STATEWIDE — Colorado Empowered Learning unveiled on July 24 a statewide roadmap to assist Colorado educators, district leaders, and state policymakers support and expand the use of blended learning — a teacher-led instructional method or strategy that combines classroom and digital learning, and through which students have some control over when, where, and at what pace they learn.

The roadmap lays out a series of priority areas for action at the local and statewide levels, including human capital, policy and funding, and technology and digital resources. The roadmap identifies strategies for educators and others to act to expand the availability of blended learning and increase enrollment in effective, affordable supplemental education options.

“Blended learning helps schools and districts improve achievement, deliver personalized courses and content for students, and promote equity,” said Troy Lange, director of Colorado Empowered Learning and regional director of the Colorado River Board of Cooperative Educational Services. “This roadmap will provide Coloradans, from the classroom to the capitol, with strategies to address barriers to the use of blended learning and seize the opportunities it presents.”

The roadmaps findings and recommendations include:

·  Fostering coaching, mentoring, and support for teachers using schools that have implemented successful blended learning programs as proof points.

· Revisiting Colorado’s school-funding formula to allow for greater flexibility for schools employing blended learning instruction

· Supporting teachers and districts utilizing blended learning strategies within the existing school finance and regulatory system

· Creating a digital information hub with technology and connectivity resources, such as initiatives and organizations that provide support on technology issues

· Improving the public understanding of blended learning models and strategies

The Colorado General Assembly and Governor’s Office commissioned this statewide blended learning roadmap through House Bill 16-1222. Colorado Empowered Learning developed the roadmap with the assistance and input of a core team of education leaders and experts.

Colorado Empowered Learning also solicited a wide range of perspectives to develop the roadmap — hosting more than a dozen meetings across Colorado to gather in-person feedback plus two purely online outreach meetings. It also received feedback from educators, families, and district administrations from 56 school districts across the state.

Colorado Empowered Learning partnered with the Keystone Policy Center to develop and execute its statewide outreach and development of the roadmap. Keystone is a nationally recognized nonprofit with a proven track record of finding collaborative, actionable solutions to public policy challenges.

To learn more about Colorado Empowered Learning or blended learning, visit www.colorado.gov/cel.