BlendEd
The Bay Area BlendEd Consortium was founded in 2013 by The Athenian School, The College Preparatory School, Lick-Wilmerding High School, Marin Academy, and The Urban School in order to jointly offer a set of blended classes combining face-to-face and online instruction.
The Consortium provides a unique educational opportunity for rising juniors and seniors, allowing them to access an expanded array of challenging, upper-level electives and to take classes with peers and teachers from these six schools. The exciting courses offered combine online and face-to-face instruction and will use the Bay Area as a learning laboratory. BlendEd will help prepare students for the changing methods of instruction and communication they will see in college and in the workforce, while preserving the fundamental relational culture that lies at the hearts of our schools’ educational missions.
Enrolling in BlendEd Courses
The BlendEd courses are available to juniors and seniors in the six consortium schools. The courses and full descriptions will be listed in the course catalog at each school and available for eligible students during the course selection process at each consortium school. Class sizes will be limited to 18 students. The small class size affirms our commitment to meeting individual student needs and the building of strong classroom cultures where students feel equally invested in helping each other succeed. Interested students are encouraged to inquire early.
BlendEd Course Structure
BlendEd courses combine demonstrated best practices for online learning with face-to-face instruction, while taking advantage of the geography, talent, and culture of the Bay Area. The instructors of these courses are gifted and committed faculty from the six BlendEd Consortium schools. Students will access these courses via a learning management system (LMS), where they can engage in a variety of ways, including reviewing materials, exploring digital media, participating in group discussions, and submitting their work. These courses are interactive with significant time spent working asynchronously in the LMS along with occasional virtual class meetings. Each course will also include a minimum of three face-to-face sessions. Students must have reliable access to the Internet and access to a device such as a desktop computer, laptop computer, or tablet.
BlendEd Contacts (Site Coordinators) at Each School:
Megan Leich, Site Coordinator The Athenian School megan.leich@athenian.org
Lori Hébert, Site Coordinator The College Preparatory School lori@college-prep.org
Lori Hébert, Site Coordinator The College Preparatory School lori@college-prep.org
Don Rizzi, Site Coordinator Lick-Wilmerding High School drizzi@lwhs.org
Liz Gottlieb, Marin Academy lgottlieb@ma.org
Riley Maddox, Site Coordinator The Urban School rmaddox@urbanschool.org
For more information and detailed course descriptions, please visit us on the web at www.blendedconsortium.org.
FAQs
- Why participate in a BlendEd class?
- How are the classes structured?
- Are there dedicated quiet spaces at MA to work?
- What are the technological requirements for participation in a BlendEd class?
- Who can enroll and is there specific criteria that will be used to determine which students may register for a BlendEd class?
- Can I take a BlendEd course as an 8th class?
- Is there additional tuition required for taking a BlendEd course?
- How will student performance be assessed and evaluated in a BlendEd course, especially if it’s a nonMA teacher? Is there a midterm evaluation?
- Is the course schedule the same as MA’s regular academic schedule?
- Will my child be able to participate in athletics, theater, music or other after school activities if s/he takes a BlendEd course?
- Are parents able to communicate with a BlendEd teacher from another school?
- How do colleges view a BlendEd course?
- Are these classes UC approved?
- We chose MA because it’s MA, but BlendEd isn’t only MA. Why would my student want to participate in this new endeavor?
- Where can I get more information?
Why participate in a BlendEd class?
How are the classes structured?
Are there dedicated quiet spaces at MA to work?
What are the technological requirements for participation in a BlendEd class?
Who can enroll and is there specific criteria that will be used to determine which students may register for a BlendEd class?
Can I take a BlendEd course as an 8th class?
Is there additional tuition required for taking a BlendEd course?
How will student performance be assessed and evaluated in a BlendEd course, especially if it’s a nonMA teacher? Is there a midterm evaluation?
Is the course schedule the same as MA’s regular academic schedule?
Will my child be able to participate in athletics, theater, music or other after school activities if s/he takes a BlendEd course?
Are parents able to communicate with a BlendEd teacher from another school?
How do colleges view a BlendEd course?
Are these classes UC approved?
We chose MA because it’s MA, but BlendEd isn’t only MA. Why would my student want to participate in this new endeavor?
Where can I get more information?
What is BlendEd?
Great question! The BlendEd Consortium is a partnership between seven Bay Area independent schools that allows us to offer our students cool, unique, and innovative electives—courses designed to enhance online learning with face-to-face time, lots of experiential learning, and going on some awesome field trips. BlendEd courses get our students outside their classrooms and engaging with the many natural and cultural resources around the Bay Area, and beyond (via Expeditionary courses)!

Elizabeth Gottlieb
BlendEd Coordinator, Co-Director of Outings, Science Teacher, XC Coach
Work:
(415) 482-3276