Education is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor.

Some children learn best in a traditional classroom setting with other students, chairs, desks and a teacher standing front and center, conveying the day’s lessons.

Others, due to life circumstances or personal preferences, might benefit more from a non-traditional learning experience that allows them to work at home from a computer, at their own pace and on their own schedule.

Others have found success with a mixture of the two, while others are benefitting from a project-based learning model.

The point is that not everyone learns the same way.

That is why area schools have been seeking new ways to reach students — especially those who struggle in traditional school settings. Just because a kid is failing in a traditional model doesn’t mean he or she can’t learn. It might mean they can flourish under another system.

Niles found success by implementing the online-based W-A-Y Program a few years back for high school and middle school students.

Now, Brandywine is opening its own virtual based alternative school program this fall called the Brandywine Innovation Academy.

Not only will this new program give more options to students struggling with “normal” school, it will also allow others the ability to graduate early and give home school students the chance to take Brandywine’s elective classes, among other things.

The opening of the new program is just another example of schools in southwest Michigan recognizing that there are many ways to prepare our children for life after grade school.

Education, like everything else, is evolving. Adding more individualized learning paths seems like the next logical step in that evolution.

So, as our children head back to school next week, it is good to know that they have options in southwest Michigan.

 

Opinions expressed are those of the editorial board consisting of Publisher Michael Caldwell and editors Ambrosia Neldon, Craig Haupert, Ted Yoakum and Scott Novak.