We come from a family of Educators. It's in our blood…
As a parent…
Prior to covid, I remember seeing how much time my wife spent working with my son to ensure he was successful throughout the year. Once the pandemic hit and all of us went virtual, her time increased exponentially. I have always noticed that he loves math and science, but was not as excited about reading and language. This struggle also impacted his math as they transition to word problems. This summer, I was lucky enough to convince him to attend a book club with my sister and a small group of children. This changed my perspective on how kids can be engaged in learning. Even on his birthday, instead of choosing fortnite, he wanted to participate in the book club. The group mentality, support and friendship inspired him to learn something he wouldn’t have before. To parent through this pandemic is unfortunate, but it has caused us to shift priorities and look at the opportunities that have risen. We’ve sought out the best team, process and technology to bring that same spirit to your community.
The Beacon Model
The Beacon model is research-based and custom tailored to support students and their families by:
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Empowering students with the tools they need to be successful in a virtual or traditional learning environment. (a)
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Providing a safe and social setting for learning and social-emotional support. (b)
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Guiding students through the process of embracing their own interests and talents to develop a healthy motivation towards learning. (c)
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Supporting parents of students who are learning in a virtual, hybrid, or homeschool model. (d)
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Establishing a classroom setting that empowers educators to apply their art of teaching to each individual child, free of federal and state mandates. (e)
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Serving the community by supporting and augmenting the education provided by public, private and homeschool entities
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Working toward equity in education by providing scholarship opportunities to students who may not otherwise have access to extra education support. (f)
Citations:
(a) (Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004; Schunk & Zimmerman, 2010)
(b) (Ryan A. M., 2001; Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020; Commonwealth of Virginia, 2020; Virginia Department of Heatlh, 2020; Virginia Department of Social Services, 2020)
(c) (Ryan & Deci, 2000; Dwyer, Dweck, & Carlson-Jaquez, n.d.)
(d) (Fan & Chen, 2001)
(e) (Timms & Brough, 2013; Carlson-Jaquez, 2016)
(f) (Fan & Chen, 2001; Darling-Hammond, 2007)
The Science Behind our Learning Philosophy: Beacon’s student to teacher ratio is 6:1
In 1961 Alfred Bandura conducted an experiment that changed the way we view how students learn. With the help of toy “Bobo” dolls, Bandura provided evidence that showed that learning is a social endeavor. His work, and subsequent research based upon his research, continues to reinforce the importance of social interaction in learning for student self-regulation and motivation.
Self-regulation is a person’s ability to control their thoughts, actions and motivations. The recently viral #toddlertemptationchallege on Instagram is a great example of self-regulation in action – kids were given a sweet treat and challenged to not eat it while their parents left the room. Cameras rolling, the internet was delighted by self-regulation victories as kids were excited that they “won” the challenge and self-regulation fails as kids dug in to the treat as soon as their parents left the room. While the toddlers featured in the video made for super adorable and fun entertainment, self-regulation failures plague people of all ages: from kids who can’t keep track of their homework to adults who have a hard time staying focused at work.
We can all benefit from a little bit of co-regulation, or others helping us to stay on track and meet our goals. That’s where Beacon comes in. In the context of COVID-19, students are now siloed in their learning. Before COVID-19, teachers would masterfully co-regulate student attention while they were in the classroom, and students had the benefit of observing their peers working towards their goals. Now they won’t have peers or their teacher with them the whole day to help them stay on track and meet their learning goals. While we know that their teachers are going to be doing everything that they can to continue learning through the pandemic, the kids who are more prone to self-regulation failures may need extra support to be successful. The problem is that many teachers are given 20-30 students and they can only do but so much in a day! Beacon’s student to teacher ratio is 6:1, which allows our learning mentors the time to not only co-regulate your child’s learning but also teach them how to choose strategies that will best support their move towards being a self-regulated and independent learner. Small group sessions will give your student an opportunity to hear from their peers on what works for them and how they are learning to become self-regulated, while one-on-one sessions provide your child with support that is customized to their needs. Beacon’s model combines collaboration, a 21st Century Skill, with self-regulation instruction, and will set your child up for success not only this school year but for their lifetime!