Systems to Support
Personalized Learning
In order for students to receive tailored instruction delivered by teachers whose roles are flexible, the systems to support this personalized learning must exist at the school, district, and state levels. Systems must be aligned for a seamless experience that supports student learning and the teacher’s instruction and professional development.

WHAT IS A LEARNING LAB?

In Melissa Tracy’s learning lab classroom, students at Conrad Schools of Science take specialized classes with peers through a virtual connection with students at A.I. DuPont High School.

Melissa Tracy’s classes are taught in a learning lab.
Why are online learning labs important to the implementation of personalized learning? Why have teachers like Melissa Tracy urged their districts to move in this direction? How do online learning labs fit into the overall vision of personalized learning in Delaware?
Learning labs allow districts to provide unique course offerings for niche and advanced areas of study that are often under enrolled and require specific instructional expertise. In Red Clay, that means students have access to courses such as Advanced Human Geography, Advanced Placement Comparative Government, Legal Process, Military History, and Italian Language.
Distance learning in Delaware Schools
TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT PERSONALIZED LEARNING
What are the challenges?
- Wide disparities in access to technology, types of access, and network backbone to support schools.
- Delaware was once a national leader in providing all of its schools fiber optic, high-speed Internet; however, few upgrades have occurred, while there have been dramatic advances in both networking technology and the types of content (e.g. streaming technology, one-to-one devices) available.
Policy Recommendations
Increase district autonomy and provide greater flexibility with financial resources to re-imagine the hardware, software, and broadband needs of districts in order to personalize learning for students.
Foster collaboration between district technology departments to support E-Rate 2.0 initiatives: statewide access to a broadband infrastructure, a one-time capital investment fund to support full fiberoptic cable access to schools and libraries with school wide wi-fi, and transparency of and accountability for services and charges for broadband by system providers.
Increase training opportunities for district technology officers on applying for and using federal E-Rate funds for school technology resources.
technology infrastructure is crucial to personalized learning.
Question:
What challenges or obstacles do you face in implementing any of the instructional practices that support personalized learning?
Select all that apply.
statewide innovation
What are the challenges?
- In most places across the state, schools and districts are working independently to adapt and promote personalized learning.
- Unlike other exemplars for innovation, Delaware does not have an Office of Innovation that provides input to help problem-solve issues, to share what is working in other schools/districts, or to offer incentives to schools/districts to implement proven, innovative models.
Policy Recommendations
Enable schools to apply for grants or waivers to encourage innovation and help schools fund one-time startup costs associated with implementing personalized learning models.
Create an Office of Innovation to expedite the process for schools or districts to apply for grants and waivers.
Such an office can provide unique funding and competitive grant programming to incubate personalized learning opportunities, using New York City’s Innovation Zone (iZone) as a model and creating personalized “school-within-a-school” prototypes where the mantra is “fail fast, and fail early,” fostering an environment that promotes innovation and challenges the status quo around teaching and learning.

student- and teacher-centered procurement practices
What are the challenges?
- Technology procurement, access, and support vary widely from district to district and even within schools in the same district.
- Procurement practices are largely driven by the bottom line, and technology expenditures are “easy to cut” when resources are limited.
Policy Recommendations
Create and utilize mass-purchasing collaborative agreements that promote savings on technology purchases.
Encourage or require districts to engage in multiyear planning and budgeting for procurement of technology infrastructure, ultimately leading to sustainable investments in technology on a regular basis and consistent replacement or upgrades as needed.
student-centered acceptable use policies
What are the challenges?
- Current AUPs impose strict controls on faculty, staff, students, and guests using a school’s network, including content filters that inhibit student and staff access to educational content.
- Some AUPs specifically prohibit registration of students’ and staff members’ personal devices on school networks.
- District leaders are overwhelmed by the compliance needs regarding AUPs and overlook how it can be used as a license for innovation.
Policy Recommendations
Adopt the least restrictive device policies that allow personal computing devices to be used in schools with access to school-based wi-fi.
Promote best practice in tech use and promulgate regulations that promote district autonomy in the creation of AUPs.
state funding for schools
Sources: Education Commission of the States
What are the challenges?
- With Delaware’s unit funding system, funds are allocated to districts for specific types of spending. Districts have very limited flexibility in changing allocations of state funds to accommodate the needs of their students.
- Under the unit count system, school and district leaders have limited flexibility in making decisions about how to use their resources, which can make planning for investments in personalized learning resources and/or technology infrastructure difficult.
- The majority of school finance decisions are generally made at the state level based on unit count formulae and are frequently disconnected from and unresponsive to student needs.
Policy Recommendations
Move forward with flexible funding pilot programs, especially those that grant additional autonomy to schools and districts with regard to staffing and purchasing to support personalized learning.
Move toward a more responsive and flexible funding system that addresses the unique needs of students through a foundation funding system, allocating funds to districts based on the needs of their students.
Give schools funding flexibility to purchase staff, technology, and other systems to support personalized learning.
public education funding in delaware