Indicators of a Self-Directed Navigator

This article offers practical strategies and vivid classroom snapshots—from K–12—for shifting the classroom from traditional compliance to student-led agency. Rooted in the BCPS Graduate Profile and aligned with the Walk Through Tool, it highlights how intentional design, strategic tool-use, and purposeful reflection can deepen Tier 1 instruction. By moving from "following a plan" to "managing a mission," we make learning more visible, meaningful, and empowering for every student.

This AI-powered tool helps you design student activities aligned to specific competencies and your grade level. These light, flexible experiences are not content-heavy—they’re designed to help students notice, name, and practice key competencies in action. Use them to build a common language around a competency, before launching a learning experience, or to reflect and deepen competency understanding after a learning experience.  ** Literacy/Mentor Text suggestions are included with every activity!

 System and Routine Ideas provide concrete, predictable structures that bring competencies into daily classroom life. Designed to fit directly into existing instruction, these adaptable routines establish clear expectations, streamline transitions, and foster student independence. Adapt any of these routines to fit your unique classroom context, grade band, or content area to turn high-impact habits into regular practice. 

These newly revised Competency Guides are designed to help educators bring student competencies to life across all grade bands (K–2, 3–5, 6–8, and 9–12). Each guide translates broad learning goals into actionable classroom practice—providing explicit Teacher Move focus areas, concrete student indicators, and adaptable routines. Designed to integrate directly into daily instruction, these guides establish a common language and offer practical look-fors to support intentional teaching and student self-direction.  

Discover a curated and continually expanding list of books and articles that strongly align with the Graduate Profile competencies. These mentor texts provide rich examples to support and deepen your students' understanding of the competencies. Check back often as new titles are regularly added.  **This list was compiled in collaboration with Ashlee McDonough, CES.

These grade-band-specific resources support teachers in designing meaningful, student-centered assessments aligned to the BCPS Graduate Profile competencies. Each resource includes developmentally appropriate rubrics, formative and summative assessment strategies, and student-friendly reflection tools. Explore versions for grades K–2, 3–5, 6–8, and 9–12 to help all learners demonstrate growth in real-world and relevant ways.

These family newsletters are designed to help teachers communicate the importance of this competency to families. Available for grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12, each version explains the competency and provides practical tips for families to support their child at home. Teachers can make a copy, personalize the content with things they are doing in their classrooms, and share it with families to strengthen the home-school connection.

Explore our updated, comprehensive performance outcomes for both elementary and secondary levels that align with the Graduate Profile. These outcomes provide clear expectations and benchmarks to guide student growth and development across all grade levels showing ways students can demonstrate mastery of each competency.