LASD Board Highlights

Led by their teachers, Beth Rubinstein and Maria McBride, Loyola's 5th-grade students are diving deep into community service through their innovative "Deeper-Dive Learning" initiative focused on answering the essential question: "How can we help our community?"

Following a structured service project timeline that incorporates deeper learning approaches, students began by surveying their peers to identify community needs that resonated with them. After reading "Maniac Magee" as a mentor text, students formed interest-based groups, created action plans, and collaborated across classrooms to refine their ideas.

At the April 21st board meeting, we had the opportunity to hear about two of the impressive student initiatives that have emerged from this process. The first was “Food for the Hungry”, created by Abi, Lilly, Samara, and Stav. This project addresses hunger issues by examining root causes, including disabilities and unemployment. Their presentation featured statistics on global hunger and practical ways to help. The second project we learned about was “Helping Sick Children in Need”, created by Henry, Nori, Elsa, and Santi. This effort supports families struggling with medical costs for ill children. The group focused on organizations like Make-A-Wish Foundation and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, highlighting how these organizations have improved childhood cancer survival rates from 20% in 1962 to 80% today. These student-led projects culminate in TED Talk-style presentations first shared with classmates for feedback, then presented to Loyola families as a public exhibition of their learning and community impact.

Through this authentic service learning approach, students are not only developing critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills, but also experiencing firsthand how they can make a meaningful difference in their community.

Greg Drummond, Director of Teaching and Learning, and Sarah Gerlinger, Coordinator of Curriculum and Instruction, shared an update on the LASD Student Experience, highlighting efforts to ensure deeper learning for all students.

This year, the district has focused on understanding what deeper learning looks and feels like in classrooms, and how to intentionally design learning experiences that foster it. Our exploration has centered around two key areas: the instructional moves teachers make to support deeper learning and the indicators that signal that deeper learning is happening for students.

The four indicators of deeper learning are: purpose, agency, community, and learning by doing.

• Purpose connects students to their learning through meaningful tasks that impact themselves, others, or the broader community.

• Agency empowers students by entrusting them with important and challenging work, while equipping them with the tools needed to succeed.

• Community fosters a sense of belonging and mutual support, where students are known, feel included, and work collaboratively to build ideas and make meaning together.

• Learning by doing engages students in using the authentic skills of the discipline.

Greg and Sarah shared classroom examples from across the district that bring these indicators to life, illustrating how deeper learning is becoming a real movement in LASD classrooms.

In April, a small group of LASD teachers and administrators attended the annual Deeper Learning Conference at the High Tech High Graduate School of Education in San Diego. There, they joined a global community of educators dedicated to building more student-centered schools. Through an immersive learning experience, this cohort also became deeper learners themselves. Looking ahead, LASD is exploring opportunities to bring together additional small cohorts of teachers for specialized professional learning.