Challenge

There is no such thing as “one size fits all” in education. Every student and every school are different, and no one knows that better than the teachers and staff who work in those schools every day.

So, when Ludington High School (LHS) in western Michigan was considering a blended learning solution to supplement a curriculum that was already performing at a high rate, the leadership of the school ranked customization as highly desirable during the evaluation period. The leaders wanted their system to fill some specific niches for their students, not replace the quality instruction that was already taking place within the classrooms.

“Flexibility is key,” explained LHS principal Dan Mesyar. “Each school is different. For us, we needed something to serve our students’ needs at both ends of the spectrum.”

After a lengthy evaluation process, the school chose Edmentum Courseware as its online learning provider.

“We loved that it allows you to individualize for the needs of your students,” Mesyar elaborated. “We are thrilled that the system allows us to manage, maintain, and tweak when we need to.”

Solution

When Mesyar was studying for an advanced degree, he worked on a project that produced in-depth analysis of the failure rates in algebra courses and found that students who were forced to retake a course often ended up failing again. It turned out that students were doing a lot more work than they needed to be doing.

“In the past, having to redo every unit to move on to the next course was a roadblock. A lot of students just barely missed passing the first time. [Edmentum] Courseware allows them to master key concepts they missed and quickly recover credit,” Mesyar said.

On the other end of the continuum, the school was having trouble challenging its higher-performing students. Its size and budget only allowed the school to offer a handful of Advanced Placement® courses. The offerings are now up to nine.

“Some students use [Courseware] to take elective courses in an area in which they would like to get some additional training or to explore a new interest, something we wouldn’t be able to offer otherwise,” explained Mesyar.

Key to LHS’ success is the ability to pivot toward the needs of its students. Edmentum’s customer service helps students meet their goals.

“For us, it’s about affordability, flexibility, and customer service,” Mesyar said. “If our customer representative isn’t able to give us an answer, he gets us the people who can.”

Working alongside LHS’ dedicated online learning instructor and Edmentum’s Customer Service team, the school has yet to find a challenge that Courseware’s customization capabilities cannot handle.

Result

In the course of its time working with Courseware, LHS’ graduation rate has increased from 88 percent to 97 percent. Average SAT scores have increased 20 points in the past three years.

In the past, LHS was perennially honored with a bronze medal from U.S. News & World Report’s best high school rankings. With the changes in state and national accountability and shifting curricula, the school fell out of those rankings for several years. But, as of the 2018 awards, Ludington High School has earned a silver medal from the magazine.

“Edmentum has been the solution to get kids out of credit recovery and back to the normal classroom, instead of falling behind multiple credits,” Mesyar said.