Today, my classmates and I attended "Breakthrough Schools: Colorado- Schools Design Plan Presentations," an event that showcased schools' plans for innovative designs. For 7 long hours, we listened in on districts' and schools' ideas on how they intend to be innovative through a "competency-based system" (CBS). By proving their plans would be effective and in the best interest of the students, the schools were then awarded with grants.
The whole CBS concept sounded pretty great to me. From my understanding, CBS allows schools to work on developing their students academically, "wholesomely," and professionally. According to the schools that have already tested this model out on their kids, this program seems to have pretty significant impacts. Schools like Holmes Middle School and Trailblazer Elementary in Colorado Springs have seen increased student engagement, collaboration, and academic growth. All the schools agreed that these impacts are directly attributed to CBS and the improvement in professional development, student agency, and personalized learning this new, innovative system brings.
(A chart/mind map I made displaying the effects of CBS according to the Breakthrough Schools: Colorado- School Design Plan Presentations event.)
Personally, I think this should be something implemented in all schools. And that's my exact point of confusion. Why can't all schools be innovative without applying for grants from private donors or going through avenues of privatization? Why can't schools be innovative without changing their status from traditional to charter, innovation, private, or otherwise?
Many would argue that innovation isn't possible because of bureaucracy. Though as Avi Trooper and Micheal Solguero both said in their discussions, "innovation isn't about breaking rules or standard structures," so bureaucracy isn't an excuse... In fact, any "restrictions are simply self-imposed." I have to agree.
We know that schools aren't meeting the needs of all children. We know that, as Nora Flood the President of the Colorado League of Charters said, there "is no one landscape for education." Innovation can be a tool for moving away from cookie-cutter solutions in the education realm and a tool for better serving our nation's children. But unlike Flood and the schools I saw today, I don't think charters or innovation schools are the only places that can be "incubators for ideas" (Flood, 2014). I think all schools can.
An interesting point I noticed was that most schools wanted flexibility in scheduling for increased time for personalized learning/teaching, and increased time for professional development and collaboration. I think through this CBS system, the teachers are just asking for the autonomy to do their jobs a little more effectively. As Diane Ravitch says in her book Reign of Error, right now, teachers are the core of student performance. She continues, "If a teacher is effective, the corn grows to a certain height. If the teacher is not, the corn does not grow or grows very little... But children are not corn... they are not empty vessels waiting to be filled by a teacher" (2013). Teachers know that they must teach their kids, but they also know that their kids need to be supported more than anything. Teachers know how much their kids are capable of. Teachers know that each student has weaknesses and strengths. Teachers want to help their students. Teachers know how much is on the line for their kids in the classroom, they care about their kids, and they want to meet the individualized needs of each of their kids. So through this CBS system, they ask to be innovative, and thus work on achieving that goal; getting to better know their kids and work with them in whichever ways they need.
What if schools could bypass grant proposals and status applications and waivers, and still be innovative? What if schools could take it upon themselves to be creative and make changes within their schools that best fit the needs of their students? What if schools didn't need approval for innovation? What if we just went for it? What would happen? I don't know about you, but I don't think we could end up any place worse in the system than the scary places we've already been.. So why not give it a shot? Certainly something to grapple with..
Acelynn
(2014) Breakthrough Schools: Colorado - School Design Plan Presentations. Denver, Colorado.
Solguero, M. (2014) Eagle Rock School and Center for Professional Development. Denver, Colorado.
Trooper, A. (2014) Northfield High School. Denver, Colorado.
Flood, N. (2014) Colorado League of Charters. Denver, Colorado.
Ravitch, D. (2013). Reign of error: The hoax of the privatization movement and the danger to America's public schools (First edition.). New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Acelynn,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the visual you created for this post. I too agree that all schools should implement this model in the way that best fits their communities needs. To address your last comment, I think schools should still have to demonstrate their leadership is ready for the innovation they wish to implement to ensue they are effective and dedicated to implementation, I wonder, aside from increased autonomy, what you think would need to happen for all schools to effectively integrate competency based systems?
Best,
Amelia
I really appreciate this post. I think your ability to find a voice in a matter where many peoples' get lost is impressive and it shows how passionate you are. I think that you are right in saying that innovation does not need to be a specialized version of schooling but that it should be evident in every school, because that is where we are in today's world. Innovation through competency based learning can benefit every learner because it gives them the tools to be self motivated and purposeful.
ReplyDeleteNice post!!!! :)
Ace, the visual came out really great and I think it was a nice way to synthesize the ideas we came across at this conference. I also really like the ideas you bring up about bypassing grants. I think the whole point of not letting the bureaucracy get in the way is essential too because it shouldn't be an excuse. There are plenty of teachers who still do what they want within the current system. I'd like to hear more about what you think about CBL for younger students who need to still acquire rudimentary schools like reading and writing? Would this model be innovative for them or would you think there is another way to get these kids engaged and still learning the basic skills needed to move forward in their education. I also like the questions you ask at the end of the post about just going for it. I think teachers and students need to be willing to take a risk because it's when they take a risk that they can potentially learn a lot from their experience. Great post and I look forward to reading more of your ideas as they develop!
ReplyDeleteBest,
Andy
December 10, 2014 at 6:36 PM
Acelynn,
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I agree with the last two comments about CBS and increased autonomy, and appreciate your ability to shift through the long presentations to find the important underlying meaning. I'm curious to know if you could imagine any potential problems with implementing the competency based learning model, and what those conceivable issues might be.
Good job!
Acelynn,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post! I think it was interesting to read what you had to say about bureaucracy and compare it to what Pastor Vernon Jones Jr. said to us today. There is so much push for innovation in schools but the system isn't changing. A thought is the lack of change comes from the power and money associated as you get higher and higher up the ladder of the education system. I think as individuals in the education system get further from the actual classroom environment the more the job strays from a focus on student learning and what is best for students. I think that is a major flaw of the hierarchy of the education system. Thanks for your post and insight!
-Hannah
Thank you for such a thoughtful post that pushes our thinking and synthesizing our most recent course experiences Acelynn. I had the same thought as we sat through the Breakthrough Schools presentations- "why can't you just do this? Why wait? Why seek approval? Do what is right and do it now!" Time is of the essence.
ReplyDeleteTina