Arizona State University: A Learning Enterprise Supports Schools in Arizona During the Pandemic

• In Event: How Universities Partnered With K–12 Schools During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Chile, Mexico, Russia, Qatar, and the United States.

Abstract

The case shared by Arizona State University (ASU) describes how different units at ASU mounted rapid responses to the pandemic that provided elementary- and secondary-level students resources and learning opportunities to which they would otherwise not have had access. Those units include ASU Preparatory Academy (a tuition-free school serving students in grades K-12 chartered by ASU), ASU Prep Digital (a flexible online school offering a path towards college admission), the Gary K. Herberger Young Scholars Academy (a learning environment for intellectually gifted students) and ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. Actions focused on assuring a direct provision of education to P-12 learners; supporting schools with human and intellectual capital resources; and curating and making available free educational resources to learners, families, and schools. As ASU has a longstanding experience of partnerships with elementary and secondary schools, many of the existing long-term commitments helped the university develop capabilities that could be quickly applied to help elementary and secondary learners during the pandemic. A key enabler of collaboration with P-12 schools is that ASU has in place a formal institutional vision to universal learning that demands a university be ready and able to deliver instruction in many modalities to all learners.

Author

• Carole G. Basile, Arizona State University