In 2011, Walker County Public Schools in Jasper, Alabama, had many obstacles standing in its way for both educators and students, including high percentages of students who qualified for free and reduced lunch, high dropout rates, and low graduation rates. To better support students academically, Walker County Public Schools partnered with Fuel Education™ (FuelEd™) to provide students with access to the Anywhere Learning System for a more personalized learning experience.
“For some of our students, this has been a life-changing experience,” said Connie Shubert, Director of Federal Programs at Walker County Public Schools. “Some of them would not have been able to finish high school, and now they have a diploma and a chance at employment and a better life.”
FuelEd’s Anywhere Learning System is digital learning courseware for students in grades 1-12 with pre-tests that provide customized learning paths based on those results for struggling students who need remediation, as well as for advanced learners who need accelerated coursework. Walker County Public Schools uses the Anywhere Learning System in a variety of online and blended models across the district, including with younger students in blended learning centers, for credit recovery and grade repair with older students, and to continue instruction if a teacher is out for the day. In addition, the system is central to the district’s alternative school program, its summer school program, and its two at-risk and credit-deficient programs known as the Hope Academy and the Twilight Knight School.
Mary Slaughter, coordinator of assessment and accountability and director of guidance and counseling for Walker County Public Schools, said, “One of the best things is the Anywhere Learning System program offers flexibility and gives students choices; they don’t all fit in the same box.”
Since it started using the Anywhere Learning System, the district’s graduation rate has risen from 73 percent to 87 percent and the dropout rate has dropped from 14 percent to 3 percent. The district has also seen significant improvement in student attendance, grades, and the number of students being promoted to the next grade.
The Anywhere Learning System has more than 160 courses, 5,600 lessons, 200,000 content pages, and 130,000 test items that are Common Core- and state objective-aligned. The content is presented to students using sequenced direct-instruction aids such as study guides, quizzes, mastery tests, and essays.
