Hazelwood School District Launches ‘Redefining Ready’ New Initiative

Post author:independentnws
Post published:November 6, 2019
Post category:City Government / Education / Hazelwood

Every Student will be Ready for College, Careers, and Lifeskills

The Hazelwood School District (HSD) launched Redefining Ready on Nov. 1, a new, district-wide initiative designed to ensure every student leaves the District ready for college, career, and life.

Redefining Ready provides students at every grade level with innovative academic programs, career-specific learning experiences, and social and emotional services. Students and parents can monitor student achievement using a set of indicators that show progress toward being college, career, and life ready at each grade level: elementary school, middle school, and high school.

“We know that students learn in different ways, and as a district, we must continually adapt how we provide those learning experiences and evaluate how well we’re meeting student needs,” HSD Superintendent Dr. Nettie Collins-Hart said.

“Through a true district-wide effort, we are able to continue to improve student achievement and cater to the individual needs of each student with Redefining Ready.”

Parents can find out if their students are considered on track to be college and career ready by following an online Redefining Ready Platform, which includes personalized information about each of the indicators.

Parents then can use that information to determine in which areas their students may need more support to be successful.

“We believe students are more than a test score and that to determine whether or not a student is college, career, and life ready, we need to look beyond standardized tests and academic measures,” HSD Director of Curriculum and Educational Programs Dr. Patty Ulrich said.

“We also believe it is our responsibility as a school district to provide students with experiences that will prepare them to be successful once they leave Hazelwood.”

The standards of Redefining Ready were developed using extensive research done by a district committee of more than 30 teachers, counselors, parents, and administrators, during the 2017-2018 school year. The committee worked to define and establish specific benchmarks that would be used to gauge the college, career, and life readiness of students.

For example, indicators of career-readiness include participation in a service-learning project, volunteering in the community, or earning an industry credential. Life-readiness indicators focus on a student’s real-life application of what is learned about college and career options. The goal is to combine these indicators with academic achievement to ensure students are prepared for life after high school in a variety of ways. For more information about Redefining Ready, visit www.HazelwoodSchools.org.