CompetencyWorks | December 2017

Dear Colleagues: 

As 2017 comes to a close, we would like to take a moment to reflect on highlights from our collective work and advancements across the field, and share how our work will continue in 2018. Overall, we want to thank you for all you have done in advancing the field - 2017 has been an exciting year for the development of competency-based education.
 

In 2017, CompetencyWorks highlighted the following competency-based schools and districts to learn about their models and implementations on the blog:

• Springdale School District (Arkansas)
• Lindsay Unified School District (California)
• Da Vinci Schools (California)
• District 51 (Colorado)
• Thompson (Colorado)
• Westminster School District (Colorado)
• Denver School for Innovation and Sustainable Design (Colorado)
• Lovett Elementary School (Illinois)
• West Belden CIS (Illinois)
• LEAP Innovations (Illinois)
• Merit Prep Charter School (New Jersey)
• JFK PACT (Ohio)
• JFK Eagle High School (Ohio)
• Lincoln-West School of Global Studies (Ohio)
• Lincoln-West School of Science and Health (Ohio)
• Kettle Moraine School District (Wisconsin)
• Flight Academy Waukesha School District (Wisconsin)
    

In June 2017, CompetencyWorks hosted the National Summit on K-12 Competency-Based Education, which convened 100 leaders and innovators across the field to advance competency-based education through the next phase of implementation along four key issues: equity, quality, policy, and meeting students where they are. CompetencyWorks published a report as a result of the Summit titled, Quality and Equity by Design: Charting the Course for the Next Phase of Competency-Based Education. CompetencyWorks also released four draft papers prior to the Summit on each key issue, which we will be finalizing and re-publishing over the next few months:

• In Pursuit of Equality: A Framework for Equity Strategies in Personalized, Competency-Based Education
• Meeting Students Where They Are
• Fit for Purpose: Taking the Long View on Systems Change and Policy to Support Competency Education
• In Search of Efficacy: Defining the Elements of Quality in a Competency-Based Education System

Below are popular blogs on CompetencyWorks from 2017:

1. Strategic Reflection on the Field of Competency Education: Future Action, by Chris Sturgis
2. Steps toward Maturity: Making Meaning of the Mindsets and Skills for Student Agency (Part 1 and Part 2), by Chris Sturgis
3. Proficiency Is for Hope, by Bill Zima
4. Making Sense of the Learning Sciences, by Chris Sturgis
5. PACE Sees Early Evidence of Student Achievement Gains, by Chris Sturgis
6. Connecting the Dots: Aligning Efforts to Support Teachers and Students in New Hampshire, by Jonathan Vander Els
7. Five Lessons from a Social Studies Teacher: How Competency-Based Education Has Been a Game Changer, by Donna Harvey-Moseley
8. Just Ask: The CBE 360 Survey Toolkit, by Chris Sturgis
9. Learner-Centered Tip of the Week: A Move to Increase Agency, by Courtney Belolan
10. An Update on D51: The Teaching & Learning Framework, by Chris Sturgis

Significantly in 2017, more than 100 private schools across the U.S. formed the Mastery Transcript Consortium (MTC) and are embracing a new high school transcript, in hopes to transform the college admissions process. 

CompetencyWorks is currently publishing a blog series highlighting Kettle Moraine School District’s model. Follow the series here:

• Kettle Moraine: Where the Future of Education is Being Created Student by Student
• Kettle Moraine: How They Got Here and Where They Are Going
• The Five Pillars of Teaching and Learning at KM Explore
• The Sound of Learning at Create House at Kettle Moraine Middle School
• KM Global: Pedagogy, Curriculum, and Learning Design

As we look toward 2018 and new beginnings, CompetencyWorks will be examining the working definition of competency-based education and developing a logic model to support and guide the growth of the field.

We wish you a heart warming and happy holiday season.