice in non-traditional school models. Early next year, we will share strategies emerging from the field for how to implement OER with fidelity at the classroom and system levels, including a series of case studies of real-world strategies and guidance for OER leaders on how to modify current options and/or future products. If you would like to share your insights and strategies with us, we would love to hear from you and welcome you to contact Jennifer Wolfe.