Plugged In | 06.14.19 – iNACOL Innovator Awards Now Open

June 14, 2019

iNACOL Plugged In Newsletter

Plugged In
June 14, 2019

Nominate a Deserving Education Professional for a 2019 iNACOL Innovator Award

Each year, iNACOL honors and celebrates education pioneers for their work in personalized, competency-based education. Nominations are now being accepted for the 2019 iNACOL Innovator Awards, which will be announced at the iNACOL Symposium in Palm Springs, CA, in October 2019.

Nominations are now open for the following iNACOL Innovator Awards:
1. iNACOL Teacher of the Year
2. Outstanding Individual Contribution to Personalized Learning

Additional information, including eligibility requirements and nomination forms, is available on the iNACOL Innovator Awards page of our website.

Please submit a notice of your intent to nominate by 8 p.m. ET on August 31, 2019. Final nomination packages are due by 8 p.m. ET on September 7, 2019.

VIEW THE AWARDS PAGE

Reminders

What’s New in K-12 Competency-Based Education?

Did you know iNACOL's CompetencyWorks initiative regularly publishes a round-up of resources and news for the field of competency-based education? This week's "What's New" previews new research on growth mindset, a new competency-based learning toolkit, new publications from our partners, and upcoming professional learning opportunities.

EXPLORE

iNACOL Symposium Early-Bird Registration Now Open

Act now to take advantage of early-bird registration discounts before the end of your school or district’s fiscal year to save on the cost of attending the iNACOL Symposium October 28-31, 2019 at the Palm Springs Convention Center.

The early-bird rate expires on July 10, 2019. Review our Symposium pricing and deadlines for more details.

New from iNACOL's Blog: Education Domain

Activate Student Agency and Ownership in Competency-Based Education

What is student agency?

The standard reply in our field these days is “voice and choice.” Certainly, “voice and choice” is a pithy memorable phrase. It also has value in that creating opportunity for students to have voice and choice in their daily lives is a relatively easy practice to introduce in the classroom.

- Chris Sturgis

Nurture a Culture of Learning and Inclusivity in Competency-Based Education

We made a mistake in the first few years of CompetencyWorks. We simply underestimated the importance of culture – the underlying values, beliefs, rituals, and relationships that shape an organization or community – in making the transition to a competency-based system. Many schools and districts are making the same mistake when they focus on the structural or technical changes without first paying attention to culture.

- Chris Sturgis

iNACOL Releases Updates to the Snapshot of K-12 Competency Education State Policy Across the United States

iNACOL has released the updated CompetencyWorks map for 2019, a snapshot of K-12 competency education state policy across the United States. The map was last updated in September 2018. Two states have moved up one category on the map, in recognition of new developments in state policy or leadership that create more conducive conditions for competency education.

- Natalie Truong

Quality Principles for Competency-Based Education

We are all likely to believe that in doing our best we are also doing the best job possible. But that isn’t necessarily so. We have to go beyond doing “our best” to doing what is best for students. We are verging on a quality crisis with too many schools implementing based on a narrow understanding of competency-based education with highly problematic practices. Even our leading districts know that they need to do more, do it better, and do it consistently throughout the school. Our hope that the Quality Principles for Competency-Based Education will help us discover our own potential to create responsive, highly effective, highly reliable schools that enable each and every student to discover their potential.

- Chris Sturgis

Executive Summary: Current to Future State-Issues and Action Steps for State Policy to Support Personalized, Competency-Based Learning

Featured Resource | Executive Summary: Current to Future State - Issues and Action Steps for State Policy to Support Personalized, Competency-Based Learning

iNACOL released an executive summary of the report, Current to Future State: Issues and Action Steps for State Policy to Support Personalized, Competency-Based Learning in the fall of 2018 to provide a more digestible set of action steps for policymakers to lead the transformation of new learning models. The executive summary reviews six key issues to tackle for stakeholders to reach a future state of education.

READ

BONUS: WEBINAR - Current to Future State: Issues and Action Steps for State Policy to Support Personalized, Competency-Based Learning

Plugged In Headlines: News about Education Transformation

My View: How Personalized Learning Transformed My Classroom
Rachel Hockemeyer, Rockford Register Star

Berkeley Co. Schools Want to Ditch Traditional Teaching and Grades for Personalized Approach
Kaitlin Stansell, Live 5 WCSC

Renewal Offers Revamp for 5 Salisbury-Rowan High Schools
Andie Foley, Salisbury Post

How Micro-Credentials Can Encourage Professional Development Among Teachers
Stacey Pusey, Ed Scoop

One Step at a Time: A Traditional School’s Journey Into Personalized Learning
Elena Silla, EdSurge

New Project Ties MAP Growth Assessments and Khan Academy Videos
Dian Schaffhauser, THE Journal

Report: Arts A Vehicle for Teaching SEL Skills
Linda Jacobson, Education Dive

Anderson & McClennen: Across the Country, Communities Are Creating New Ways for Students to Learn — and Empowering Them to Succeed
Amy Anderson and Nate McClennen, The 74

BCSD Approves Competency-Based Curriculum to Keep Students from Falling Behind
Caleb McCraw, The Berkeley Independent

How Schools Can Foster a Better Racial Climate
Tyrone C. Howard, Education Week

Utah Officials, Education Leaders Call for More Personalization in Schools
Gretel Kauffman, KSL.com

Getting Personal About Competency-Based Education
Drew Schantz, Education Elements

Is the Nation's Rising Graduation Rate Real?
Catherine Gewertz, EdWeek

Google, Donors Choose Partner to Fund Culturally Responsive Classroom Materials
Emily Tate, EdSurge

iNACOL in the News

Report Ranks Utah As A Leader In Personalized Education Model
Today, Juab School District in rural central Utah has a 97% graduation rate, among the highest in the state. That’s a 5% percent increase from 2011, but for Royd Darrington, the district’s assistant superintendent.... Read More.

When It Comes to Personalized Learning, Understanding the Problem is Everything
Late last year, iNACOL published a landscape analysis of personalized learning across the country. The report showed emerging growth, but it also demonstrated how key elements of personalized learning... Read More.

How to Push DEI Conversations Out of the Comfort Zone
For those committed to advancing racial equity in philanthropy, how do we find and stay with our learning edge—what Laura Shubilla and Chris Sturgis call “the edge of our comfort zone and competence?”... Read More.

SAVE THE DATE

Policy

The iNACOL Center for Policy Advocacy leads the multi-stage evolution of policy necessary for the growth of effective personalized learning models toward the goals of high quality, equity, access and dramatically improving student learning to close the achievement gap and ensure every student has access to high-quality, world-class learning opportunities.

CompetencyWorks

CompetencyWorks is an online resource dedicated to competency education in K-12 education. CompetencyWorks shares original research, knowledge and a variety of perspectives through an informative blog with practitioner knowledge, policy advancements, papers on emerging issues and a wiki with resources curated from across the field. Bookmark this resource and check often for frequent updates.

Resources

Working collaboratively with diverse experts in the field, iNACOL produces reports, books, policy briefs, blog posts, webinars and related resources on key topics and tough issues that equip and empower educators and leaders to catalyze and scale personalized, next generation learning models. Use our web-based library to freely access and share materials.


iNACOL.org \| Contact

The mission of iNACOL is to drive the transformation of education systems and accelerate the advancement of breakthrough policies and practices to ensure high-quality learning for all.

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