On October 19, 2012 Chris Sturgis wrote an article for the website CompetencyWorks.org.  It is about the great things that are happening in Maine Schools.  Please take a moment to read this story about his visit to some of our schools in Maine.  His article starts with:

“Classroom after classroom, school after school, district after district – an incredibly powerful commitment to student-centered proficiency-based instruction has taken root in Maine.  What you see on the videos is what you see in the classrooms. What’s more, it is incredibly consistent classroom after classroom.

• High level of transparency about learning targets and rubrics between students and teachers.
• Customized learning with students working at their own pace within a band of what it means to be “teacher-paced” with choices about how they will pursue their learning and build evidence of their learning.
• Teachers organizing themselves to enable students to get what they need, working at their own achievement levels so that they can experience success.
• Teacher collaboration and professional development driven by proficiency.

During a rapid-school-visit tour across four school districts led by Maine’s Superintendent of Instruction Don Siviski, my personal understanding of competency education shifted. Here are my big Ah-Ha’s from my visits.  I’ll write in more detail about the site visit later.”

Link to Competencyworks.org article

-Gary Smith