Summit Learning Program Participation

  1. Introduction
  2. 1. Team Commitments to Program Participation
    1. A. Secure commitment from school and district leadership for program implementation.
    2. B. Commit that any student participating in the Summit Learning program has a pathway to do so in the core classes of English, math, history, and science.
    3. C. Instructional leader participates in regular coaching with a Summit Learning Success Manager.
  3. 2. Instruction and Assessment
    1. A. Engage students in projects.
    2. B. Engage students in math units
    3. C. Consistently mentor each student in 1:1 check-ins.
    4. D. Ensure that grading policies align with Summit Learning's grading philosophy.
  4. 3. Professional Development
  5. 4. Technical Requirements
    1. A. Use the Summit Learning platform as the supporting tool for classroom work.
    2. B. Ensure that every student has a laptop or Chromebook with a keyboard.
    3. C. Use Google Chrome browser and G-Suite for Education (Gmail and Google Docs) or Office365.
    4. D. Use Clever or manual enrollment codes to sync student information with the Summit Learning platform.
    5. E. Have sufficient internet access in every classroom to support a full 1:1 computing environment.
    6. F. Connect the Summit Learning team with the school site lead for student information system(s).
  6. 5. Legal Requirements
    1. A. Sign and abide by the Summit Learning Program Agreement.
    2. B. Adhere to the Summit Learning Program's data privacy and security policy.

Introduction

Creating a Summit Learning environment often requires fundamental changes to the way teachers and students approach learning. In order to ensure a successful implementation that empowers teachers to meet the needs of every student, partner schools are held to the following program requirements.

1. Team Commitments to Program Participation

A. Secure commitment from school and district leadership for program implementation.

We require a commitment from at least one school-based administrator to serve as the primary contact for the Summit Learning program. The school leader identified as the primary contact will be responsible for completing the program application & pre-work, leading the change management process, and overseeing teacher preparation and implementation of Summit Learning for the upcoming school year. If there is a change in leadership, then the schools may need additional time and/or district support to be eligible to launch as a partner for the upcoming school year.

In addition, for schools that are part of a district, school leaders need to identify at least one district leader who will support Summit Learning implementation. Commitment from district leadership supports a successful implementation by ensuring there is top-to-bottom alignment around Summit Learning's approach to teaching and learning.

B. Commit that any student participating in the Summit Learning program has a pathway to do so in the core classes of English, math, history, and science.

We designed Summit Learning to give students the most cohesive learning experience possible. That's why we expect the student experience of Summit Learning to happen across the four core classes (English, math, history and science), or any of those core courses that are a part of your academic program. This way, students take ownership of their learning environment in all their core classes at once. It becomes the "new normal," not an isolated experience with one teacher in one class. Often, we see schools choose a single grade-level team or a subset of a grade-level team to pilot implementation. Then, we see this grow year over year. There are also cases in which a school decides to implement across a full grade-level or multiple grade-levels in a single year. As long as any student in the program experiences Summit Learning across their core classes, the program requirement is met. The Summit Learning team is eager to discuss how you are thinking about getting started and to share our recommendations and examples of how school leaders have approached growing the Program at their school.

C. Instructional leader participates in regular coaching with a Summit Learning Success Manager.

Creating a Summit Learning environment requires a fundamental change to the way teachers and students approach learning, so enthusiasm and a growth mindset are critical. Everything from grading policies and assessments to bell schedules and how teachers and students spend their time will need to be thoughtfully designed to create the conditions for successful implementation.

In order to support this transition and lay the foundations for long-term success, Summit Learning is committed to providing ongoing support and coaching in the form of a dedicated Success Manager for the first four years of a school's participation in the Program. Following acceptance into the Program, your school will be assigned a Summit Learning Success Manager.

To ensure we build a strong partnership and carve out dedicated time, we require all participating schools to regularly communicate with their Summit Learning Success Manager (i.e. meet virtually for at least 60 minutes bi-weekly, in addition to regular email communication). We also expect participating schools to keep abreast of regular communications from the Program (e.g. email newsletters).

Success Managers are coaches, thought partners, and advocates for Program schools, and we ask that you leverage their support and expertise in order to be successful in your implementation of Summit Learning.

2. Instruction and Assessment

A. Engage students in projects.

Students engage in rich, authentic projects in English, science, and history to develop and practice Cognitive Skills. Cognitive Skills are essential and transferable lifelong skills, such as asking questions, researching, identifying patterns and relationships, and speaking and listening. We truly value these skills, and we're serious about assessing them as well as making them transparent to students, teachers, and parents.

B. Engage students in math units

Math units are opportunities for students to gain an in-depth understanding of mathematical concepts. The units consist of a collection of backwards-planned, carefully-crafted, cognitively-rigorous, rich math tasks. The learning experiences in math units require students to engage in problem-solving, reasoning, critical thinking, and significant cognitive work. Units are facilitated by a teacher during the normal math course. The key difference between the units and projects is that mathematical concepts, not Cognitive Skills, are the driving force behind the units.

C. Consistently mentor each student in 1:1 check-ins.

Research shows that students with a teacher that understands them both academically and personally feel safer, happier, and more motivated at school. And as a result, they are more likely to succeed.

Summit Learning teachers are prepared to deeply understand, connect with, and support each one of their students. Every student has a mentor with whom they meet regularly. We recommend mentoring take place on a bi-weekly basis for at least 10 minutes.

D. Ensure that grading policies align with Summit Learning's grading philosophy.

Depending on your current policy, the implementation of Summit Learning may involve adjustments to your grading practice. Our grading philosophy reflects our values, which underpin both this instructional approach and what is best for students. A student's grade is a combination of their growth in Cognitive Skills and their mastery of content, with Cognitive Skills weighed most heavily. Additionally, grades should reflect students' demonstration of what they learned and are calculated using a collection of standards-aligned rubrics that are integrated into the curriculum. Homework and participation are not included in grades.

3. Professional Development

Ensure that teachers and school leaders in their first two years of program implementation attend professional development trainings hosted by the Summit Learning program.

Professional development is a key component of Summit Learning, and we are committed to supporting our partner schools as they identify and execute the best strategies for Summit Learning in their communities. Therefore, as part of your participation in the program, Summit Learning provides free professional development throughout the year for teachers and school leaders in their first two years of implementation. We also provide asynchronous learning experiences, resources, and tools for school-based coaching and professional learning.

Summer Training: Summer Training is for educators and administrators preparing to implement Summit Learning for the first time. During Summer Training, we prepare the implementing team to launch the program. Attendance is required for anyone who is new to the Summit Learning program, including school leaders and district support. In advance of Summer Training, educators must complete "Pre-Work" so they have core foundational knowledge and understanding of the Summit Learning program

Additional Training: Throughout the school year, Summit Learning may offer additional training opportunities to help teachers and school leaders strengthen implementation. Attendance is required for teachers and school leaders in their first two years of implementation.

4. Technical Requirements

A. Use the Summit Learning platform as the supporting tool for classroom work.

The Summit Learning platform is an important component of the Summit Learning program. Teachers have instant access to see how their students are performing and use that information to provide individualized, small group, and whole-class support. This technology allows teachers to be more specific and strategic with their time, and provide materials to individual students at a pace and level of rigor that best meets their needs.

The Platform supports students' learning experiences in a way that allows teachers to remain firmly at the heart of the classroom. Learning is a human experience, and no software tool should try to change that.

B. Ensure that every student has a laptop or Chromebook with a keyboard.

Every Summit Learning student needs their own computer with a keyboard. iPads and Android devices do not meet this requirement. We require this for two reasons: practicality and equity. First, the curriculum for Summit Learning includes writing essays, lab reports, and other assignments that involve a lot of typing. Keyboards make that work faster and easier. Second, some students may already have computers at home, but others may not. It is imperative for all students to have access to computers at school.

Although not a requirement, it is also a best practice for students to have technological access at home for continued access and to increase the equity for all students.

C. Use Google Chrome browser and G-Suite for Education (Gmail and Google Docs) or Office365.

Summit Learning designed the Platform to work on Google Chrome. In addition, students and teachers must access it using either Google Education or Office365 accounts. These accounts may be ones they already have or set up specifically to use with the Platform.

Some school districts may have pre-existing agreements with technology companies that constrain internet use to specific browsers or applications. Please check to verify that yours does not.

D. Use Clever or manual enrollment codes to sync student information with the Summit Learning platform.

The Summit Learning platform offers two options for enrolling students. The first is to sync your student information system (SIS) with the Summit Learning platform through Clever. Alternatively, you can create your own courses and have students enroll using manual enrollment codes (like Google Classroom).

A bit more about Clever: Clever securely transmits student data from your student information system and keeps educational applications rostered and up-to-date. School districts use Clever because they retain full control of student information and benefit from Clever's industry-leading encryption, which keeps student data private and safe. In the US, a third of all schools already use Clever. We think it's the best tool available for the job: very secure, easy to set up and use, and free for schools.

E. Have sufficient internet access in every classroom to support a full 1:1 computing environment.

Each classroom participating in Summit Learning must have sufficient bandwidth to support a room full of students using the Platform at the same time. High-quality, symmetrical internet access is essential to ensure a positive experience. We recommend that participating schools have a bandwidth for wide area network access allocation per student of 745 kilobits per student (kbps) to 1.5 megabits per student. We also highly recommend that all Summit Learning schools use enterprise-grade wireless equipment. Home or small-business equipment grade is not up to the task and will often severely degrade the quality of the student experience.

F. Connect the Summit Learning team with the school site lead for student information system(s).

Summit Learning will need to coordinate with the person who leads the school's student information system (SIS).

5. Legal Requirements

A. Sign and abide by the Summit Learning Program Agreement.

This is a unique partnership between school systems and Summit Learning. In order for it to be strong and supportive, it's important that we detail what we will do together and what we expect of each other.

Therefore, we require participating schools to sign a program agreement that clearly defines this relationship. A signed agreement is part of your application package, so please arrange to meet with and talk to whomever is in charge of signing contracts like this one for your school.

B. Adhere to the Summit Learning Program's data privacy and security policy.

We believe it is important that schools, teachers, families/caregivers and students understand how we use and protect their data while providing the best learning experience for students. Protecting student data is critical to Summit Learning.

Summit Learning has worked with leading U.S. privacy experts to help ensure we protect the information we collect and use it ethically. Common Sense Privacy Program published privacy evaluations of the top 10 edtech products used in schools and districts across the U.S. Summit Learning came out on top, receiving their highest score. Read more about this distinction.

Summit Learning is committed to keeping student information secure. Our privacy policy reflects these values and adheres to national best practices for the use of student data. Your school must commit to following this policy. We have safeguards in place that restrict access to students' personal information. Within the school, only authorized teachers and school staff who work with your student will have access to the information—just like with student records and grades on paper.

Summit Learning will only use student data to maintain and improve the Platform and provide information to teachers, students, parents, and other authorized users. Summit Learning will not use personally identifiable information from students' education records for targeted advertising.

Please see our Privacy Center for more information.