Dr. Barbara Nesbitt is the Assistant Superintendent for Technology Services at the School District of Pickens County in South Carolina. According to Dr. Nesbitt, “We've defined a lot for our teachers about giving kids more choice and voice over their time pace in place of learning, but how we chose to define it as empowered learners involved in engaging learning opportunities in quality learning environments. We believe that personalized learning is a way for us to provide equity for all. It's about giving our kids choices, not where we're choosing for them, but where they have opportunities to choose for themselves. What it looks like for a five-year-old to choose and a 12th grader to choose are very different. We're talking about growing them up so that by the time they leave us at 12th grade and they enter college or career, they feel empowered to make decisions for their lives.”

In this very special new standards discussion, Dr. Nesbitt explores the benefits of empowering every learner, and the results speak for themselves.