{"id":3226,"date":"2015-01-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-01-07T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/blog\/cw_post\/chugach-school-districts-performance-based-infrastructure\/"},"modified":"2020-02-05T12:54:03","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T17:54:03","slug":"chugach-school-districts-performance-based-infrastructure","status":"publish","type":"cw_post","link":"https:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/cw_post\/chugach-school-districts-performance-based-infrastructure\/","title":{"rendered":"Chugach School District\u2019s Performance-Based Infrastructure"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Students in Chugach School District<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is the second post in the Chugach School District series. Read the first post<\/a> here.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve noticed that in the first year of transitioning to a competency-based system, schools often dive headfirst into creating the competencies and rubrics without thinking about the pedagogical platform upon which the entire infrastructure is going to rest. What could be a powerful discussion among educators about what we want students to learn and be able to do can quickly become a bureaucratic process eating up reams of paper.<\/p>\n

Not so at Chugach. The spirit of empowerment, student ownership of their learning, and a shared understanding that the schools are preparing students for life, not just graduation, permeated every conversation. Absolutely every conversation.<\/p>\n

This post, although long, will cover four elements of the Chugach performance-based system: student empowerment, a system of assessments, the domains of learning (content areas), and preparing students for life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Spirit of Empowerment and Lifelong Learning<\/b><\/p>\n

Zack, a sophomore who had just moved to Whittier in the fall, described his experience as, \u201cThis school opens up our minds. We were brainwashed in the previous schools. We were not used to so much independence. We had so many limits and boundaries. Here, the sky is the limit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"2zack\"
Zack<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The focus on student empowerment in CSD is as much rooted in the culture and the relationships as it is in the structure. There seemed to be less transparency and reinforcement in terms of having everything students need to know posted on the walls of the classroom. Yet, the rituals and routines were crystal clear, and students were on task in every classroom I visited at Whittier and Tatitlek. With the older students, I often had the sense I was observing a high-quality youth development program, as the relationships between the teachers and students were so strong and so respectful.<\/p>\n

Debbie Treece, Director of Special Education, believes that the growth mindset is an important ingredient to creating a culture of empowerment. \u201cWe are heavily steeped in growth mindset. I didn\u2019t know how important it was in the beginning, but we are now at the point where staff understand that students must have a growth mindset to take on ownership and for continuous learning to occur. The research on brain science and how the brain changes as you learn is fascinating to both students and teachers. In fact, learning about brain science and growth mindset has been the catalyst for change for some teachers. It\u2019s now institutionalized in our work.\u201d<\/p>\n

District Principal Doug Penn explained, \u201cIn traditional schools, students are passive, and many only attend school because it is compulsory. Or they come with the expectation that the school delivers the knowledge. However, information is now so readily at hand, teachers can\u2019t be the disseminators of knowledge. Our community told us they wanted their children to be lifelong learners. We had to ask ourselves, what are we doing in our classrooms to help them be lifelong learners? What structures and supports do our teachers need to help develop lifelong learners? It came down to needing to have an active learning environment. Students need to be able to seek out things they are personally interested in, create a plan, and find the resources. We are always looking for ways to students to learn beyond the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Penn referred to a Ted Talk by Dan Meyer<\/a> that has sharpened his thinking about the relationship between active learning, deeper learning, and empowering students to take ownership of their learning. \u201cIf we want our students not to be helpless, we need to help less. We want to create thinkers who can critically work their way through a problem.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

The community is also always looking for opportunities for expanded learning. Andrea Korbe, a school board member from Whittier, described coming into the school one day to find the entire place empty. An employee in the harbor noticed that a fisherman had brought up a live octopus and called the school to alert them of this learning opportunity. Similarly, a waitress meeting an astronaut who was part of training happening in the area asked if he would be willing to meet with students, and a partnership with NASA was born.<\/p>\n

The structures of empowerment at Chugach are similar to those of other competency-based schools I\u2019ve visited. Students know exactly what they are learning and what proficiency looks like. The information management system is close to real-time and is accessible by students and their parents. Process skills help students become aware of how they are learning. Students write reflections as part of the cumulative assessment used as they move to the next level. A culture of cooperation among students and a recognition of mistakes as part of the learning process support students taking risks. Penn noted that they are embedding the PIER (Plan, Implement, Evaluate, and Refine) process, which is used in classes to help students learn skills to manage their learning. Individualized learning plans are also available, described by Treece as, \u201cscaffolding, and then stripping away a little bit of the safety net on the way to independent learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

A large part of the focus on lifelong learning is a strong future focus. CSD includes career development as one of their ten content areas of learning. They\u2019ve created Voyage to Excellence (VTE), a statewide variable-term residential school, based at the district offices. (The use of the term variable<\/i> is in response to the negative experiences that Alaska Natives had with boarding schools that took them away from their families and communities and were often disrespectful of their culture and language.) Students come for varying amounts of time. The first \u201ctrek\u201d for seventh and eighth graders is four days of leadership training, followed by ten-day phases of career exploration or skill building. As students get older, they might come for twenty to thirty days to get a driver\u2019s license, industry certifications, or college prep.<\/p>\n

Treece shared that an example of student empowerment is the development of the Personal Learning and Career Plan (PLCP) by the student and CSD staff, with support from the family, as needed. The PLCP provides a framework to identify steps necessary to achieve career goals of interest to the student. Career Navigators with the VTE School provide support and guidance to the student as progress is made in completing each step towards each career goal. Students are empowered to complete postsecondary applications, internship opportunities, and apply for apprenticeships in preparation for life after high school.<\/p>\n

A System of Assessing<\/b><\/p>\n

Penn currently has oversight over the three schools, the statewide homeschool program, and the VTE School. He started as a teacher in Chenega Bay in 1996 and knows the CSD performance-based system inside and out. As he spoke about assessing students, I began to think we should talk about how we assess students and how we use assessments to help them learn before we even we talk about how we design competencies, standards, and learning targets. Penn reinforced this with, \u201cWe need to always know the purpose of assessment. It is to help students and the teacher understand what students know and what they don\u2019t know, and to provide insights into the steps that are needed to learn it. Too often, assessment is used as a hammer and a gateway. For us, we see it as a process of helping students get from don\u2019t know to knowing.\u201d<\/p>\n

CSD uses a common scoring (grading) system with Emerging, Developing, Proficient, and Advanced. Reaching 80 percent on an assessment indicates proficiency and 90 percent is advanced. Of course, determining what 80 percent means requires calibration among teachers.<\/p>\n

CSD focuses on content and process skills. Penn explained why this was important, \u201cWe all have great ideas, we all have passion about one thing or another. But that doesn\u2019t mean we have the skill set to bring ideas to fruition. We want to make sure our students are learning the skills to make things happen. It\u2019s not by magic. And it\u2019s not just engaging students. You have to teach process strategically and systematically. You need the combination of the process and content skills to get to deeper learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

To help them stay focused on where students are in their learning, CSD has created up to ten levels for ten content areas that do not correlate to grade level knowledge. Students were perfectly comfortable reporting where they were in grade level and in the content levels. Before a student moves onto to the next level there is a cumulative assessment based on up to three assessments. <\/b>The first, described as the analytical assessment, is the student\u2019s reflection on his or her learning. Second, there is a skill assessment that focuses on the specific content. The third, a performance assessment, is often co-designed with students. In this assessment, they show evidence of their ability to apply their skill. (For example, in writing, it might be a portfolio of writing samples from different classes.) \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

As students progress within the levels, there is a great deal of flexibility for students and teachers alike in how they learn and how they are assessed. However, CSD also thinks this is a very important process and tracks it within the AIMS information system that they had built to meet their unique needs. As you can see below, there is a range in terms of the depth of learning and independence of students in how they learn and demonstrate their learning within a level:<\/p>\n