I'm a principal at a high school that doesn't push college. Our model was a hard sell to parents - but it paid off.

"I remember going to a school board meeting about eight years ago, and the community was up in arms about Upton High School's decision to switch to personalized learning. I was the local middle school's social studies teacher at the time, and when the high school overhauled its learning model, mistakes were made. Parents weren't given enough heads-up on what personalized learning meant, teachers didn't have proper training, and it led to both staff and students leaving the school."

"As more staff at the high school started to shift away from the standard lecture and grading system structure in favor of open periods where students - not teachers - could choose how they wanted to practice what they learned, I saw how students benefited from the personalized structure. They are more motivated and excited about their schoolwork and have developed personal agency through being able to direct their own educational paths."

"I would never want to go back to a traditional teaching model. I remember seeing that shift during one class. I was busy taking care of something else for the first 10 minutes, and I hadn't addressed my students yet, but they all took the initiative to start working on their own projects. I started to see that learner agency and self-sufficiency kicked in, and I really liked that."

Upton High School in Wyoming adopted a personalized learning model that replaced traditional lectures and grading with individualized curricula and open periods. Early implementation faced community backlash, inadequate parent communication, and insufficient teacher training, causing staff and student departures. Over time, teachers learned to individualize instruction and clarify that personalized learning involves teacher-led customization, not just online programs. Students gained motivation, excitement, personal agency, and self-sufficiency by choosing how to practice and directing their educational paths. The school does not promote college as the only goal and emphasizes empowering students to excel in diverse postsecondary paths.

Read at Business Insider