DRIVING ATTENDANCE, ENGAGEMENT AND OUTCOMES FOR EVERY STUDENT
Pendergast Elementary School District serves more than 8,000 students across 12 schools in west Phoenix, with a commitment to giving every student access to the same powerful learning opportunities as students anywhere.
When district leaders saw motivation and engagement decline, they looked for a way to change the learning experience without lowering academic expectations.
Pendergast built its first Dreamscape Classroom in 2024 and saw immediate gains in attendance, assignment completion, and mastery. Student attendance reached 95–98% on Dreamscape lab days, with related work turned in at a higher rate and completed at a higher mastery level.
Those early results drove rapid expansion across the district, with two Mobile Classrooms added in 2025 and three Carts in 2026.
Pendergast Elementary School District serves more than 8,000 students across 12 schools in west Phoenix, with a commitment to giving every student access to the same powerful learning opportunities as students anywhere.
When district leaders saw motivation and engagement decline, they looked for a way to change the learning experience without lowering academic expectations.
Pendergast built its first Dreamscape Classroom in 2024 and saw immediate gains in attendance, assignment completion, and mastery. Student attendance reached 95–98% on Dreamscape lab days, with related work turned in at a higher rate and completed at a higher mastery level.
Those early results drove rapid expansion across the district, with two Mobile Classrooms added in 2025 and three Carts in 2026.
Pendergast Elementary School District serves more than 8,000 students across 12 schools in west Phoenix, with a commitment to giving every student access to the same powerful learning opportunities as students anywhere.
When district leaders saw motivation and engagement decline, they looked for a way to change the learning experience without lowering academic expectations.
Pendergast built its first Dreamscape Classroom in 2024 and saw immediate gains in attendance, assignment completion, and mastery. Student attendance reached 95–98% on Dreamscape lab days, with related work turned in at a higher rate and completed at a higher mastery level.
Those early results drove rapid expansion across the district, with two Mobile Classrooms added in 2025 and three Carts in 2026.
I have never seen an instructional intervention that was this impactful, immediately, for children.
Dr. Jennifer Cruz, Superintendent, Pendergast Elementary School District
Dr. Jennifer Cruz, Superintendent, Pendergast Elementary School District
THE CHALLENGE: REIMAGINING MIDDLE SCHOOL
Like many school leaders, Dr. Jennifer Cruz was seeing students become less engaged with school, particularly in middle school. The signs were clear: attendance, classroom behavior, assignment completion and the quality of student work all reflected whether students saw purpose in what they were being asked to do.
“We were seeing a drop-off in motivation,” said Dr. Jennifer Cruz, superintendent of Pendergast Elementary School District. “Students just weren’t seeing the why behind the work.”
For Dr. Cruz and her team, the issue was not student ability. It was a mismatch between students’ lives outside school and the way they were often asked to learn inside school.
Pendergast serves a diverse student population in west Phoenix, and district leaders worried that too many students were being left behind by a system that no longer matched how young people learn, connect and pay attention. Students were growing up in a world shaped by immersive media, gaming and digital storytelling. School needed to give them learning experiences that felt more active, relevant and worth their effort.
“We have a significant engagement challenge because of the structural problem that we face," Dr. Cruz said.
Like many school leaders, Dr. Jennifer Cruz was seeing students become less engaged with school, particularly in middle school. The signs were clear: attendance, classroom behavior, assignment completion and the quality of student work all reflected whether students saw purpose in what they were being asked to do.
“We were seeing a drop-off in motivation,” said Dr. Jennifer Cruz, superintendent of Pendergast Elementary School District. “Students just weren’t seeing the why behind the work.”
For Dr. Cruz and her team, the issue was not student ability. It was a mismatch between students’ lives outside school and the way they were often asked to learn inside school.
Pendergast serves a diverse student population in west Phoenix, and district leaders worried that too many students were being left behind by a system that no longer matched how young people learn, connect and pay attention. Students were growing
up in a world shaped by immersive media, gaming and digital storytelling. School needed to give them learning experiences that felt more active, relevant and worth their effort.
“We have a significant engagement challenge because of the structural problem that we face,” Dr. Cruz said. “Students live with technology. They form relationships through
Like many school leaders, Dr. Jennifer Cruz was seeing students become less engaged with school, particularly in middle school. The signs were clear: attendance, classroom behavior, assignment completion and the quality of student work all reflected whether students saw purpose in what they were being asked to do.
“We were seeing a drop-off in motivation,” said Dr. Jennifer Cruz, superintendent of Pendergast Elementary School District. “Students just weren’t seeing the why behind the work.”
For Dr. Cruz and her team, the issue was not student ability. It was a mismatch between students’ lives outside school and the way they were often asked to learn inside school.
Pendergast serves a diverse student population in west Phoenix, and district leaders worried that too many students were being left behind by a system that no longer matched how young people learn, connect and pay attention. Students were growing up in a world
“Students live with technology. They form relationships through technology. School is such a different and old construct that it just doesn’t fit.”
For Pendergast, the challenge became part of a broader effort to rethink the middle school experience and give students access to opportunities often associated with far wealthier communities.
shaped by immersive media, gaming and digital storytelling. School needed to give them learning experiences that felt more active, relevant and worth their effort.
“We have a significant engagement challenge because of the structural problem that we face,” Dr. Cruz said. “Students live with technology. They form relationships through technology. School is such a different and old construct that it just doesn’t fit.”
For Pendergast, the challenge became part of a broader effort to rethink the middle school experience and give students access to opportunities often associated with far wealthier communities.
technology. School is such a different and old construct that it just doesn’t fit.”
For Pendergast, the challenge became part of a broader effort to rethink the middle school experience and give students access to opportunities often associated with far wealthier communities.
We want our students to understand that they’re afforded every opportunity that anyone else has.
Dr. Jennifer Cruz, Superintendent, Pendergast Elementary School District
Dr. Jennifer Cruz, Superintendent, Pendergast Elementary School District
SOLUTION: BUILDING A MIDDLE SCHOOL EXPERIENCE STUDENTS WANTED TO RETURN TO
Pendergast’s middle school reinvention effort centered on experiential learning, project-based learning and more authentic educational experiences. District leaders were looking for new ways to increase student motivation and engagement without lowering academic expectations. That search led them to Arizona State University where Dr. Cruz first experienced Dreamscape Learn
Pendergast launched Dreamscape Learn at Villa de Paz Elementary School in 2024, integrating immersive experiences into its middle school science curriculum. Students moved between Dreamscape Learn missions and classroom work tied to the same storyline, using scientific reports, lab analysis, data interpretation and math to solve each challenge.
Pendergast aligned the program to Arizona science standards and its existing curriculum maps, selecting the modules that fit its science sequence. The result was an immersive, standards-aligned model that motivated students while fitting into the way Pendergast already teaches science.
their phone calendars so they would not miss them. Teachers heard students talking about the modules at lunch, at recess and in other classrooms. Those conversations were not limited to the storyline. Students were using stronger scientific vocabulary, talking through problems and making connections to the work they were doing in class.
OUTCOME: TURNING ENGAGEMENT INTO ATTENDANCE, COMPLETION, AND MASTERY
At Villa de Paz, the impact showed up quickly.
Students began adding Dreamscape lab days to their phone calendars so they would not miss them. Teachers heard students talking about the modules at lunch, at recess and in other classrooms. Those conversations were not limited to the storyline. Students were using stronger scientific vocabulary, talking through problems and making connections to the work they were doing in class.
At Villa de Paz, the impact showed up quickly.
Students began adding Dreamscape lab days to
We’re seeing 95% to 98% student attendance, particularly on lab days. We’re also seeing 98% to 99% of student work turned in that relates to our Dreamscape Learn labs, and that work is being completed at a much higher mastery rate.
Dr. Jennifer Cruz, Superintendent, Pendergast Elementary School District
Dr. Jennifer Cruz, Superintendent, Pendergast Elementary School District
The immersive storylines became a source of motivation. Students cared about the problems they were trying to solve and the creatures they were trying to help. That emotional investment changed how they approached the classroom work. To move forward, they had to read the reports, write the labs, do the math and complete the assignments tied to each mission.
That reaction is what district leaders hoped to create: students who cared enough about the outcome to do the work required to solve the problem.
“We’ve had middle school students practically in tears trying to figure out how to save the animals,” said Dr. Shelmon Brown, Chief Academic Officer at Pendergast Elementary School District. “They wanted to come back the next day. They wanted to do the work because they needed to know what happened next.”
Teachers saw the shift in real time. Students were more engaged in their coursework, more willing to complete assignments and more prepared to participate in academic conversations. The work connected to Dreamscape Learn gave students a reason to persist through tasks that might otherwise have felt disconnected or abstract.
For Cruz, the early response made the next step clear.
Pendergast is now expanding Dreamscape Learn from one campus to a districtwide model through Dreamscape Mobile Classrooms and Immersive Classroom Carts, supported by district investment and community partnerships. These flexible formats let the district reach students across its 12 schools without building a permanent Dreamscape Classroom on every campus.
The model gives Pendergast a practical way to scale what worked at Villa de Paz: rigorous STEM work built around a problem students want to solve. When students care about the problem they are solving, they are more likely to show up, do the work and stay with it.
Related Coverage
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Josh Reibel
CEO
Lisa Flesher is the Chief of Realm 4, Project Acceleration at Arizona State University where she helps guide unique, technology-enhanced projects to advance initiatives in Realm 4 - Education Through Exploration. An example of this work includes Dreamscape Learn which empowers learners through fully immersive and interactive VR learning experiences. Her background includes developing technical tools and solutions focused on student support and success, including Starbucks, Global Freshman Academy, me3, and our partnership with the...
Read More
Aaron Grosky
President and COO
Lisa Flesher is the Chief of Realm 4, Project Acceleration at Arizona State University where she helps guide unique, technology-enhanced projects to advance initiatives in Realm 4 - Education Through Exploration. An example of this work includes Dreamscape Learn which empowers learners through fully immersive and interactive VR learning experiences. Her background includes developing technical tools and solutions focused on student support and success, including Starbucks, Global Freshman Academy, me3, and our partnership with the...
Read More
_edited.jpg)
Agatha Ladd
Chief Financial Officer
Lisa Flesher is the Chief of Realm 4, Project Acceleration at Arizona State University where she helps guide unique, technology-enhanced projects to advance initiatives in Realm 4 - Education Through Exploration. An example of this work includes Dreamscape Learn which empowers learners through fully immersive and interactive VR learning experiences. Her background includes developing technical tools and solutions focused on student support and success, including Starbucks, Global Freshman Academy, me3, and our partnership with the...
Read More
Amit Kumar
General Counsel
Lisa Flesher is the Chief of Realm 4, Project Acceleration at Arizona State University where she helps guide unique, technology-enhanced projects to advance initiatives in Realm 4 - Education Through Exploration. An example of this work includes Dreamscape Learn which empowers learners through fully immersive and interactive VR learning experiences. Her background includes developing technical tools and solutions focused on student support and success, including Starbucks, Global Freshman Academy, me3, and our partnership with the...
Read More
Fiona Quinn
Chief People Officer
Lisa Flesher is the Chief of Realm 4, Project Acceleration at Arizona State University where she helps guide unique, technology-enhanced projects to advance initiatives in Realm 4 - Education Through Exploration. An example of this work includes Dreamscape Learn which empowers learners through fully immersive and interactive VR learning experiences. Her background includes developing technical tools and solutions focused on student support and success, including Starbucks, Global Freshman Academy, me3, and our partnership with the...
Read More
Chris Huff
SVP, Academic Partnerships, Dreamscape Learn
Lisa Flesher is the Chief of Realm 4, Project Acceleration at Arizona State University where she helps guide unique, technology-enhanced projects to advance initiatives in Realm 4 - Education Through Exploration. An example of this work includes Dreamscape Learn which empowers learners through fully immersive and interactive VR learning experiences. Her background includes developing technical tools and solutions focused on student support and success, including Starbucks, Global Freshman Academy, me3, and our partnership with the...
Read More
Michael Crow
President, Arizona State University
Lisa Flesher is the Chief of Realm 4, Project Acceleration at Arizona State University where she helps guide unique, technology-enhanced projects to advance initiatives in Realm 4 - Education Through Exploration. An example of this work includes Dreamscape Learn which empowers learners through fully immersive and interactive VR learning experiences. Her background includes developing technical tools and solutions focused on student support and success, including Starbucks, Global Freshman Academy, me3, and our partnership with the...
Read More
Walter Parkes
CEO & Co-Founder, Dreamscape Immersive
Lisa Flesher is the Chief of Realm 4, Project Acceleration at Arizona State University where she helps guide unique, technology-enhanced projects to advance initiatives in Realm 4 - Education Through Exploration. An example of this work includes Dreamscape Learn which empowers learners through fully immersive and interactive VR learning experiences. Her background includes developing technical tools and solutions focused on student support and success, including Starbucks, Global Freshman Academy, me3, and our partnership with the...