iNACOL Releases New Report: Chugach School District: A Personalized, Performance-Based System

(Washington, D.C., March 8, 2016) Today, CompetencyWorks released a new report: Chugach School District: A Personalized, Performance-Based System, written by Chris Sturgis, Co-Founder of CompetencyWorks. This paper explores how an Alaskan school district shifted from a traditional K-12 education system to a personalized, performance-based system, embedded in the culture of the community, which led to increased student achievement.

Chugach School District (CSD) first implemented competency education over twenty years ago, paving the way in developing a system founded on student advancement upon demonstrated mastery. This case study explores how CSD created the infrastructure to support a performance-based system, expanding learning beyond the classroom, embracing the culture of the community and developing educator growth.

Chris Sturgis said, “With the community demanding that something be done about low student achievement, Chugach School District re-imagined what education could look like. They placed students and learning in the center surrounded by a structure that allows flexibility while ensuring students reach proficiency before advancing to the next performance level. As the first district to implement competency education in the United States, the pioneers at CSD paved the way in developing a personalized, performance-based system where failure is not an option.”

Susan Patrick, iNACOL President and CEO, said, “The promising practices and lessons learned offered in this report provide K-12 education leaders and teachers with strategies to design and implement powerful, personalized learning models to maximize each student’s potential.”

Download a full copy of Chugach School District: A Personalized, Performance-Based System here.

For more information about CompetencyWorks, a project of iNACOL dedicated to advancing K-12 competency education, please visit CompetencyWorks.org.

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About iNACOL

The mission of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) is to catalyze the transformation of K-12 education policy and practice to advance powerful, personalized, learner-centered experiences through competency-based, blended and online learning. iNACOL is a non-profit organization focusing on research, developing policy for student-centered education to ensure equity and access, developing quality standards for emerging learning models using competency-based, blended and online education, and supporting the ongoing professional development of classroom, school, and district leaders for new learning models. Visit our website, like us on Facebook, connect with us on LinkedIn and follow us on twitter.