{"id":3816,"date":"2016-02-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-02-18T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/blog\/cw_post\/will-maine-stay-the-course\/"},"modified":"2020-02-05T12:57:44","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T17:57:44","slug":"will-maine-stay-the-course","status":"publish","type":"cw_post","link":"https:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/cw_post\/will-maine-stay-the-course\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Maine Stay the Course?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Maine\"Ayyy! Maine legislature has a bill to reduce the expectations of high school graduation<\/a> from meeting all standards in all eight domains to only meeting the standards in math and ELA + two domains selected by the student. As I discussed earlier<\/a>, the original policy is creating tension in Maine; however, this is a swing way too far the other direction, as it allows students to not have any expectations in the other four domains. At least that\u2019s how I understand it.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve received a number of emails regarding this reconsideration of the graduation requirements. It certainly feels like we need more conversation about how we can make sense of proficiency-based graduation requirements that will create meaningful diplomas, provide students with the skills they need for their transitions into their adult lives, and <\/em><\/strong>not penalize those students who might be bumped around by the transition. I think what is needed is a facilitated dialogue with people from different perspectives and who are creative (as in can unlock themselves from assumptions and build off each other\u2019s ideas) to talk through what meaningful policy regarding proficiency-based diplomas might look like.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, I\u2019ll share what is zipping around in my head regarding this issue. These are just initial ideas and certainly do not take into consideration all of the work that it takes to move ideas and legislation within a state.<\/p>\n

We Need to Believe that Our Children and Our Educators Can Learn, and Fully Support Them in This.<\/strong> No matter what, we always need to believe in ourselves and that we can learn with the right supports and with extra effort (that\u2019s the growth mindset, right?). It\u2019s important to frame any policy question so that we ask, What would it take to get all of our students proficient in all domains?<\/em> rather than start with the disabling position that \u201cit\u2019s practically impossible\u201d to get all students to proficiency. We can\u2019t give up before we even get started.<\/p>\n

Tension is Not Always Bad. When Tension Leads to Creative Tension and Innovation, it is a Very Good Thing<\/strong>. I was trained as a policy wonk, and tension makes me crazy. I always want to fix it. And then, while at the Mott Foundation, I had the good fortune to meet incredibly skilled community organizers such as Ernie Cortez, Scott Reed, Steve Kest, Mary Dailey, and so many others who explained to me, over and over, that creating tension can lead to creative tension, which brings new faces to the table, and that a sense of urgency produces new solutions.<\/p>\n

Maine\u2019s graduation expectations are creating tension. High schools are still time-based \u2013 as one educator told me in Maine, \u201cthe clock starts ticking the minute students enter ninth grade.\u201d Of course, the urge is to release it and to make it go away. However, I\u2019d say keep that tension for right now because you want to hear the best innovative ideas about what could be done differently. Are there any schools not scared about the new requirements because they have been putting into place strategies that are working? Who has been the best at getting their low-income, special education, and ELL students ready for a proficiency-based graduation? What are they doing differently? What would superintendents and principals like to do if they could?<\/p>\n

Get Some Facts Before Saying \u201c<\/strong>current standards are ‘practically impossible’ for many students to meet<\/strong><\/a>.\u201d<\/strong> We are in a difficult place. We are shedding the assumptions, structures, and policies of a traditional system shaped by a fixed mindset, racism, and preparing students for agricultural and manufacturing economies, where there is an underlying belief that some students shouldn\u2019t learn, some students can\u2019t learn, and some students are college-going material. And we are in the process of learning how to organize our education system around a growth mindset, equity, and an ever-changing global, technology rich economy.<\/p>\n

There are two types of facts we need to collect to inform any transitional proficiency-based diploma policy. First, there are the questions that will get help us understand the landscape of the problem<\/em>:<\/p>\n