Eastern Mennonite School (EMS), located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, is a private Mennonite school that integrates academic curriculum with a strong commitment to Christian discipleship.
EMS is accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools and by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and this fall implemented Haiku LMS in grades six through twelve.
The school distinguishes itself in a number of areas, including community service. The high school schedule includes a term for experiential learning (e-term), which is a week designed to experience learning in a new environment, to be involved in settings that are unique or unusual. Often e-term involves community service projects.
What brought EMS to Haiku LMS?
We’ve said time and again that, for us, providing a successful LMS means that teachers, students, and parents are able to connect and share and learn and teach without stumbling over the system. The EMS story is one that we find especially invigorating because teachers and students spurred the investigation into Haiku.
Several teachers at EMS signed up for individual accounts (see www.haikulearning.com/signup for reference) and implemented Haiku LMS in their classes. Students adopted the LMS in no time and encouraged their other teachers – those not using Haiku – to start using it, too. That encouragement prompted the school’s Technology Planning Group to look further into Haiku and ultimately to recommend to the administration that the school replace its previous LMS with Haiku.
There’s something for everyone (teachers, parents, and students!)
Mike Stoltzfus, Technology Director for EMS, said that the feedback has largely been positive. He said, “Parents really appreciate the ability to view their students’ assignments and grades, our teachers appreciate the integrated gradebook (something missing from our old system), our tutors appreciate access to students’ information [. . .], and of course our students love the interface, ability to work directly online, and the interactive nature of Haiku (something also missing from our previous solution).”
