44 EDUCATION NEXT / SUMMER 2016 educationnext.org
PHOTOGRAPH / CAYCE CLIFFORD
The atrium at
Innovations Early
College High School
in Salt Lake City
educationnext.org SUMMER 2016 / EDUCATION NEXT 45
feature
by JOANNE JACOBS
THERE ARE NO BELLS at Salt Lake City’s Innovations Early
College High School, and no traditional “classes.” Students
show up when they like, putting in six and a half hours at school
between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Working with a mentor teacher,
students set their own goals and move through self-paced online
lessons. They can take more time when they need it or move
ahead quickly when they show mastery.
This model would feel cutting edge almost anywhere, but it
is all the more so at Innovations, a public high school that was
founded by the Salt Lake City School District four years ago.
The district designed Innovations to capitalize on “blended
learning,” a mix of online and teacher-led instruction. Ken
Grover, the school’s founder and principal, proposed a school
that would put teenagers in charge of their own education.
The school attracts “students who the existing system has
failed,” said Michael B. Horn, a blended-learning consultant.
“It’s really ‘bleeding edge.’ They don’t really have classrooms.”
While individualized online instruction has become prevalent
in many high schools, it is mostly used as an add-on, to offer
special classes like foreign languages or credit-recovery courses.
As a major aspect of a school model, it is more readily associated
with charter schools, such as Summit Public Schools and
Rocketship in Silicon Valley.
Innovations is among a small group of district-based trailblazers
to use the “flex model” of blended learning as its foundation.
Last year, the Christensen Institute, co-founded by Horn, cited
Innovations as one of a dozen “proof points” nationwide for
blended learning.
With help from the new federal Every Student Succeeds
Act (ESSA), blended learning could move from the margins to
the center at more district schools. The law supports state-led
innovation broadly, and provides funding for states and districts
to implement personalized, blended, and online learning.
Indeed, Horn believes that the Innovations model is “where
HIGH SCHOOL
OF THE
Cutting-edge model
capitalizes on blended
learning to take
personalization further
FUTURE
46 EDUCATION NEXT / SUMMER 2016 educationnext.org
high school is going in the long run.” But, he cautioned, “if
you don’t have the right culture in place and teachers haven’t
bought in, it can go horribly wrong.”
Students Set the Pace
Innovations is growing in popularity. Now in its third
year, the school serves 360 students, with another 150 late
applicants on a waiting list.
In 2012, when Innovations was under development, the district
was looking for ways to raise its graduation rate. Grover,
who’d led a traditional Salt Lake City high school as well as the
district’s career and technical programs, asked students what
they liked and disliked about high school. What did they want?
They said they valued the relationships they’d made, and
“even the learning,” but felt the school day was “structured to
the needs of teachers and sports teams,” he said.
Plus, they reported, school was “boring.”
What did that mean?
Students said that if they didn’t understand something,
they couldn’t get their questions answered right away.
Teachers with a whole class to manage couldn’t slow the
pace to deal with one student’s confusion.
For other students, the pace was too slow.
For someone who’s confused, or already knows the material,
those 90-minute classes could be “painful,” Grover said. “I think
it’s one of the primary reasons students walk away from school.”
Students wanted to “come when they wanted, work at their
own pace, and be treated like adults,” he said.
Today, Innovations students do just that while also taking
advantage of the early-college and career-tech opportunities
that the school’s location encourages.
Innovations occupies the corner of an airy new building on
the South City campus of Salt Lake Community College (SLCC),
along with the district’s Career and Technical Center (CTC).
The state reported that last year about 1 in 10 Innovations
juniors and seniors took community-college classes and more
than half took courses through the CTC, whose offerings range
from computer programming and CD graphics to barbering
and nail design. In addition, students may ride a shuttle bus to
their local high school to participate in classes or extracurriculars,
such as choir, band, foreign
language, or sports.
This flexible model appeals to
students with diverse goals.
Sophomore Jenny Le is looking
to turbocharge her highschool
years. She hopes early college
classes will enable her to earn
a university degree in two years,
getting a head start on medical
school and saving money, and
she is already thinking about how
old she’ll be when she completes
her medical residency.
Career tech and a small-school
environment drew Jacquie Robb,
also a sophomore, to Innovations.
She’d heard that animal science
students qualify to train a guide
dog. She put that off to take a law
enforcement class—“taught by
police officers,” she pointed out—
and then fire science, “taught by
firefighters.” She now wants to
become a police officer and “catch
the bad guys,” she said.
PHOTOGRAPH / CAYCE CLIFFORD
Students wanted to “come
when they wanted, work at their
own pace, and be treated like
adults.” Today, Innovations
students do just that while also
taking advantage of early-college
and career-tech opportunities.
In a Forensic Science class, students learn from police department forensic investigator Ryan
Andrews how to calculate the angle of impact of individual bloodstains and use strings to
determine the area the bloodstains would have originated.
educationnext.org SUMMER 2016 / EDUCATION NEXT 47
feature
INNOVATIONS JACOBS
In addition, both girls took an emergency medicine class
taught by an EMT, which can lead to employment-ready certification
when they turn 18. The class appealed to Robb’s interest
in first-responder careers, and Le’s plan to work her way
through college, on her way to becoming a doctor.
Last year, Innovations had its first student—a Latino male—
graduate with an associate degree as well as a high school diploma.
This year, five to seven 12th graders are on that track, Grover said.
An Early Exercise in Adulthood
At first glance, it all seems loosey-goosey.
Innovations has bare-bones “classrooms”—with tables,
chairs, and computers—but no classes in the traditional sense.
At any given time, there are likely to be some students working
independently or with a partner and a teacher talking with
one to four students.
A few early birds show up at 7 in the morning, but most
students start their day between 9 and 9:30, and a few don’t
arrive till midmorning. After logging on to the learning management
system, which shows personal goals and progress data,
a student decides what to study and when to move on. Bored
with bio? Pop into the English room to watch The Taming of
the Shrew or polish an essay. Students can take more time on
an assignment when they need to, or move ahead quickly to the
next thing when they demonstrate mastery.
Throughout the day, small groups of students form to collaborate
on projects or labs. They may choose the same book
to read for their English course so they can discuss it together.
Other students opt to work alone. Meanwhile, tutors and teachers
walk around looking for students who need help, or meet by
appointment to work with individuals or small groups.
The school follows the district curriculum, which is aligned
to Common Core State Standards. Everyone takes English
language arts, math, and two other classes at a time, unless a
counselor agrees to more.
Despite the do-your-own-thing atmosphere, students are
expected to complete at least eight classes a year. Teachers
PHOTOGRAPH /
and mentors track each student’s progress and step in when a
CAYCE CLIFFORD
Animal science students at Innovations have the opportunity
to train a guide dog.
48 EDUCATION NEXT / SUMMER 2016 educationnext.org
student isn’t moving fast enough to stay on track for graduation.
Career tech and community college classes are taught face
to face. Innovations students are expected to figure out where
they need to be and when they need to be there.
It’s a combination of self-directed study and responsibility
that can help students get ready for life after graduation—on
the job or at college—when it’s executed well.
“The right personalized-learning model” can engage students
who haven’t done well in traditional schools, said Don
Soifer, executive vice president of the Lexington Institute, who’s
researched blended learning. Teachers “are able to spend less
time ‘teaching to the middle’ and more time connecting with
students as individual learners.”
But not everyone thrives in a self-directed environment, at
least not at first, said Andrew Calkins, deputy director of the Next
Generation Learning Challenges initiative at Educause, which
supports learning-technology innovations. (Innovations is not a
grantee.) “We’re finding with our grantees that a third of students
do very well in this model, a third will adapt in a semester, and
the final third need a lot of help to make the transition,” he said.
Diana Senechal, a high-school philosophy teacher who warns
of the distractions of technology in her book Republic of Noise,
sees a downside in letting students “tailor
their learning to their own needs and
preferences.” She asked, “How will they
ever be challenged?”
“What Are You Supposed
to Do All Day?”
Innovations students are partnered
with a mentor teacher who will guide
them through all four years of high
school. Mentor teachers meet at least
once a week with students, and four
times each year with students’ families.
They also e-mail and text families, and
send home paper transcripts each month
for easy display on the refrigerator door.
The communication and transcripts are
designed to explain where each student
is, and where he or she should be.
“You can’t hide here,” said Grover,
who attributes the success of Innovations
to a strong culture and cadre of teachers.
“Some of our students don’t like that.”
Heather Bauer is in her third year
as an English teacher at Innovations.
Previously, she taught in a traditional
classroom setting at a charter school.
“At first, I thought, what are you supposed
to do all day?” said Bauer, who
noted she now loves her role. “I know my
students so much more, and I can teach at
a different level. I can delve deep.”
Bauer starts her day at 7 a.m. Not
many students arrive that early, so she
has time to send e-mails, grade papers,
At the Career and
Technical Center,
law enforcement
classes are taught
by police officers and
fire science is taught
by firefighters.
Emergency medicine
classes taught by
EMTs can lead to
employment-ready
certification when
students turn 18.
PHOTOGRAPHS / CAYCE CLIFFORD (TOP), COURTESY SALT LAKE CITY’S INNOVATIONS EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL (BOTTOM)
After a shaky first year, the
school’s graduation rate rose
to 89 percent in 2014 and hit
93 percent in 2015, which is
significantly higher than the
district and state average.
educationnext.org SUMMER 2016 / EDUCATION NEXT 49
feature
INNOVATIONS JACOBS
tweak units, and hold mentor meetings.
Then, from 10 a.m. to noon, she
gathers small groups of students for
class meetings or individual coaching—discussing
strategies with a student
who needs backup for his thesis
statement in an essay, for example.
Throughout the day, she will
gather students—who may be in
different rooms—for a “class meeting”
to discuss a concept. Students
who’ve already mastered it need
not participate. Usually, students
are working independently, or with
a friend, while the teacher coaches
one student at a time. Teachers
stagger their work schedules so
there’s always a math teacher and
an English teacher available onsite.
It can be frustrating to teach a
lesson to two students, and then
do it again with another two who
weren’t available before, said Bauer.
But while she was teaching to a
classroom of students at one time
in a conventional school, she said,
“I felt I was just talking to myself.”
The opportunity to revisit lessons
is baked into the Innovations
model. Since classes don’t follow
any particular schedule, students
can complete them as slowly or
as quickly as time and preparedness
allow. To complete a class and
earn credit, students must show 70
percent mastery of 100 percent of the content, and cannot
progress to the next class until they do. In addition, they can
return to classes they’ve finished if they want to improve their
grades. A teacher will “reactivate” the subject and show what
work students can do to raise a “C” to a “B,” or a “B” to an “A.”
In other words, “you can’t get an F,” said Grover, the principal.
You only can get more time.
Accordingly, teachers play multiple roles to keep students
on their many tracks. Bauer mentors individual students in all
four grades, and is also responsible for the English language
arts progress of 200 students in the 11th and 12th grades.
Teaching at Innovations can be labor-intensive, she said, especially
among 9th-grade students, who come in expecting to be
“led from one class to another” and earn credit by sitting quietly.
They have to learn to handle freedom, she said. When they
do, “the fact that students take ownership of their education”
makes all the difference.
Unique Goals, and a Unique Culture
Despite Salt Lake City’s image—white and Mormon—
city schools serve an ethnically diverse student body. At
Innovations this year, 42 percent of students are white and
30 percent are Hispanic, with multiracial, Pacific Islander,
African American, Asian, and Native American students
attending in smaller numbers. More than half of students
qualify for free or reduced-price school lunch. Some 17 percent
are English language learners, and 7 percent receive special
education services.
Innovations also enrolls students with a range of historic
academic performance. Among entering students, about 15 to
20 percent perform above grade level, about 15 to 20 percent
below; the rest are in the middle, said Grover. Each student has
an individualized education plan.
Innovations students take state exams, just like students at
Salt Lake City’s four other district high schools. Teachers analyze
Throughout the
day, small groups
of students form to
collaborate on
projects or labs.
Meanwhile, tutors
and teachers walk
around looking for
students who need
help, or meet by
appointment to work
with individuals or
small groups.
PHOTOGRAPHS / CAYCE CLIFFORD
feature
INNOVATIONS JACOBS
50 EDUCATION NEXT / SUMMER 2016 educationnext.org
results to see how well students are meeting learning objectives.
After a shaky first year, the school’s graduation rate rose to 89
percent in 2014, hit 93 percent in 2015, and is projected to reach 95
percent in 2016. That’s significantly higher than the district and
state average. In addition, Innovations students earn more college
credits than those at the city’s other high schools combined.
Many Innovations graduates go on to SLCC and the University
of Utah and other public institutions, Grover said. Achievement
among Latino students is a particular point of pride.
Students and teachers also praised their school for offering
an encouraging, intimate atmosphere.
For all the computer time, Innovations is a high-touch
school, said Jenny Le, the aspiring doctor. “You get moral
support here. The teachers all learn your names. If I reach a
goal, my mentor says, ‘Jenny did it!’ in a really loud voice so
everybody knows.”
Craig Ellis, who is working as a math tutor while he completes
his teaching degree, said he loves the one-on-one time he gets with
students and the opportunity to build long-term relationships over
their high-school careers. At the graduation ceremony, the mentor
hands the diploma to the graduate. “It’s a big moment, very emotional,”
he said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Jacquie Robb, the aspiring police officer, said she was bullied in
middle school, where cliques and “mean girls” ruled the day. She
arrived at Innovations too shy to ask teachers or tutors for help in
math, her weakest subject. Then a classmate—a girl who’s “going
to be Einstein,” Robb said—helped her in math. “I was so quiet
when I came here. They opened up my shell. I feel loved here.”
At Innovations, people “cheer you on,” she said. “You don’t
have to look perfect every day.”
Unlike other Salt Lake City schools, Innovations has no
behavior management plan, because it’s not needed, said
Grover. As principal of a traditional high school, he dealt with
fights every day; at Innovations, there have been none. He has
not suspended a student, ever. “When a child isn’t frustrated,
and is having their needs met, they don’t lash out,” he said. “We
build support structures here.”
The Price of Flexibility
Innovations had few obvious peers when it opened in
2012. The closest parallels were the private micro-schools,
such as AltSchool and Acton Academy, and Summit Public
Schools, a charter network in Silicon Valley that incorporates
a variety of learning software into its programs.
Now, Innovations-inspired district schools have opened
in Idaho and Indiana, and more are planned in Arkansas,
Oklahoma, Virginia, and Atlanta, Georgia, said Horn of the
Christensen Institute. At least a thousand visitors have toured
Innovations since it opened, said Grover, who frequently
speaks about his school at conferences.
As in Salt Lake City, “districts are starting to create lab
schools to try personalized, student-centered strategies with
hopes of finding what will transfer to traditional schools,” said
Calkins of Educause. ESSA, he said, “hangs a big welcome
banner for this kind of model . . . Thanks to ESSA, the pace of
experimentation will pick up.”
ESSA includes the Student Support and Academic
Enrichment Grant program, which is authorized at about $1.6
billion annually and can support blended learning. Probably
the most critical piece is funding training for teachers so they
can figure out how to use digital tools effectively.
Innovations is doing blended learning on a shoestring. Utah
ranks last in the nation in per-pupil spending, and Innovations
gets the same relative pittance as Salt Lake City’s conventional
high schools: $3,100 per student for operating costs and $3,200
for facilities-related costs.
It saves money by not offering electives or extracurriculars;
students visit their neighborhood high schools for those.
As at other Salt Lake City high schools, the student-teacher
ratio is 29:1.
However, Innovations pays tuition for students who take
community college classes and pays a fee for CTC enrollees.
The school uses Agilix, a customizable software that lets
teachers edit student work and add questions during their
review. Students use iMacs or MacBook Air laptops, or
bring their own. The learning management system and the
digital content, curriculum, and grading are provided by
Spark Education (formerly iGo), and PowerSchool tracks
student information.
A student who’s taking a full load at SLCC is costly. “Our
relationship to the community college is like any marriage that’s
struggling,” said Grover. “You fight over children and money.”
Still, Grover—whose own daughter chose to enroll in
Innovations—wants that marriage to grow. Someday, he hopes,
half of Innovations students will graduate high school having
also earned an associate degree or certificate.
The secret to its current and continued success is simple,
he said. “We create a culture, curate content, and hire the
right teachers.”
Joanne Jacobs, the author of Our School, is a freelance writer
and education blogger at joannejacobs.com.
Innovations-inspired district
schools have opened in Idaho and
Indiana, and more are planned
in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Virginia,
and Atlanta, Georgia. At least a
thousand visitors have toured
Innovations since it opened.