Dan D. Rogers Elementary re-launched this fall as a personalized learning campus, one of Dallas ISD’s new choice schools, and now the school is inviting current and prospective parents to peek into its classrooms.
Two open house events, including one this coming Thursday, Sept. 16 at 6 p.m., will offer a presentation from the campus leadership team, a Q&A session and student-led tours. What parents should expect to see, says DISD Trustee Mike Morath, is something like a “high-tech Montessori.”
“They individualize instruction, allowing kids to drive their own educational experience and proceed at their own pace,” Morath says. “This helps all kids. But for rock-star kids, this means they can quickly advance to the next level and do far deeper dives into content areas that interest them the most.”
Like Mata Montessori, Rogers will set up mixed-age classrooms, “which helps develop leadership skills as older students help guide the younger ones,” Morath says. Technology is “tightly integrated” into the curriculum, he adds, so that students will be prepared for the workplaces of the future.
Anyone is welcome to attend either Thursday evening’s open house or another scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 1 at 9:30 a.m. The school is requesting RSVPs to be able to better answer the community’s questions, either online or by calling the school counselor, Ms. Juneau, at 972.794.8840.
Rogers is considered an “innovation school,” meaning it remains a neighborhood school but has changed its curriculum approach. Its boundaries include University Meadows and Ridgewood Park, though Principal Lisa Lovato has noted that Rogers is popular with transfer families and isn’t well-attended by children in its own neighborhood. Though enrollment remained traditional for innovation schools this year, the district has suggested that might change for the 2016-17 school year.
