Putting Students First

Springdale’s journey to personalization will inspire communities and educators. With a shared commitment to “putting students first”, Springdale has been able to turn challenges into opportunity. They never lose sight that personalization begins with understanding that both students and adults are learners. -- Chris Sturgis, Founder, Learning Edge and Competency Works
Transforming schools and systems requires vision, tenacity, and courage. As you read Putting Students First, you will find a narrative rich with specific practices that harness student voiced choice in meaningful ways. By personalizing education, the Springdale, AR School District is demonstrating that transformation is worth the journey. Immerse your heart in these pages! -- Deb Delisle, CEO, The Alliance for Excellent Education; Former Assistant Secretary of Education at the USDOE
Putting Students First is a book written from first-hand experience by an author who has been instrumental in designing and implementing “personalizing learning” in the Springdale Schools. Marsha Jones was a leader in fostering student-focused instruction in the Springdale Schools including the federally supported (Race to the Top) Don Tyson School of Innovation. Through the National Office for Research Measurement and Evaluation, we have served as evaluators for numerous programs in the Springdale School District, including the new Don Tyson School of Innovation. As evaluators we analyzed data and witnessed firsthand the student-focused concepts of this book being put into practice and the difference it makes in the lives of students. When students can make choices about the content or structure of learning and the school uses a variety of instructional approaches and curriculum materials to meet the learning needs of all students, students are motivated to achieve more. It is exciting that students today have the opportunity to be educated in a way that best benefits them resulting in them being much better prepared to take their place in a global society. This book is timely because it encompasses the benefits of personalized learning and the success educators and students have when student-focused instruction is implemented. -- Charles Stegman, Emeritus Professor and Former Dean, University of Arkansas
Putting Students First is an important contribution to the narrative of how student-focused educators are shaping the future of learning one classroom, school, and in this case, one district at a time. Unique because of the size of Springdale School District, this book tells an inspiring story that parallels the work we are seeing in smaller schools across Arkansas and the nation. Hearing the impact of this work directly from students underscores the transformation that happens when adults work to help students take charge of their learning; and thus, their futures. It reminds and energizes us to stay the course—it is a long, yet fruitful journey when you decide to put students first! -- Kathleen McClaskey, Founder of Make Learning Personal; Co-Author of Make Learning Personal (2014) and How to Personalize Learning (2016)
Putting Students First is an important contribution to the narrative of how student-focused educators are shaping the future of learning one classroom, school, and in this case, one district at a time. Unique because of the size of Springdale School District, this book tells an inspiring story that parallels the work we are seeing in smaller schools across Arkansas and the nation. Hearing the impact of this work directly from students underscores the transformation that happens when adults work to help students take charge of their learning; and thus, their futures. It reminds and energizes us to stay the course—it is a long, yet fruitful journey when you decide to put students first! -- Denise Airola, Director, Office of Innovation for Education, University of Arkansas
As the parent of three children who attended Springdale Schools, I celebrate the arrival of this book as a validation of high expectations held for a district explicitly and demonstrably committed to teaching “all students”!! The implementation of student-focused learning, in all its schools and at all levels, is the logical outcome of a district led at the top by a team driven to find ways to support the success of ALL students. As an advocate for students receiving special education, I have been acutely aware that success means playing to the strengths of students rather than their deficits. This book paints a clear picture of a method and a process that leads to the implementation of education focused on supporting each student’s strengths and interests. Such “personalized learning,” as described here, and the concept of student “voice and choice” make clear student success requires all stakeholders, not just teachers and students, but parents and community members to buy in and to participate. Reading this book has given me such a sense of hope that public education, as practiced in Springdale, is on the right track to student success. -- Lynn Donald Carver, Parent, Springdale Schools