Challenge
Temecula Valley Unified School District was looking for an option that would facilitate a preemptive intervention strategy to keep students on track before they needed formal credit recovery. Their primary goals:
- Use digital curriculum for students who need a credit recovery program and for struggling learners who need early intervention.
- Implement a digital curriculum program that is rigorous enough to not only keep students on track to graduate, but also ensure they are mastering grade-level concepts, filling in learning gaps, and preparing for whatever comes next.
- Increase student achievement and improve graduation rates.
Solution
Temecula Valley USD has been using Apex Learning digital curriculum since 2008 for a multitiered intervention program to address the needs of struggling students. It is now used throughout all three comprehensive high schools.
Results
Seniors who were not successful along their diploma pathway were able to recover credits and receive diplomas.
Goal
- Use digital curriculum for students who need a credit recovery program and for struggling learners who need early intervention.
- Implement a digital curriculum program that is rigorous enough to not only keep students on track to graduate, but also ensure they are mastering grade-level concepts, filling in learning gaps, and preparing for whatever comes next.
- Increase student achievement and improve graduation rates.
Increasing Academic Rigor
Temecula Valley USD implemented Apex Learning digital curriculum for credit recovery in 2008 to increase the rigor of its online curriculum and to restore the integrity of its diploma and the reputation of its program. Temecula Valley USD was seeking a digital curriculum partner that would keep students on track and provide them with an opportunity to earn the credits they needed to graduate before pursuing the district’s alternative school options. The goal was to keep these students within their home schools, yet enable them to recover credits while mastering grade-level material and preparing them for the next step, whether that is the end-of-course exam, the next course, college, or a career.
“Apex Learning has provided us with the opportunity to help meet the needs of our struggling students with a rigorous credit recovery program, and has supported our students in not only achieving a credit for graduation, but for understanding and mastering concepts to fill in their learning gaps. This was definitely something our students needed, and Apex Learning has been able to help us accomplish this very effectively.” —Joe Balleweg, Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
Challenging Students and Filling In Learning Gaps
Apex Learning delivers on the promise of digital curriculum to personalize learning and meet diverse student needs, allowing students to move at their own pace through instructional content. The curriculum addresses different learning styles by incorporating multiple approaches to instruction, actively engaging students to ensure learning takes place, and providing extensive opt-in scaffolds to support all students in mastering rigorous content including:
- Reading comprehension supports for below proficient readers and English language learners
- Prior knowledge supports for students with learning gaps
- Study guides for students who have not developed good study habits
- Structure when it’s needed to keep students focused on track
Ongoing District Support
Apex Learning Implementation Success Managers partnered with Temecula Valley USD to plan, implement, and ensure the ongoing success of the program, which has made an impact. “The support we have received as a district from Apex Learning has been tremendous,” said Joe Balleweg. “Anytime we need Apex Learning, the response is immediate and incredibly helpful. We have been very pleased with the customer service, and the willingness to partner with us has been fantastic. This support from Apex Learning has led to our success and has been the reason we’ve stayed with them as long as we have.”