Parents & Community
Goal: To create a system where students know what they need to learn, criteria for success are clear and transparent and students are empowered to claim their education through flexible and personalized pathways.
The work of moving our six schools to a proficiency based model in now entering its third year. In year one principals and the curriculum coordinator went through an extensive education on Proficiency Based Education. During that time they developed an action plan and timeline for implementation.
In year two we worked with our 7-12 teachers at Black River and Green Mountain on:
- Identifying common proficiencies in all content areas;
- Writing criteria for success for each performance indicator;
- Redesigning units of study
- Investigating moving from a report card that reported grades to a report card that tracked progress.
In year three we are bringing in our 6th grade teachers and we will continue to work on the same four areas.
Dealing WIth Proficiency-Based Education: This article describes the challenges of implementing proficiency-based education. In general the article is skeptical of Maine's initiative. In Two Rivers we are actively addressing the implementation shortcomings detailed in this article.
College Support for PBE -- With some parents wondering what potential impact proficiency-based education may have on their children or the college-admissions process, the New England Secondary School Consortium reached out to institutions of higher education throughout the region. NESSC asked them about their support of proficiency-based learning and how non-traditional grading systems and transcripts might affect the admissions process.
How Selective Colleges Evaluate PBE Transcripts -- the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) and the New England Secondary School Consortium (NESSC) convened a meeting of admissions leaders from highly selective New England colleges and universities and facilitated a robust discussion on the topic. Overwhelmingly, these admissions leaders indicate that students with proficiency-based transcripts will not be disadvantaged in the highly selective admissions process.
PBE 2016.pdf
Below is the longer version of the article that appeared in the Chester Telegraph on 9/21/2016
Below is a longer version of the article that appeared in the Chester Telegraph on 9/14/2016
Below is a longer version of the article that appeared in the Chester Telegraph on 9/7/2016