1. A NEW PUBLIC SCHOOL FOR FAMILIES.
WWW.KAYOUTH.ORG
The mission of Knowledge Academies is to prepare students to make the best
academic and social choices leading to the completion of a college degree. Our
alumni will graduate college-ready and remain connected to their community.

2. 1. Dramatically improve college readiness and
completion, especially among disadvantaged
students;
2. Make a difference to students who most
need assistance; and
3. Achieve innovation through collaboration and
partnerships.
Knowledge Academies is very pleased to join the Next
Generation Learning Challenges community (NGLC) as a K-12
Breakthrough School Model for College Readiness.

3. DEVELOPMENT OF COLLEGE READY HABITS
Research identifies the following habits as strong predictors of college degree
completion. Each individually impacts the probability for success by at least 5
percent (Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, 2011).
KA’s design principles focus on reinforcing these habits, every day.
1.Having a definite reason for choosing college and following through with a
college early action / early decision application.
2.Using the internet to research and compare different colleges.
3.Visiting a college campus.
4.Participating in student clubs / student groups while enrolled in college.
5.Strong emotional health (based on self-rating)
6.Strong drive to achieve (based on self-rating)
7.Consistent follow through on homework (especially during senior year)
8.Performing volunteer work (especially as a senior)

4. 42.1
59.7
64.2
27.4
44.8
50.2
4 Years 5 Years 6 Years
College Degree Attainment % Rates by
Family Experience with College
College Experienced 1st Generation
The table summarizes the
disparity in the college
completion rate of first
generation college
students vs. students from
families that have
experience with college.
For each key
indicator, first
generation college
students lag their peers
by 14 to 15 percent
(Higher Education
Research Institute at
UCLA, 2011).

5. PROTECTED TIME EACH DAY FOR TEAM BUILDING
Building community
& trust
Peer observation &
feedback
Examining student work
Text-based discussions
Tools &
Framework
Daily activities focused on self-discovery,
social emotional learning, & team building.
1. Learning Combination Inventory
2. Critical Friends Protocol (Adaptations)
3. KA Design Principles
Blended learning teams
(BLTs)
Youth - Adult
60 minutes (M-Th), 90 minutes (F)
Minimum of 4 hours per week
Developing consistent support structure to
develop learning teams (youth – adult) that
work collaboratively pursuing MOOCs for
accelerated learning and development.

6. SUPPORTING LEARNER OWNERSHIP THROUGH
BLENDED LEARNING TEAMS
Primary Purposes of Blended Learning
Teams
1. Support peer-to-peer learning and social
emotional support.
2. Hold all team members accountable for
sharing evidence of progress, everyday.
3. Hold all team members accountable for
teaching or sharing at least one newly
mastered skill (every week), within their team.

7. USING MOOCS FOR TEAM DEVELOPMENT
Internal Professional
Development
External
Student & teacher
created mini-modules
focused on the
school’s core values,
routines, expectations.
Method for all students
getting used to the
format of MOOCs and
reinforcement of
organization
principles.
All KA team members
are offered financial
incentives for
completing MOOCs
related to any area of
personal or
professional interest.
- Individual Modules
- Complete Courses
Team members
present their lessons
learned and
application to their
personal goals.
Sharing lessons
learned from the
application of MOOCs
through a formal
professional
development module
or course.
- All MOOCs created
by KA are under
Creative Commons
License
- Provided on a
platform that is
widely used by
many learners.

8. SCHOOL METRICS
Team Academics Families
Proactive
communication.
Active pursuit of
professional growth &
development.
On-time & prepared.
Common social
emotional strategies
and vocabulary.
Team player
Very skilled at
diplomacy in
challenging situations.
Consistent class
routines with,
recognizable anchors
everyday for every
student, focused on
learner ownership &
school values.
Consistent use of
academic vocabulary
by students and
thoughtful written
reflections / analysis of
academic progress.
Strong evidence that
learner style
preferences are
considered daily.
Parent access to class
review materials and
resources, via the web.
Team player &
considerate of family
situations.
On-time & prepared.
Very skilled at
diplomacy in
challenging situations.

9. Traditional Flexible Peer to Peer
75% Traditional 45% Traditional 15% Traditional
20% Projects &
Service
25% Projects &
Service
35% Projects &
Service
5% Online 30% Online 50% Online
Online includes group Online includes group Online includes group
work & collaboration work & collaboration work & collaboration
COLLEGE-READY FASTER PATHWAYS FOR STUDENTS
A Few Examples of Online Resources
Kahn Academy Flocabulary IXL
StudySync TenMarks BrainChild
University
Partnerships
Google Docs Graphite
Canvas Instructure edX Coursera
All Pathways are Focused on
College Readiness!

10. 50%
40%
35% 35%
30% 30%
35%
30%
20%
30% 30%
35%
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4
Pathways Based on KA Design
Principles, Levels 1 - 5
Traditional Blended Flexible
COLLEGE-READY FASTER PATHWAYS FOR STUDENTS
All pathways are based on college readiness.

11. KA’s Learner Ownership Design Principles (An Effort Based Continuum).
Learner Ownership
General Definition for KA Team Members
Overwhelming Majority of Indicators Present.
Indicators
(Students – Professionals)
Overwhelming Majority
Present
Additional
Strengths
(at least 2)
Fluent
(Level 5)
Adopter
Learners that consistently demonstrate KA’s core values and the
ability to generate, complete, and track their learning
goals, effectively communicating their understanding to diverse
audiences in multiple contexts and in collaboration with peers. Very
adept at diplomacy, even in the most difficult of situations and/or
areas of collaboration. Proactive pursuit of professional
development.
No missing or late work. On time
and prepared. Very high grades
or demonstrated learning /
professional gains. No discipline
referrals or patterns of
complaints.
Collaborating
Evaluating
Analyzing
Applying
Early
(Level 4)
Adopter
Learners that demonstrate KA’s core values and the ability to
generate, complete, and track their learning goals, with periodic
prompting, effectively communicating their ideas and understanding
to specific types of audience in collaboration with multiple peers.
Adept at diplomacy, minor assistance needed in challenging
situations and/or areas of collaboration. Actively supports all
team-based decisions.
No missing or late work. On time
and prepared. High grades or
demonstrated learning /
professional gains. No discipline
referrals or patterns of
complaints.
Collaborating
Creating
Applying
Emerging
(Level 3)
Adopter
Learners that demonstrate the ability to complete and track
learning goals, requiring ongoing assistance; limited guidance is
also needed when communicating ideas to other audiences.
Assistance is needed on key aspects of KA’s core values. Needs
assistance with reliable and consistent implementation of
diplomacy.
Usually on time and prepared.
Average to high grades, and/or
average demonstrated learning /
professional gains.
Collaborating
Applying
Understanding
Remembering
Developi
ng
(Level 2)
Adopter
Learners that benefit substantially from sustained and targeted
assistance in order to complete and track learning goals, general
assistance is needed when communicating ideas and/or levels of
understanding. Assistance is needed on key aspects of KA’s core
values. Needs ongoing assistance with diplomacy.
Chronically late or unprepared.
Average to high grades, and/or
average or below average
demonstrated learning /
professional gains.
Collaborating
Understanding
Remembering
Specialized
(Level 1)
Adopter
Learners that require sustained and targeted assistance to
complete and track learning goals, sustained assistance is needed
to communicate their ideas and/or levels of understanding.
Low to Average Grades. Chronic
pattern of discipline referrals or
complaints, and/or average to
Collaborating
Remembering

12. KA DESIGN PRINCIPLES. LEARNER OWNERSHIP
KA Domains for Learner
Ownership
KA General Skills
Emphasized
1. Social & Emotional
(Self)
Sharing and reflecting.
Considering others.
Improving communication.
2. Academics & College
Access
(Citizenship)
Creativity - Seeking new ways
to look at things.
Extension & Consumption –
Using prior knowledge,
Review & Practice – Focused
skill building
3. Cultural & Extra-
Curricular (Home)
Home to school connections
including college access, adult
literacy, athletics, and student
clubs.

13. KA DESIGN PRINCIPLES. LEARNER OWNERSHIP
KA Role Definitions KA Descriptor
1. Learner
(Students, Families, &
Professionals)
Adults - youth involved in Blended
Learning Teams (BLTs), college
access, adult literacy, and wellness.
2. Learning Mentors
(Students, Professionals).
Identified through application
process. Training ongoing.
Youth and adults that help facilitate
blended learning teams. Mentors
have office hours, every day, to assist
other learners in areas of
demonstrated mastery.
3. Teacher Facilitator
(Certificated). Annually involved
in summer and continuing
education.
Classroom educators / facilitators
progressing through various stages of
KA’s Design Principles (Levels 1 – 5).
4. Learning Coaches
(Certificated / Non-Certificated;
High Performing). Annually
Expert learners (youth – adult) with 2
consecutive years of level 5 learning
gains or demonstrated college
readiness habits (Levels 1 – 5).

14. KA’s Adaptation of Learning Preferences
(Schoolwide, Youth – Adult)
Adapted from Johnston & Dainton’s Learning Combination Inventory (1996)[1]
•The learner benefits most from step-by-step
instructions, completing each step from beginning to
end, sharing completed work, as directed.
Next Step
(Sequence)
•The learner benefits most from taking detailed notes and
asking detailed questions, sharing what has been learned
through writing and/or reflection.
More Detail
(Precise)
•The learner benefits most from working independently using
hands-on experiences, sharing what has been learned
through a real-world experience / project.
My Experience
(Technical)
•The learner benefits most from exploration and having the
freedom to improvise, sharing what has been learned
based on the best match for each unique circumstance.
I Create
(Confluent)
[1] Johnston, C., and G. Dainton. (1996). The Learning Combination Inventory. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press, Sage Publications.

15. A NEW PUBLIC SCHOOL FOR FAMILIES
1. KA’s primary goal is college ready faster,
for more learners.
2. KA will form innovative partnerships that
scale to impact 5,000 or more students
within the next 4 years, benefiting students,
families, and the people that serve them.

16. BRINGING A TRANSFORMATIVE IDEA TO SCALE
Planning
(1 Year)
Implementation,
Phase I
(Local Region, Years 1 -
3)
Implemetation
Phase 2
(Beyond Local
Region, Years 4 - 6)

17. Algebra I
Geometry
Physical Science
Spanish I
Advanced U.S. / World
History
EARLY HIGH SCHOOL CREDIT AND ADVANCED
CLASSES AT KA (GRADES 6 – 8)
KA will offer early high school credit, based on teacher
recommendations and/or scoring Advanced or High
Proficient in a core content discipline (Grades 6 - 8).
All advanced classes will receive high school credit and may have a combination
of grade levels, based on demonstrated academic ability.

18. ABOUT KNOWLEDGE ACADEMIES
• “Most Effective” School rating, TN
Department of Education,
2012-2013
• Only 5 percent of schools
statewide have a similar
demographic.
(18% ELL, 10% SPED, 80%+
Poverty)
• Zero financial audit findings for all
years of operations (government
accounting standards).
• Minimal reliance on additional
fundraising.
• 2014 – 2015 of Next Generation
Learning Challenge Community
(NGLC) – Planning Begins May 2014
• National K-12 Breakthrough Model
for College Readiness
• Launching multiple Massive Open
Online Courses (MOOCs) focused
on Learner Ownership (youth –
adult).
• KA, Nashville (K-12) & Beyond
• Setting the stage for K through
Higher Education Opportunities
(learners, youth – adult).
Transformative roles, training, & support
Learning Coaches - Learning Mentors
Teacher Facilitator
(Youth – Adult)