Wendy Cox Blair, executive director of the Arbor School of Central Florida, talked to Invest: about how the school’s use of project-based learning and universal-design learning allows students to learn the content in alternative ways that meet their specific needs. She also highlighted how the school has adopted technology as a core part of its curriculum and how it works with students to ensure a greater success rate in terms of college acceptance and workforce integration.
What are the most important growth milestones of the Arbor School of Central Florida over the past year?
We have expanded our capacity by adding a second campus and developing new programming. We offer STEAM programming that includes programming, 3-D printing, robotics, digital and other arts classes as well as performing arts. We also do transition-to-work training and work with kids academically. Our growth has been driven by the fact that we have been here for 20 years, and people know that we give children the education that they deserve.
What is the strategy of the Arbor School of Central Florida to maintain this level of growth?
Our biggest priority is to be ahead of the game constantly. We want to be the ones that everybody else goes to see to learn what we are doing since the greatest form of flattery is others copying what we do. Secondly, we ensure that our academic programming for the students is appropriate so they are challenged academically. A lot of what we do is hand in hand with the parents. Every year, we ask for the parents’ top five goals, which become our goals. One of our big driving forces is that parents are included in the journey.
What are the key factors that set Arbor School of Central Florida apart regarding an innovative approach to learning?
Our approach is entirely different than most of the other schools in the area in terms of special education. Special education has always relied on applied behavioral analysis (ABA) models, but we firmly believe that our students’ needs are better met through social skills coaching, sensory integration, and functional language support. We provide students with the words they need and the academic pieces. We already have two campuses and will likely have a third one open within the next year.
How does Arbor School of Central Florida’s approach to learning contribute to students’ college acceptance or workforce success?
As kids enter high school, we conduct surveys to gauge their interests. The information helps us determine what they want, so we start working with them on how to get there. If a student wants to be an HVACR technician, chef, or scientist, we look for ways to get them there. We make sure that they get what they need.
Many of our students are into graphic design and programming, so they must take all our programming and digital art classes. One of our students identified that he wanted to go to Full Sail University, so we helped him transition.
How do project-based learning and universal design learning contribute to students’ success?
Project-based learning and universal design go hand in hand. Universal design focuses on what, why, and how we teach what we teach. Project-based learning focuses on learning the concepts in alternative ways rather than traditional lecturing, especially since most people are not auditory learners. For our U.S. history courses, we had the students create board games like Risk based on different WWI battles. This allowed the kids to research the battles and collaborate to create the game.
Project-based learning is all about taking what they know and showing it differently. Those are the skills that we need today. Nobody in an office does multiple-choice tests, but they show what they know through completing different projects. We are preparing our students for the workplace, which takes a lot of pressure off students who are not test-takers.
How does Arbor School’s individually tailored learning experience innovate in learning?
We do not pigeonhole our students. We are cautious about the students that we take and what classrooms we place them in. Every decision that we make comes down to whether it will benefit all students in a class. Some of our students are strong in math, so we do not put them into a math class where they already know the work. For instance, we have a couple of sixth-grade students doing algebra since they already know the material for sixth-grade math. We want to challenge them. Similarly, we have students running behind in math, so we will not put them into an algebra class until they are ready. We can take our time, speed up or slow down. We have students doing algebra in two years rather than one because they take a little longer to process their learning.
What is the strategy of Arbor School to integrate global perspectives into its curriculum and student experiences?
Integrating global perspectives into the curriculum and student experience is crucial for preparing students to thrive in an interconnected world. At Arbor School, we infuse global content into our curriculum. For instance, the study of Botany would include botanists from all cultures. In addition, we are a very diverse group of people culturally and ability, both staff and students. This diversity allows us to learn about each other’s cultures in our day-to-day lives. We also solicit feedback from students, faculty, and stakeholders to continuously improve and refine global learning initiatives.
How does Arbor School’s STEAM program impact students’ readiness for adult life?
The Steam program started four or five years ago with a minor programming class and has grown like crazy. We addressed STEAM because we knew that the students needed it. Technology is here, so we need to teach them technology for good. We focus on introducing the technology classes by doing STEAM-based projects, which teaches a lot. If something fails, we go back and understand why it failed and focus on problem-solving and working as a group, which also helps with social skills.
Kids will transfer social skills into the workplace, so they need to be able to solve problems, work as a group, and, when something does not work, figure out what to do. We incorporate science, technology, math, and the arts in those projects but focus on sneaking up and teaching them. Our students learn these concepts without even realizing it. STEAM helps us generalize concepts. It helps us show why different topics exist and why we must teach them.
How do you expect the future of education to evolve, considering recent global and technological changes?
People who stick their heads in the sand and say they will never use technology will get left behind. Technology is here to stay, and our students are very tech-savvy. Some kids come in and reprogram my computer without me even realizing it. The biggest technology that is blowing up education right now is virtual reality. I am writing a grant to purchase some virtual reality equipment to do 3D classes and labs in math and science. It will also help with career readiness training so kids can learn how to do things like cybersecurity. It is a hands-on approach to learning using virtual reality goggles.
Some people say they will never use AI, and others say they have been using it forever, even before we used that term. We need to teach kids technology for good. We are aware that ChatGPT does a lot, but we teach its limitations. Those two big things will blow education out of the water in the next two to three years.
