Dear Parents, Guardians and Students,
We are pleased to inform you of an exciting initiative that Milton Middle School is working on this year. Personal learning plans (PLPs) have been mandated by the state of Vermont as a key element of the Act 77: Flexible Pathways legislation. Beginning in the fall of 2015, students in grades 7 and 9 are required to have a personalized learning plan that documents their growth and learning as a student, identifies educational opportunities beyond the traditional classroom setting, supports student achievement of academic and personal goals, and demonstrates student proficiency with the Agency of Education’s Transferable Skills. Milton Middle School is embracing personal learning plans (PLPs) for all students in grades 6-8. This work will lay the foundation for the growth of their PLP as they progress through grade 12.
Using a Personal Learning Framework (see below), students explore their identity as learners, their supportive community relationships, and their academic and extracurricular goals. Additionally, students are given the opportunity to set goals, collect evidence of goal achievement, use technology to document and communicate their growth, and to explore opportunities of interest.
Each Milton Middle School student has initiated the process of developing his/her own PLP blog. This site is secure under the mymtsd-vt.org domain and the student has shared it with their House teachers and their adviser. We encourage you to ask your child about his/her blog. All students have written an About Me section and taken personality/interest/learning surveys. At our November conferences, the personal learning plan will serve as the basis for discussion with your child about his/her identity as a learner, his/her academic, extracurricular, and citizenship goals, and evidence of learning. We would also encourage you to come to the conference with your hopes and dreams for your child. From this meeting, students will continue to work on both long term and short term goals.
As we progress through the year, we will continue using the Personal Learning Framework to help guide your child toward completion of his/her goals, collection of evidence identifying his/her growth and learning, and reflection on the strengths and challenges he/she works on as a member of Milton Middle School. The work students do on their PLPs while in middle school will carryover into the work they do in high school.
In advance, thank you for supporting this important student work. Please feel free to contact us with any questions, concerns, or comments. We look forward to our November conferences and using the personal learning plan as a key instrument in your student’s educational program.
MMS Curriculum Team Leaders
Nathan Caswell
Marcel Choquette
Jana Fabri
Maria Gordon
Amy Johnson
Josh Roof
Joe Smith
Lauren Talbot
Catherine Thibault-Cote
