ABSTRACT: Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a set of principles that provides an innovative curriculum and instructional design framework. By eliminating learning barriers across a wide range of learner variations, UDL implementation can enhance teaching and learning. This study explored the perceptions of a sample of third and fourth-grade school teachers in a suburban school district outside of Boston, Massachusetts… Read more…
New Website (Again), Community Portal
We launched a new website alongside a mobile app that helps students, parents, and community members to know what is happening at school right from their phones. Our families are using smartphones as a primary means to communicate, which is why we’ve created an app that is custom-built for mobile phones. You can find important documents, contact information for staff, event information, and much more on the app! Read more…
Change Consultancy Report: Supporting Economically Disadvantaged Students
There is a need for future research and problem-solving attention surrounding a growing discrepancy in academic growth between students in Massachusetts’s small, rural setting. Within the researcher’s public school district, an initiative is underway to integrate Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles by implementing a universally designed curriculum and instructional model to support all students. UDL is a set of principles and guidelines providing a curriculum and instructional design Read more…
Groton-Dunstable End of Year Wrap, 2020
The past year has been an exciting and rewarding experience supporting our dedicated staff of licensed-instructional leaders, as well as non-instructional support personnel.
As lessons and curriculum materials transition to the digital realm, it is wonderful to support students taking greater ownership of their learning by engaging in creative assignments that require digital tools and technology access. The access to technology allows our staff to implement new instructional approaches that enable persistence and provide multiple methods to demonstrate mastery and proficiency. Read more…
UDL in Support of Economically Disadvantaged Students
Introduction: The Groton-Dunstable Regional School District (GDRSD) is a pre-kindergarten through twelfth-grade regional district located 45-miles, northwest of Boston, Massachusetts. For the 2019-2020 school year, GDRSD enrolled 2,353 students and employed 181.8 teachers, accounting for a 13.2-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio (2019 Official Accountability Report, 2019). The GDRSD school committee approved a district vision committed to the belief that all students can achieve at high academic levels when instructed in a universally designed teaching and learning model. Read more…