Secretary's Column
By Dr. Rick Melmer
Department of Education

Have it your way!

This may date me a bit, but I can remember when the fast food wars were at their peak and Burger King released an ad that featured the slogan “Have it your way.” This was Burger King’s way of personalizing your order, dramatically different than McDonalds’ style of a one size fits all approach to customer service. Since that time, customer service has become the norm in fast food restaurants and all businesses alike. It is clear that the customer drives the agenda in today’s business climate.

Historically, that has not been true in public schools across America. In some respects, we have been spoiled. Our customers arrive each year in late August and stay with us until the end of May. When school dismisses, we could feel confident that the customers would return again in the fall. However, since these early days, there have been some changes. We have seen open enrollment emerge, along with options that students never had before such as home schooling and private schools. Today, it is more necessary than ever for schools to be focused on the needs of the customer.

It seems that customer service is now beginning to focus on the high school arena. High school reform across this country appears to be adopting the Burger King adage of “Have it your way.” More and more states are looking at flexible graduation paths that allow students to pursue learning in a way that best fits their styles.

The Governors’ 2010 Education Initiative also features a personalized approach to the high school curriculum. Here are some of the components that we are strongly urging school districts across South Dakota to consider as we attempt to personalize our high school curriculum.

• Personal learning plans The Department of Education is encouraging school districts to develop personal learning plans for each student beginning in grade eight. As the student registers for high school, the student and parent, along with a school representative, should begin to draft a plan that will outline the course expectations for that student throughout the high school experience.

• Internships It is becoming clear that employers want young people to understand the value of work. There is no better learning opportunity than to tailor an internship that may meet the needs of the student. We are challenging schools to offer creative career and tech ed courses, and many of those courses could feature short internships to help students gain a better knowledge of the world of work.

• Senior projects Senior projects are a great way for students to demonstrate their learning. Several districts across the state are beginning to require senior projects before students graduate. The Department of Education believes that senior projects are critical in helping students to reflect on their learning and demonstrate learning by actually applying concepts. 

Over the next few years, the Department of Education will be engaging with leaders across this state to determine how we can better personalize our high school curriculum. It is our hope that you will apply these principles as you consider the high school curriculum in your school district.