{"id":2764,"date":"2013-06-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-06-13T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/blog\/cw_post\/ingenium-schools-a-big-city-competency-based-school\/"},"modified":"2020-02-05T12:50:21","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T17:50:21","slug":"ingenium-schools-a-big-city-competency-based-school","status":"publish","type":"cw_post","link":"https:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/cw_post\/ingenium-schools-a-big-city-competency-based-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Ingenium Schools: A Big City Competency-Based School"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ingenium Schools website<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Is competency education a reform better suited for rural and outer ring suburbs than urban districts?<\/em> That\u2019s one of the questions I get asked a lot in the back of the room at meetings. No one ever asks that question during the regular sessions, leading me to think that the question goes beyond the size of the districts, and that the question is actually asking will competency education work in areas of concentrated poverty?<\/em> Or perhaps, in our racially segregated country, people are using the code word \u201curban\u201d to mean will it work for African-American students?<\/p>\n

It is true that many of the district-wide reforms, supported by the work of the Reinventing Schools Coalition<\/a>, started in rural districts and have taken hold in rural and suburban districts.\u00a0 However, we now have a proof point that the very same model is taking root in south Los Angeles at Barack Obama Charter School<\/a> (BOCS). And they are getting results \u2013 last year they had a 150 point gain in one year based on the California Standards Tests. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to visit the\u00a0 Barack Obama Charter School, hosted by Nikolaus Namba, Chief Academic Officer at Ingenium Schools<\/a>.\u00a0 Mr. Namba developed his leadership in competency-based education at Adams 50 as a teacher and instructional coach.\u00a0 He now brings his deep commitment to children, creativity, vision, and expertise to Ingenium to help them fully implement the model developed by the Reinventing Schools Coalition.<\/p>\n

BOCS, now in its fourth year serving 330 students K-6, is deeply rooted in the community. In fact the community helped to name the school.\u00a0 The school is tucked away under a highway in a neighborhood that has been shouldering the pain of long-term unemployment.\u00a0 Upon my arrival, I was heart-struck with the warm greetings from the adults welcoming each student as they arrived to walk through the fences to their classroom in a \u201cbungalow.\u201d Nearly 100% of the children are classified as eligible for free and reduced lunch.\u00a0 Mobility is high with 50% new students each year. Less than 10% of the students were on grade level when they entered.<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t help but gasp as I walked into a 3rd grade classroom at the number of students squeezed into the room.\u00a0 And then my jaw dropped again because every one of the students were on-task.\u00a0 A young lady jumped up and offered to give me a tour of the classroom. While the teacher continued to work with students, I was shown at least ten different stations in the room, each with a place on the wall where students were marking their progress.\u00a0 My young guide was able to tell me where she was, what had been hard for her to learn and what she did to be successful, and what she would be working on next.\u00a0 I left the classroom floating in her sense of pride and identity as a learner.\u00a0 Truly a learner-centered classroom — the same kind you see in James Bean Elementary School<\/a> in Maine or in Lindsay Unified High School in California.<\/p>\n

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Nikolaus Namba<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mr. Namba was generous with his time and helped me to understand the personalized, mastery-based approach in greater depth.\u00a0 Here are some of the big take-aways:<\/p>\n

Competency Education is a Whole School Reform:<\/strong>\u00a0 When Mr. Namba arrived at Ingenium, BOCS had a \u201cRISC period\u201d once a day in which students received instruction based on their level.\u00a0 The rest of the time they were organized by grade level. He explained that they are now thinking more systemically with a focus on student learning, not organizational structure and schedules.\u00a0 What do we want our students to learn? How do we know they are learning? How can we document and validate when they reach proficiency?\u00a0\u00a0 They are creating an organizational process to support learning.<\/p>\n

He also emphasized that \u201cThe right school and classroom culture is absolutely critical. School culture is not fluff, it\u2019s an essential element. Our code of cooperation is solidly in place in our classrooms.\u201d\u00a0 He explained that competency education is based on a culture of asking, \u201cWhat is best for kids?\u201d and finding ways of making it happen.\u00a0 \u201cSome rules and regulations may be frustrating but they are not barriers to implementing competency education. We can always find a way to do what\u2019s best for kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

I noted that in Maine, schools referred to the code of conduct, whereas BOCS used code of cooperation.\u00a0 The phrase code of conduct can mean something very different in communities that have been pushed out of school based on how students \u201cconduct\u201d themselves.\u00a0 Code of cooperation is a much more positive term and one that better captures the culture that we are all learners and we are going to support each other in our learning.<\/p>\n

School Structures that Emphasize Pacing and Verification:<\/strong>\u00a0 Ingenium Schools\u2019 personal mastery<\/a> approach is based on five elements: 1) Learning is the focal point; 2) Teachers as coaches; 3) Assessing students on proof of proficiency; 4) Validating proficiency through standards clearing assessments (which are administered by independent assessment specialists, not classroom teachers); and 5) Documenting progress in the educate information system.<\/p>\n

As in other competency-based schools, extra support is provided to students every day so that there is no excuse for a student to fall behind.\u00a0 In fact, BOCS is driving toward learning rates between 1 and 1.5 grade levels per year.\u00a0 This is particularly important as so many students enter school already behind. Management reports have been developed that show school, class, and individual rates of learning based on the proof of proficiency as well as those that have been validated.<\/p>\n

The emphasis on validating proficiency through the standards clearing assessments has raised a number of issues at BOCS.\u00a0 Teachers may postpone verification to work with students more and to ensure that they are retaining the skills because they want to make sure their students pass the standards clearing assessments.\u00a0 It has also raised deep conversations about learning.<\/p>\n

School leadership keeps an eye on trend data about student progress, reviewing every two weeks a number of leading indicators. As the school builds experience, they are also able to start to compare trend lines across years and establish an internal benchmarking process.<\/p>\n

A Learning Culture Starts with Teachers That Want to Learn:<\/strong> Having been a teacher, coach, and now school leader, Mr. Namba had many powerful insights into the implications for teaching and teachers.<\/p>\n

In response to my question about how Ingenium Schools hires teachers for a competency-based school, he explained, \u201cWe hire teachers based on their mentality. At first we had traditional interviews and observations, but we weren\u2019t getting the teachers we wanted and needed. Now we look for teachers who want to grow. We ask them why they are in education and their philosophy of education.\u00a0 We use the Haberman Interview tool<\/a> that gets to the grit of the teacher– will they do what is right for kids?\u00a0 Will they push through when a student hasn\u2019t reached proficiency yet? Will they be committed to helping students understand where they need more assistance instead of pretending they are proficient when they aren\u2019t? If we want kids to persevere then we need to have teachers that can model it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained that there are significant changes in the competency-based model that can be a challenge for teachers that have been working in traditional schools.<\/p>\n