Giving Compass' Take:

• Thrive schools in San Diego create network supports for both students and the outside community to elevate learning experiences.  

• Why are student networks important for both kids and their families?  What are strategies that educators can use to grow these support systems? 

• Read about how to leverage schools networks for personalized and project-based learning. 

Dr. Nicole Assisi and her team are building a network of schools located in some of San Diego’s highest-need communities—neighborhoods where parents have few quality options.

“The school came into the community through grassroots leaders working to have educational options. Our neighbors demanded educational choices, and Thrive worked with a community center to make it happen,” said Assisi.

We are fortunate to have visited Thrive as they have grown over the years and were enthused from the second we entered the newest site, the K-8 located on Comstock Street in the Linda Vista neighborhood. Why? For starters, the school is co-located with the Bayside Community Center. There is a shared community room located on the first floor that regularly hosts parent meetings, informational events and is used by students during the day.

Thrive students receive both dedicated math and literacy instruction as well as time spend engaging in PBL. PBL helps engage students and create deeper learning. Targeted math and literacy instruction builds foundational skills. Assisi knows that either one without the other is insufficient.

The team at Thrive uses an online learning platform equipped with a range of tools, including Zearn, Lexia, Achieve 300 and ST Math. Educators drive teaching and learning from the data and information they glean from these tools, their individual guided groups and what they observe when students interact during the PBL block.

Read the full article about networks that support San Diego students by Tom Vander Ark and Emily Liebtag at Getting Smart