Principle: Competency-Based Education

School Redesign in Action Conference

The 8th annual School Redesign in Action conference will be held on March 27 & 28, 2017 in Hartford, CT. The School Redesign in Action conference is the New England Secondary School Consortium’s annual conference for educators and stakeholders to share success stories, exchange best practices, and continue to build momentum and public support for… Read More ›

Reaching the Tipping Point: Insights on Advancing Competency Education in New England

This paper explores K-12 competency-based education policy and practice across six New England states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It examines the core concepts of competency education, detailing the limitations of the traditional system, and outlining how competency education is designed explicitly for equity and student success. Next, the author addresses… Read More ›

Maine Voices: Casco Bay High Shines as Joyful Example of Learning’s Expedition

In this post, Derek Pierce, Principal of Casco Bay High School in Portland, Maine writes about his school’s student-centered program and the state’s transition to a proficiency-based model for all schools. Casco Bay High School embraces a competency-based learning environment focused on interdisciplinary group projects. This model school continues to achieve a high retention and… Read More ›

Investing in Shared Leadership

This post is part of a series of posts related to the 2015 report, Implementing Competency Education in K-12 Systems: Insights from Local Leaders, which looks at implementation strategies districts are using to convert traditional education systems into environments for dynamic personalized learning. This post looks at the need for superintendents and principals to develop collaborative… Read More ›

Personalized Learning, Maine Style

This article in Education Leadership discusses Maine’s move to proficiency-based graduation requirements and the consequent move to increase personalized learning across the state. Mary Bellavance, President of Maine ASCD, and elementary instructional strategist in district RSU #57 in Waterboro, shares the story of her district’s approach to roll out personalized learning approaches with buy-in from… Read More ›

Will Eliminating the “F” Eliminate Bad School Design?

In this article, Julia Freeland Fisher, Director of education research at the Clayton Christensen Institute discusses the possible effects of eliminating the “F” from grading systems, and what that means for competency-based learning strategies. She notes that while the dreaded “F” is going out of vogue in schools, educators must consider whether students in turn… Read More ›

National Online Learning Day

National Online Learning Day showcases how students of all ages are thriving with the ability to learn online—anywhere, anytime. It seeks to cultivate awareness of, and support for, this ever-growing community of learners and to celebrate the future of online education—wherever technology and our imaginations take us! Join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag… Read More ›

Perspectives on the Current Landscape of Competency-Based Learning Research

Join the Northeast College and Career Readiness Research Alliance (NCCRA) for a researcher, practitioner, and policymaker discussion on competency-based learning in New England and beyond. Paul Leather, deputy commissioner of education for New Hampshire, will discuss the reform in his state and present a case study on the PACE pilot accountability program, which provides alternate… Read More ›

Why Student Voices Matter

Originally posted on ewa.org on August 11, 2016 Here’s why I attended this year’s Education Writers Association National Seminar: As a high school student, I wanted to gain a new perspective on public schools and what is being done to improve them. And as an aspiring journalist, I was hoping to learn more about news coverage… Read More ›

Putting Students in Charge of Their Own Learning

This post can be originally found on the Education Writers Association website, as part of their Educated Reporter series led by Emily Richmond. Imagine you’re a student: You walk into school and check an electronic board for your name and where you go for the day. At the assigned station, you and a small group of fellow students… Read More ›

Connecting Learning to Careers

In this article, Hamutal Bernstein, research associate at the Urban Institute, explores the many ways that Connected Learning is a personalized approach to learning that is beneficial to students in today’s classrooms. Young people are living their lives in densely connected, media-saturated contexts, connecting to peers through social media. Connected Learning aims to harness this… Read More ›