Saint Anne School in Santa Monica is set to be the first Catholic school in Los Angeles to fully implement blended learning.
That’s after Seton Education Partners – New York based non-profit education consultancy – announced earlier this week it had selected Saint Anne School as one of two sites to expand the Phaedrus Blended Learning Initiative.
Seton Education Partners was founded in 2009 by KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) co-founder Scott W. Hamilton and Teach for America alumnus Stephanie Saroki de García.
Seton’s mission is to provide traditionally underserved students an opportunity to receive a high quality Catholic education that builds knowledge, character, and faith.
Phaedrus was launched in 2011 at Mission Dolores Academy in San Francisco and expanded to St. Therese Catholic Academy in Seattle in 2012.
Seton’s unique blended learning programs have been featured in The New York Times, Education Week, The Seattle Times, and U.S. Catholic Magazine.
Phaedrus combines computer-based instruction with traditional classroom learning.
Seton’s programs are tailored to each student, based on his/her learning style, interests and abilities using a mixture of small group instruction and adaptive, computer-based learning.
Each Phaedrus school has high expectations for all students, regardless of background, and provides students with robust enrichment programs, a longer school day, and a longer school year.
Phaedrus students were on par with or outpaced the growth of their counterparts at high performing charter networks known for their success at helping low-income and minority students catch up academically to their more affluent peers.
In the 2012-2013 school year, nationally normed tests showed that 60 percent of Phaedrus students grew at a rate that exceeds a year of growth in reading, with an average percentile gain of 14.6 percent, while 63 percent grew at a rate that exceeds a year of growth in math, with an average percentile gain of 15.8 percent.
Seton conducted a national search to identify the next Phaedrus Blended Learning sites, and selected Saint Anne School in Santa Monica, California along with The DePaul Catholic School in Philadelphia.
Selection criteria included strength of school leadership, caliber of faculty, room for enrollment growth, and strong school culture.
Founded in 1908 and espousing a tradition of academic excellence, Saint Anne School is anchored by 15-year veteran principal, Michael Browning.
Browning previously served as Principal and teacher at other Los Angeles area Catholic schools and serves on multiple leadership committees within the Department of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Browning has a strong track record of collaboration, and his work will facilitate future replications of Phaedrus.
Browning leads a strong and highly credentialed faculty of Kindergarten through eighth grade teachers.
Phaedrus is further supported by Dr. Kevin Baxter, Superintendent of Catholic Elementary Schools for Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Located at 20th Street Colorado Avenues, Saint Anne School is a Catholic elementary and middle school.
Students hail from more than 50 different zip codes with 85 percent of families commuting to work in Santa Monica from lower income communities around Los Angeles.
With the launch of blended learning, Saint Anne School projects a 10 percent enrollment increase for 2013 of 240, and anticipates reaching full enrollment by fall 2014.
