Giving Compass' Take:

· EdSource reports on the nationwide spreading of Summit Prep's personalized learning model and how it fosters cognitive skills and concepts while allowing students to progress at their own pace.

· How does this model allow students to have control over their education? How is it encouraging students to take ownership of their learning? 

· Here are some benefits when schools implement tools that promote personalized learning.

Founded more than a decade ago, Summit Prep became nationally known for its success in getting all its students through Advanced Placement classes and into college. But school leaders found that many of its graduates struggled in college without the mentoring and support they’d received at the small charter school in Redwood City, south of San Francisco.

“Graduates told us, ‘You guys loved us too much'” said Lizzie Choi, Summit’s chief program officer.

In 2012, with a goal of creating “self-directed learners,” Summit redesigned its two high schools and opened two new schools. The network now consists of eight middle and high schools in California and three in Washington state.

A key element of Summit’s model is an online platform developed with engineering help from Facebook. The model is now supported by the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, the foundation established by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Dr. Priscilla Chan.

Read the full article about personalized learning by Joanne Jacobs at EdSource.