Renert School Promotes Excellence Through Innovation, Engagement, and Choice

Every school has its struggles, but if there's a problem at the Renert School, it's more a fun puzzle than a serious setback. In a differentiation-based school that nimbly recalibrates to offer stimulating content, how can teachers identify digital tools both inspiring and supportive enough to match student needs? Erin Edmundson, having previously used Membean, was confident it would be exactly right for her students. Even so, she knew that her passionate, creative colleagues were reveling in their return to face-to-face learning—perhaps not immediately prepared to embrace a new online platform. Because Renert School encourages teachers and learners to identify the tools that work best for them, Erin was able to start her students on the program. Once this occurred, it wasn't long before her colleagues were asking how they could get Membean for their students as well.

“Membean really sold itself. My kids—especially my grade 6 students—loved the wordplay, success on quizzes, writing activities, and being able to use the words they were learning in conversations and other classes.”

Since Renert does not have a uniform, leveled curriculum, its application of Membean is unique as well. Students in particular grades and modules may use the program, but it has also been offered as a stopgap measure for those who may not be achieving at desired levels. Erin described one such student who was not satisfied with his initial reading comprehension test results. This student sought a targeted intervention to help him achieve his desired results, but he has continued to use Membean despite surpassing this initial goal.

“He's a busy kid taking a lot of APs and preparing to go to the national championships of Reach for the Top (an academic quiz competition), but he sees the value in Membean and has become a proponent of it.”

Although Erin has had plenty of experience using Membean, this is the first time she has taught students so young. “The greatest success—and it's come as a bit of a surprise to me—has been to discover the fun in grade six.” Students at Renert have been noticeably inspired to embrace vocabulary development this year. They traverse print-rich hallways with brightly colored word posters, and several homerooms have been inspired to engage in word-of-the-day displays. Those in Erin's classes have planned a year-end celebration when they meet their completion goal of 30,000 minutes. For these kids, enthusiasm develops easily. Each student finds accomplishment simply by completing their weekly minutes, but as a group they've developed stretch goals fostering collaborative competition. Erin appreciates this organic motivation because it matches the way students learn best.

“A person's vocabulary is so highly specialized according to their family culture, hobbies, even the types of sounds a child prefers can cause them to retain some words and not others. Membean allows each student to learn the words they are ready for, the words they need. It is invaluable.”

The enthusiasm Erin witnessed this year inspires her as well. She can't wait to see where these students—already advanced for their ages—will be in two or three years. “Vocabulary is no longer school-related for them. They have an individual connection to the experience of acquiring words and the idea to push themselves further.” Renert School will continue to use Membean because it provides the motivation and engagement required by this unique community of accelerated learners.