Proficiency Based Learning Update Series #3

Many people ask me - so how is our Proficiency Based Learning (PBL) System Structured?  Well this sounds like a fairly simple question, but in fact, it is a pretty complex one.  In a traditional school environment, the structures are all very familiar to us.  They are familiar because they are essentially the same as what we experienced ourselves growing up (and what our parents experienced, and what our parents parents experienced)!  We know that students enter school based upon their age (Age 5 by Oct. 15 for Kindergarten, Age 6 for first grade, etc. etc. etc.) and that they often have a single classroom teacher who is responsible to teach students all core subject areas through grade 5.   Then they go to Middle School where they may have a small team of teachers that specialize in a particular content area.  Students are still required to take all the core classes (Math, ELA, Science, Social Studies) but have a little more flexibility in their day.  Then its on to high school where students know they have to accumulate have so many credits in each content area in order to graduate from high school.  In this traditional model, teachers know what they are supposed to teach, they have curriculum and textbooks to help guide them in their teaching, and they assess student performance in each class, giving students an overall grade for each content area.  The expectation is that students pass each "class" in order to move on to the next grade.  For example, a student in 6th grade at GMS might get a 85 in ELA, a 72 in Math, a 93 in Science, and a 90 in Social Studies and know that they are moving on to 7th grade the next year (although none of us would be happy with that math grade darn it)!  We knew all of this, but did we really know what students were learning???

In a PBL system, we are very clear about what students need to be able to do and learn.  Some of the old traditional tenants remain, but there are several significant differences.  For example, in a traditional system, it was the teacher who knew what the curriculum was, and who moved students along through that curriculum.  In a PBL model, we also want students to know what they are learning.  We want students to know what they are learning, why it is important to learn, how we as teachers will know that they have learned it and what comes next in their learning after they have learned it.  This is a core tenant of a PBL model - transparency - and it is there because we want students to become more adept at "driving" their own learning.  We want this because we know that we are preparing students for a very different world out there than what we were prepared for.  In today's world students must know how to think critically, how to set their own goals and how to work hard to achieve them.  The traditional system didn't do a very good job of teaching those skills.  If we stick with the "old" system where the teachers did all the "driving" - well, students in those systems learn more about compliance, they learn that if they just sit in the classroom, participate, and work hard on homework (none of which are bad mind you), they will "pass" the class even though they may not have learned all the essential skills that were supposed to be learned.  Going back to that 72 above in 6th-grade math class.  That student may have been great at basic computation skills, but lacked an understanding of percents and fractions - yet they could still move on to grade 7 because they "passed" the class with an average of 72. This is not what we want in a PBL system, this is not what is best for our children in preparing them for the very different world they now face outside of our schools.

In our PBL system, we still have grades (grade 1, 2, 3, etc.) and we still have classes (ELA, Math, Science, etc.).  We also still have classroom teachers and curriculum and textbooks.  What is "new" is that we have made the expectations for learning much more transparent and clear by creating a clear set of standards that we want our students to demonstrate proficiency in (or mastery of) before moving on or "passing".  We have actually been doing this for several years at the K-5 level here in Gorham, but now we're bringing that clarity of expectation to our Middle and High Schools and strengthening our standards at the Elementary Schools.  All of this in an effort to become more clear about what our students need to know and be able to do and to ensure that they demonstrate proficiency in those skills before being "passed on" to the next piece of learning.

So What Does this Look Like:

The Gorham Public Schools has long been known for its ability to offer our students a comprehensive K-12 educational program designed to advance literacy, numeracy, and citizenship, as manifested in academics, the arts, athletics, and activities to enrich the life of each student.  We have structured our PBL system to ensure that this long-standing tradition continues to provide the best possible educational experiences for all our students.   Here’s a visual representation depicting how our system is built:

Overall, this pyramid must be viewed understanding that the smallest components of the system, our “Learning Objectives” are closest to the day in and day out work with students.  Each component of the pyramid is aligned to the component above it.  For example, Learning Objectives are aligned to specific Performance Indicators, which in turn are aligned to Graduation standards.  

Let's dig a little more deeply into each of the components of PBL structure to hopefully help you better understand what each is, and how they all build to the top of the pyramid, which is where we want all of our students to be proficient by the time they graduate from our schools.

What are Learning Objectives:

Learning Objectives - Learning objectives guide the design of curriculum units that move students toward the achievement of performance indicators.  These are the smallest component of our system and you can typically recognize these by the language we use.  We often refer to our “Learning Objectives” as “I Can Statements”. 

Here’s an example from K-5 music:

“I can compose a piece of music and write it down with musical notation."

And here is an example from High School Chemistry:

“ I can explain why temperature and concentration have an effect on reaction rates at the atomic level and use data to support my explanation.”

When you see a progression of “learning objectives” laid out across a 1,2,3,or 4 score – that document is called a “Scoring Criteria” document.  Scoring criteria allows teachers to see the various learning objectives across from a score of “1” (Emerging) to a score of “3” (Proficient) and even to a score of “4” (Distinguished).  An example of a scoring criteria document might look like this:

Emerging	Developing	Proficient	Distinguished
I can identify a habitat and organisms that live there.	I can make a claim that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.	I can make a claim and use supporting evidence to prove that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.	I can make a prediction and use supporting evidence to prove that a certain change in an animal’s habitat may have an effect on the animal’s survival within that habitat.

What are Performance Indicators:

Performance Indicators – Approximately 4-6 indicators by grade/grade span or course/learning experience for each content area graduation standard that move students toward the achievement of graduation standards. 

Here’s an example of three Performance Indicators from 8^th grade science that are aligned to the “Stability and Change” Graduation Standard:

Graduation Standard 1: Stability and Change: Explain how stability and change shape engineered or natural systems.

Performance Indicators:

Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed. (MS-PS1-4)

Develop and use a model to describe how the total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction and thus mass is conserved. (MS-PS1-5)

Construct, use, and present arguments to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object. (MS-PS3-5)

For each performance indicator you can have a series of learning objectives organized by scoring criteria.  Here's what that looks like for these same performance indicators so you can get a sense of how this builds on each other:

Graduation Standard 1: Stability and Change: Explain how stability and change shape engineered or natural systems.
Performance Indicators	1	2	3	4
Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed. (MS-PS1-4)	I can identify different states of matter.	I can relate changing temperature and particle motion to states of matter.	I can describe the changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed.	I can explain the effects of changing the temperature of particle will effect the rate at which a reaction occurs.
Develop and use a model to describe how the total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction and thus mass is conserved. (MS-PS1-5)	I can identify (some of) the chemical symbols and compounds in a chemical equation.	I can read and determine whether a chemical equation is balanced.	I can describe how the total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction and thus mass is conserved.	I can balance a chemical equation.
Construct, use, and present arguments to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object. (MS-PS3-5)	I can define potential and kinetic energy.	I can explain how an object’s kinetic energy can change.	I can support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object.	I can quantify the kinetic energy of objects to show energy transfer to or from an object.

Student progress towards meeting performance indicators can be assessed both FORMATIVELY and SUMMATIVELY.  Formative assessments are small assessmens given by teachers to students for the purpose of helping the teacher and student understand where they are in their learning (1,2,3,4) and how they can improve, or dig more deeply into the content in order to move up higher on the scoring criteria scale.  Often formative assessments are not "graded" but are only used to provide feedback to students.  Summative assessments are graded assessments that teachers use to summarize student learning and to provide an opportunity for students to demonstrate mastery of the skills being taught.  These are the "grades" that parents will see.

Performance indicators are generally "mapped" across the K-12 learning experience by grade level. Students in 1st grade science may focus on one group of performance indicators and then in 2nd grade science another group.  As students move along from performance indicator to performance indicator, they are working along what is called a "learning progression" towards ultimately demonstrating they are proficient at the largest and most important learning of all - our "cross-curricular" and content area graduation standards.

What are Graduation Standards:

 K-12 Content Area Graduation Standards – These, along with the “Cross-Curricular” Graduation Standards are the largest components of our PBL system.  There are typically 3-8 graduation standards for each of the required 8 content areas in Maine’s Learning Results (ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies, Health  & PE, Visual and Performing Arts, World Languages, and Career and Technical Education (CTE).   These are what all those smaller performance indicators are working towards.

Here's an example of our K-12 Graduation Standards in Math:

Mathematics

A graduate will be able to: Mathematical Practices:  Use sound mathematical practices when solving problems. Number & Quantity:  Reason quantitatively, using computation, estimation and number sense. Algebra:  Reason algebraically, using expressions, equations, and functions. Geometry:  Reason spatially, using geometry, visual representations, and coordinates. Statistics & Probability:  Reason statistically, using data analysis, probability, and inference. Mathematical Modeling:  Model with mathematics to solve real world problems.

Again, for each graduation standard there are associated grade-level performance indicators and for each performance indicator there are associated learning objectives or "scoring criteria".  Here's an example of what that looks like in High School Math:

(GS):  MATHEMATICAL PRACTICES: Use sound mathematical practices when solving problems.	Emerging (1)	(LO) Developing (2)	(LO) Proficient (3)	(LO) Distinguished (4)
(PI) Make sense of problems, and persevere in solving them.		I attempt to solve every mathematical problem given to me, and can define key concepts and terms used in them.	I can restate given problems in my own words, and continue to work at solving them when confronted with setbacks.	I can explain the details of complex mathematical problems expressed in various forms, and don't stop working on them until they're completely solved.
(PI) Apply appropriate techniques, and then interpret the results.		I can identify whether specific mathematical techniques can be used to solve given problems.	I can choose and apply appropriate mathematical techniques to solve problems, and interpret the results.	I can use multiple mathematical techniques to solve problems, and then verify and explain the resulting solutions.
(PI) Use mathematical and technological tools strategically.		When given specific tools, I can use them to solve mathematical problems.	I can select suitable mathematical and technological tools to solve problems, and explain why I chose them.	I can combine different tools to make conceptual connections, solve problems, and optimize solution processes.
(PI) Construct viable arguments, and critique the reasoning of others.		I can state my solutions to problems, and understand other ways of solving them.	I can accurately explain how I find solutions, describe solution approaches of others, and identify strengths and weaknesses of each.	I can justify my solutions using evidence and sound reasoning, and integrate elements of other solution strategies to improve them.

For Graduation Standards, students typically demonstrate achievement through their aggregate performance on performance indicators which are measured via summative assessments over time.  These will be the items that will be reported on student transcripts when students graduate from Gorham High School.  Parents will also see interim reports on student progress towards meeting proficiency at the Graduation Standard Level on report cards.

What are K-12 Cross Curricular Graduation Standards:

K-12 Cross-Curricular Graduation Standards – These standards, along with the K-12 Content Area Graduation Standards are the largest components of our system.  These standards are identified as “Cross-Cutting” because they do just that – they cut across ALL CONTENT AREAS and in fact, they cut across everything we do within the Gorham Schools!  These standards are also sometimes better known as Maine’s “Guiding Princples”.

Here's what these look like:

Guiding Principles

Each student will graduate as: A clear and effective communicator; A self-directed and lifelong learner; A creative and practical problem solver; A responsible and involved citizen; and An integrative and informed thinker.

The Gorham Schools are currently working to inventory our existing performance indicators to see which ones also align with our guiding principles so that we are not duplicating efforts.  Once we have this "map" created, we will work to fill in any "blanks" with specific performance indicators geared towards making sure students are also working and demonstrating proficiencies in these important skills over time as well.  

Much like the K-12 Content Area Graduation Standards, the K-12 Cross Curricular Graduation Standards will also be demonstrated through student’s aggregate performance on summative assessments over time.  These will also be items that will be reported on student transcripts when students graduate from Gorham High School.  Parents will also see interim reports on student progress towards meeting proficiency at the Graduation Standard Level on report cards.

What are Skills for Life:

It is important to understand that we assess “Skills for Life” separately from “Content Area Skills”.  “Skills for Life” are those skills related to student participation in class, completing homework on time, and producing their best.  These are very different skills than the skills required to master content area skills such as solving an algebraic equation.  We separate the tracking of these two types of skills because we know that a student may be proficient in one type of learning/understanding, but they may not be proficient in another and we believe that Skills for Life are equally as important as Content Area Skills.  Therefore, we intentionally teach and intentionally assess student progress in both areas separately.  

Here's what our Skills for Life Look like:

Skills for Life

A graduate will be able to demonstrate: Preparation:  Students have required materials and assignments are fully completed. Engagement:  Students report to class on time, engage in classroom activities, and use time productively. Communication:  Students ask appropriate questions about content and directions, respectfully share ideas, and appropriately respond to communication in a timely manner. A student leaving Gorham Middle School will be able to demonstrate: 1.     Preparation:  Students report to class in a timely manner, independently engage in class, and independently initiate completion of class work. 2.     Engagement:  Students report to class with necessary materials and with necessary work completed. 3.     Communication:  Students give input and ask questions independently.  Students respond to input and questions independently and seek help when needed. A student leaving Gorham Elementary Schools will be able to demonstrate:

We are still working on defining what our Skills for Life should look like at the K-5 Level.  That will be completed by the end of this school year.

Well, I think that's likely enough information for now!  Probably overwhelmed you with this. .. SORRY - but I warned you that the answer to the question of how this system is structured was a little more complex than it might seem!  

Remember, one of the overarching purposes to a PBL system is to be clear and transparent about what is being learned, why it is important to be learned, how students demonstrate that they are proficient in their learning, and what comes next in their learning.  This type of transparency allows everyone involved in our educational system (including you as parents)to be a part of the "team" effort needed to make sure our students graduate "prepared and inspired" to move on to the next levels of their life and their learning!  

In my next PBL series post I'll talk more specifically about how students move through our PBL system,  what "grades" might look like and mean for each grade level.  Until then, please feel free to reach out with questions!  My email is heather.perry@gorhamschools.org

Proficiency Based Learning Update Series - Post #2

So, What Does This New System Look Like In The Classroom For Our Students?

First, it is important to remember that good teaching is simply that - GOOD TEACHING - and we have some of the best teachers right here in our schools!  The best instructional practices from our traditional systems of education remain the core of useful tools and strategies that teachers will use in a Proficiency Based Learning System (PBL).  The key difference is that in a PBL system, the primary instructional focus is on being clear with students what standards they are learning, why it is important to learn them, providing multiple ways in which they can be successful in demonstrating their learning, and in helping students understand what comes next in their learning once they have. While in the more traditional systems, often what drove instruction was the end test, or final assessment, or what came next in the textbook series.

One of the false rumors that float around out there about PBL is that somehow the role of the teacher is diminished in this new system and nothing could be further from the truth.  In fact, the role of the classroom teacher is enhanced and set free to be more creative and to be more "artful" in facilitating learning and in tailoring that learning to the individual needs of students rather than being stuck reading from too many scripted lessons, or having to make sure the class is on page 214 of the textbook by December 15, so that they are ready to do well on the latest and greatest state test.  What becomes very tight in a PBL system is the standards that students are expected to demonstrate proficiency in . . . what becomes more "loose" is how students and teachers together decide how to successfully get there!

Traditional instructional tools do not disappear in a PBL system, they may simply look slightly different, or take on different prominence in the work based upon the types of learning that are being undertaken, and the skills that are being taught.  For example, in traditional models of schooling the lecture was a primary instructional methodology used to deliver vast amounts of information to students in relatively short periods of time.  This was a primary tool in the traditional system when the goal of public schools were to "fill up" students with the names and dates, and mathematical formulas they would need to be successful as adults in their jobs.  I personally remember many such 45+ minute lectures and the associated writing cramps fondly!  Really, I'm not kidding.

The world has now changed.  It is no longer as important for students to be able to recite the presidents of the United States, or to know that the capital of California is Sacremento whenever they are asked.  Today, technology has changed our world, and we no longer need to pay so much attention to this knowledge recitation (now don't get me wrong. .. that doesn't mean there aren't still things students need to memorize - like multiplication tables for example).  Today's skills around knowledge are better focused around teaching students knowledge utilization such as knowing when to question the answer they get when they "google" something, or knowing when a source of information may be biased, etc.  Because we no longer focus on knowledge recitation, the lecture format for instructional practices are not as necessary as they once were.  However, that does not mean they disappear.  There are still times in today's learning environment when teachers need to simply share a large amount of information to a large group in a short period of time and in those instances, lecture is still very much a useful tool and one that teachers will continue to use moving forward - just not to the primary degree they may have when you and I were in school!

Another great example of a traditional instructional approach that will still very much have its place in our PBL system is that of group or collaborative learning.  In fact, the skill of being able to work with others in a collaborative setting to accomplish a shared goal has become even more important today than it was even just 10 years ago!  Today's businesses expect employees to be able to come into the workplace, to independently identify problems, to communicate those problems, and to work together with teams of fellow employees to problem solve and implement potential solutions to those problems.  Today's workplace no longer wants "yes people" who basically do not think on their own and instead just follow orders from the boss each day.  Today's workplace requires students to be creative problem solvers, collaborators, and clear communicators and what better way to learn those skills than in group learning situations in the safety of our K-12 classrooms?  It is in these situations that students will be able to challenge themselves and others to creatively think, explore, try out possible solutions, possibly fail, and learn how to persevere together to try again until they have accomplished what they set out to accomplish.  Clearly group learning situations are not going anywhere as we move our system from more traditional models to our PBL learning system!

So what might our classrooms actually look like?  Well, let's take a look at some things that would likely be happening in our classrooms K-5, 6-8 and 9-12 in our PBL learning system:

In a K-5 PBL classroom, you would see teachers taking time to "unpack" learning standards with students.  This means they would spend time talking with students about what they are learning and why, bringing our students into the learning process vs. doing it to them.  You would see students being grouped and regrouped frequently according to their skill levels in specific standards.  you would see lots of student inquiry and flexible structures that allow small groups of students to learn the same skills in different ways and to demonstrate their learning in different ways.  You would see timely interventions for students who need an "extra boost" and you would see opportunities for student enrichment of learning as well.  You would see a combination of all good teaching practices such as mini-lessons to introduce topics, workshop models to allow for students to learn similar skills in different ways and to practice their knowledge.  You would see guided reading and writing centers, and the use of engaging hands-on learning opportunities.  You would see the teacher interacting with students, asking guiding questions that encourage students to ask even more questions and investigate for themselves potential answers.  You would see classroom teachers working with large and small groups.  You would see teachers' assistants and other outside supports "pushing into" the classroom to provide specific instruction rather than pulling students out.  You would see technology being utilized to allow students to explore ideas on their own.  You would see clear connections to our community.  Basically, you would see highly organized and purposeful learning.

In a 6-8 PBL classroom, you would see teachers taking time to unpack learning standards with students because it is always important for students to know what they are learning and why they are learning it.  You would see students learning in multiple ways and beginning to take the reigns of their own learning.  You would see inquiry and questioning by teachers and by their peers.  You  would see built in time during the school day for students to enrich their learning and explore their interests in unique and meaningful ways.  You would see those same good teaching practices with whole group mini-lessons, projects, research and experiential, real-world learning opportunities.  You'd see technology integrated within all of this in meaningful ways.  You would see maker spaces and opportunities given to students to apply their knowledge in real-world, community-based situations.  You would see high expectations and excitement about learning.

In a 9-12 classroom, you would see students taking the reigns of their own learning more and more.  Students would understand the expectations required of them in order to graduate and they would be given multiple pathways to move through the next four years in order to meet them in ways that fit their learning styles and strengths.  Students would be challenged to reach their full potential as learners and to take their knowledge to new and higher levels of analysis and synthesis, applying their learning to real-world problems.  Time would be built into every day for students who need support to get that support in a timely manner and not wait until it is too late.  Students would also be given time to enrich their thinking, to dig deeper in their understandings and to explore their own interests for learning.  There would be multiple opportunities for students to develop aspirations and to experiment with post secondary learning with community conversations, job shadowing, internships, Career and Technical classes, co-op opportunities, college visits, personal career plans, AP and Dual enrollment classes, and more.

This just gives you some examples of what you would see and is not intended to list all of what is possible.  Overall, our new PBL system will be much more "laser-like" in its focus on individual students and on ensuring that their learning needs are met in meaningful ways.  Students will be asked to demonstrate proficiency in our performance indicators and graduation standards as well as in the areas of our state's guiding principles - all of which are aimed at making sure our students ultimately graduate "Prepared" and "Inspired" to be successful in any post secondary learning they wish to pursue beyond our great schools!

In my next blog post, I'll focus on helping parents and others to better understand how our PBL system is structured.  I'll define and talk about what Performance Indicators are, and what graduation standards look like, and how a student would move through their learning successfully within the Gorham Schools.  Til next time!  THANK YOU!

P.S. - As always, if you have any questions, or seek clarifications on any of the information contained within this blog, please do not hesitate to email me at heather.perry@gorhamschools.org.

Proficiency Based Learning Update Series - Post #1

Recently, the Gorham School Committee approved of the 2016-17Proficiency Based Learning (PBL) Action Plan that will guide our district’s work for this year in creating a PBL system for our students.   As you may or may not be aware, this work has been ongoing for several years now with the goal of having a PBL system in place for the graduating class of 2021 (our current 8^th grade class).   There is certainly much work to do to make this happen, and one of the most essential components of making this new system successful for our students is in making sure all of you know what “it” (PBL) is and most importantly WHY we are moving in this important new direction.  As a means to this end, I will be developing a “PBL Informational Blog Series” aimed at helping parents and community members to better understand our new PBL system, where we are, and where we are headed.  This article is intended to help “kick off” this series!  Here we go!

In Gorham, we believe that student engagement and student achievement improve when the components of a proficiency based learning (PBL) system are in place across all grades and content areas.  Those components are:  Clear learning standards/outcomes, aligned instruction and assessments, timely help for students that need it, and grading/reporting that reflects all those things and communicates clearly to all stakeholders where students are in their learning.

Before people can begin to understand how our PBL system works, you need to understand the fundamental differences between PBL and the traditional models of schooling that we all grew up in.

What is Proficiency-Based Learning?

Proficiency-based learning – refers to systems of instruction, assessment, grading, and academic reporting that are based on students demonstrating that they have learned the knowledge and skills they are expected to learn as they progress through their education.  (Note:  A few of the more common synonyms include competency-based, mastery-based, outcome-based, performance-based, and standards-based education, instruction, and learning, among others). 

In Maine, academic expectations and “proficiency” definitions for public-school courses, learning experiences, content areas and grade levels are outlined in the Maine Learning Results, which includes the Guiding Principles.  Based upon these core documents provided by the State, each local school unit then creates their own local system of standards and graduation requirements that are aligned to these core documents.  The general goal of proficiency-based education is to ensure that students acquire the knowledge and skills that are deemed to be essential to success in school, higher education, careers, and adult life. 

If you would like to learn more about the State’s guidance for the development of a proficiency based system of learning, you can review materials on their website called “Getting to Proficiency” located at this link:

http://www.maine.gov/doe/proficiency/index.html

How is PBL Different From Our Traditional Models of Schooling?

Below is a table taken from the Maine Department of Education’s work with an organization called “The New England Secondary School Consortium” or NESSC.  Please know that this table is intended to provide an overview of differences and is NOT intended to list all possible variations, or to successfully harness the complexities of either system.  You can learn more by going to:  http://newenglandssc.org/resources/proficiency-based-learning/

Traditional Models of Learning	Proficiency Based Models of Learning
Students are promoted from one grade to the next based largely on credits, age, and the amount of time they have spent in school.	Students are promoted from one learning level to the next based entirely on their ability to demonstrate proficiency in meeting required clearly defined learning standards.
Students learn at a pace that is largely determined in advance by the teacher and school schedule.	The learning determines the amount of time required, time does not determine how much a student can learn.
A one-size-fits all approach to learning typically focuses on predetermined tasks (such as tests and quizzes) and compliance.	Students have more control over their education and – since the focus is on acquiring specific concepts and skills, not executing specific tasks – they can learn in ways that work best for them.  Students may execute different tasks or co-design projects based on their individual interests, but learning expectations always remain the same.
Major learning gaps persist or worsen over time because grades are not directly tied to a single set of consistent expectations.	Achievement gaps are minimized or eliminated because all students are held to the same learning expectations.  If students fall behind, they are given the extra time and support they need when they need it to make sure gaps do not grow.
Learning expectations can be wildly uneven across courses, which undermines validity and accuracy of student grades.	Standards enforce a minimum level of required proficiency that empowers schools to maintain high learning expectations across all courses, subjects, and grades.
A diploma may or may not certify that students have met state-required standards or that they are prepared for success in college, work, and life.	Every diploma is based on demonstrated proficiency in meeting local and state-required standards, which are based on what students need to know and be able to do to succeed as college students, employees, and citizens.
A student who was “compliant” and turned their homework in on time often got “good grades” even though they may not have truly understood materials being covered.	Content area skills and other important skills such as timely work completion are instructed and assessed separately so that performance in one set of skills does provide undue weight in the other

Why is Gorham moving to this new system of education?

The relatively easy, yet entirely incorrect answer would be to say we are creating this model because the State of Maine, through LD 1422, requires us to.  The real answer, however is that we see the creation of this system as a mechanism through which we can make our mission/vision and core beliefs about learning a true reality for ALL our students.

The Gorham School’s Proficiency Based Learning System is built first and foremost upon the foundations of our Mission/Vision and Core Beliefs About Learning.  We believe that by moving in this direction, we are “preparing” and “inspiring” our students by focusing on teaching them how to be critical thinkers and clear communicators, by making sure that we are meeting each student where they are in their own learning, and challenging them to do their very best in meaningful ways.  We believe our new system of education will extend learning beyond the four walls of our classrooms and into our communities and we believe that we will create a system that allows us to personalize student learning to meet each student’s needs, allowing them to follow their passions and dreams now and well into the future!  That’s why we are doing this important work!

More to Come!

Hopefully this first article in our PBL system series has helped you to gain a better understanding of what PBL is, and often just as importantly – what it is NOT.  It is important to understand that in a PBL system, good teaching is just good teaching and is very often the very same “good teaching" that you have seen in traditional classrooms.  Whole group mini-lessons with breakout workshops working with small groups of students, hands on, collaborative learning are all very much a part of a good PBL system, just as they have always been part of a good traditional system.  

The next article will focus on answering the question I’m sure you all have – "So, what does this new system look like in the classroom for our students?"

Did You Know - September is "Attendance Awareness Month"

Did you know that the month of September is national "Attendance Awareness Month"?  Of course, our goal here within the Gorham Schools is that every month is attendance awareness month - but sometimes it's good to emphasize the importance of attendance just a little more - it IS just THAT IMPORTANT!

Showing up for school has a huge impact on a student's academic success starting in kindergarten and continuing through high school.  Even as children grow older and more independent, families play a key role in making sure students get to school safely every day and understand why attendance is so important for success in school and in life!

We realize that some absences are unavoidable due to health problems or other circumstances.  But, we also know that when students miss too much school - regardless of the reason - it can cause them to fall behind academically.  Your child is less likely to succeed if he or she is chronically absent - which means missing 18 or more days over the course of an entire school year.

Did you know that research shows:

*  Children chronically absent in kindergarten and 1st grade are much less likely to read at grade level by the end of 3rd grade?

*  By 6th grade, chronic absence is a proven early warning sign for students at risk for dropping out of school.

*  By 9th-grade good attendance can predict graduation rates even better than 8th-grade test scores!

CLEARLY GOING TO SCHOOL REGULARLY MATTERS! 

As many as 7.5 million students nationwide miss nearly a month of school every year, excused and unexcused absences that can erode student achievement.  Schools across the country are launching new community-wide commitments to encourage good attendance by students in order to counteract the potentially negative consequences of doing nothing to address this important issue.  The Gorham Schools are committed to keeping good attendance at the forefront of what we do for our students.  In addition to supporting our students in lots of ways and in making sure that our classrooms are fun and engaging places to be so students want to come to school, we have also created communications protocols that make sure parents of students who have been absent for a certain number of days get a personal contact by their child's teacher just saying that we care and that your student was missed (and they truly are).  Often, just checking in is all that it takes to show that we care - and caring is what we certainly do best!

As parents/guardians, you can do your part as well to ensure that your child attends school every day and arrives on time.  Here are a few practical tips to help support regular attendance:

*  Make sure your children keep a regular bedtime and establish a morning routine.
*  Lay out clothes and pack backpacks the night before.
*  Ensure your children go to school every day unless they are truly sick.
*  Avoid scheduling vacations or doctor's appointments when school is in session.
*  Talk to teachers and counselors for advice if your children feel anxious about going to school.
*  Develop backup plans for getting to school if something comes up.  Call on a family member, neighbor , or another parent to take your child to school if needed.

Here is a link to some more great resources to check out if you get a chance:

Website:
http://www.attendanceworks.org/

Parent Flyer for Middle School and High School Students:
http://www.attendanceworks.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/AW_HS-flyer-1-pager.pdf

Parent Flyer for Elementary School Students:
http://www.attendanceworks.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Attendance_ESP1PG_English_062614.pdf

Bottom line - ATTENDANCE COUNTS!  Let's make sure to start this school year off on the right foot for all students!

If you have questions, or would like to share your ideas for helping improve attendance, please feel free to reach out to building principals - we are always interested in hearing from you!

THANK YOU!

Did You Know - September is "Attendance Awareness Month"

Did you know that the month of September is national "Attendance Awareness Month"?  Of course, our goal here within the Gorham Schools is that every month is attendance awareness month - but sometimes it's good to emphasize the importance of attendance just a little more - it IS just THAT IMPORTANT!

Showing up for school has a huge impact on a student's academic success starting in kindergarten and continuing through high school.  Even as children grow older and more independent, families play a key role in making sure students get to school safely every day and understand why attendance is so important for success in school and in life!

We realize that some absences are unavoidable due to health problems or other circumstances.  But, we also know that when students miss too much school - regardless of the reason - it can cause them to fall behind academically.  Your child is less likely to succeed if he or she is chronically absent - which means missing 18 or more days over the course of an entire school year.

Did you know that research shows:

*  Children chronically absent in kindergarten and 1st grade are much less likely to read at grade level by the end of 3rd grade?

*  By 6th grade, chronic absence is a proven early warning sign for students at risk for dropping out of school.

*  By 9th-grade good attendance can predict graduation rates even better than 8th-grade test scores!

CLEARLY GOING TO SCHOOL REGULARLY MATTERS! 

As many as 7.5 million students nationwide miss nearly a month of school every year, excused and unexcused absences that can erode student achievement.  Schools across the country are launching new community-wide commitments to encourage good attendance by students in order to counteract the potentially negative consequences of doing nothing to address this important issue.  The Gorham Schools are committed to keeping good attendance at the forefront of what we do for our students.  In addition to supporting our students in lots of ways and in making sure that our classrooms are fun and engaging places to be so students want to come to school, we have also created communications protocols that make sure parents of students who have been absent for a certain number of days get a personal contact by their child's teacher just saying that we care and that your student was missed (and they truly are).  Often, just checking in is all that it takes to show that we care - and caring is what we certainly do best!

As parents/guardians, you can do your part as well to ensure that your child attends school every day and arrives on time.  Here are a few practical tips to help support regular attendance:

*  Make sure your children keep a regular bedtime and establish a morning routine.
*  Lay out clothes and pack backpacks the night before.
*  Ensure your children go to school every day unless they are truly sick.
*  Avoid scheduling vacations or doctor's appointments when school is in session.
*  Talk to teachers and counselors for advice if your children feel anxious about going to school.
*  Develop backup plans for getting to school if something comes up.  Call on a family member, neighbor , or another parent to take your child to school if needed.

Here is a link to some more great resources to check out if you get a chance:

Website:
http://www.attendanceworks.org/

Parent Flyer for Middle School and High School Students:
http://www.attendanceworks.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/AW_HS-flyer-1-pager.pdf

Parent Flyer for Elementary School Students:
http://www.attendanceworks.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Attendance_ESP1PG_English_062614.pdf

Bottom line - ATTENDANCE COUNTS!  Let's make sure to start this school year off on the right foot for all students!

If you have questions, or would like to share your ideas for helping improve attendance, please feel free to reach out to building principals - we are always interested in hearing from you!

THANK YOU!

2016-17 Opening Letter to Parents

August 8, 2016

Dear Parents/Guardians,

It is with great anticipation and excitement that I welcome you back for another incredible school year here within the Gorham Schools!  The first day of school for students in grades K, 6, and 9 will be Monday, August 29, 2016.  The first day of school for all other students will be Tuesday, August 30, 2016.  Bus routes have just recently been published.  You may view them by going to the Gorham Schools website found at:  www.gorhamschools.org.  Just click on the "transportation" link to the left of the page and they should be right at the top.  They will also be published in the Gorham Times next edition.  I would like to request patience and understanding for the first few weeks of school as we iron out the details of our bus routes for another new school year.  If you have any questions regarding routes, please contact Judy at the Transportation Office (893-2547).  If you have any questions about enrollment of your child, please contact your school's office.  You can also find those numbers by going to our district website and clicking on the appropriate school tab.   As mentioned last year, our district website is getting ready for a new "upgrade" and we are planning on rolling that out early this fall - so "stay tuned" for when those changes take place so that you don't miss any important information.

All of our schools are excited to welcome you and your children to another tremendous school year here in Gorham!  As always, there are lots of outstanding things happening at our schools so be sure to check out those school websites, keep an eye on your mail and email, and watch for fliers and other materials that will be sent home with your students the first few days of school to let you know about many of these exciting planned events.

One piece of exciting news is that we will be rolling out our new Gorham Schools mission and vision and core beliefs with staff during our opening staff day planned for August 25, 2016.   However,  because parents are our special partners in educating our children, I am going to share it with all of you first!  If you remember, this is the culmination of a full year's worth of work by staff, students, parents, and community members.  Way back in September of last year, the Gorham School Committee authorized the creation of a district steering committee whose task it was to "re-vision" our mission and vision.  This committee worked to put together surveys and public forums and focus group interviews to gather feedback culminating in over 2,800 participants - the largest group of which were parents!  The steering committee compiled all this feedback to establish themes in the content and then used those themes to create a newly "re-visioned" mission, vision, and set of core beliefs for the Gorham Schools that will be used to chart a course for this district over the next 3-5 years!

You can check out the results of this incredible work by going to:  http://www.gorhamschools.org/core_documents/

The next steps in this important work will be to develop, with our stakeholder groups over the course of the 2016-17 School Year, a Strategic Plan, complete with action steps and timelines that will become the "map" allowing us to make this new vision a reality for our children.  Exciting work for sure! There will be opportunities for parents and community members to become involved in this work whether it be by active membership on the committee that steers this work, or through participation in surveys and/or focus groups or public forums so again, please stay tuned!

The Gorham Schools pride ourselves in staying abreast of best instructional practices to support your children's learning and as a result, our schools are also busy planning and implementing some new initiatives that we hope will enhance your child's educational experiences within our schools.  Whether it is the implementation of our new reading curriculum for grades 3-5 (Making Meaning) or extending our Pilot of Jumprope, our standards-based grading and reporting software, at the Middle School, or the implementation of our new schedule at Gorham High School - there are lots of exciting things going on in our schools!  Of course, none of these exciting things is more important than our continued work on creating a Proficiency-Based Learning System (PBL).  The creation and implementation of our PBL system will be the key driving force that will allow us to make our new mission and vision a reality for our children.  Our focus for this year's PBL work at each grade level will be:

    *  K-5 will be extending and strengthening our pilot of tracking student learning progress in ELA, Math and now Science, Social Studies, and the Creative Arts using our new standards-based reporting software system called Jumprope.  Final student grades will still be reported to parent/guardians using the traditional reporting systems, but how teachers arrive at those final reported grades will be tracked differently for these content areas.  Be sure to ask your child's teacher about this as we move through the school year if you have questions!

    *  K-5 will also be working on creating a Skills for Life rubric that will allow us to track these essential learning skills separately from academic/content skills and report out to parents their student's progress in mastering these skills.  What we call Skills for Life are target skills and behaviors that are important for all students to have and exhibit to maximize their learning.  Students will be measured on the development of skills such as:  Preparation for Learning, Engagement with learning, and Communication with peers and adults to support their learning.  Our hope is to create the rubric this year, pilot it in the fourth quarter, and then revise as necessary to prepare for full utilization in the 2017-18 School Year.

    *  6-8 will be piloting with our teachers the tracking of student progress in several key content areas using Jumprope as well.  During the fourth quarter last year, grade 7 students in the content area of science piloted the use of Jumprope.  This pilot will continue at the 7th-grade level, again in the area of science, and then extend into 8th-grade science as well as some select 8th-grade world language and creative arts classes.  Other grade level and content area teachers may also experiment with the utilization of Jumprope, but those listed above will report out to parents using Jumprope and the parent portal for Jumprope will be open for parents to view their student's work for those courses.

    *  9-12 will also begin working to pilot the use of Jumprope.  This will be done with some selected 9th-grade teachers and content areas "behind the scenes".  Final student grades will still be reported to parent/guardians using the traditional reporting systems.

In addition to these areas of focus per grade level, all teachers in grades K-12 will be working to develop a system for tracking and reporting student progress on skills associated with the Guiding Principles, and developing strong assessments that are aligned to our Graduation Standards and Performance Indicators so that we can track student learning progress with fidelity.  Finally, teachers in grades K-12 will be working to coordinate all of our initial PBL work across grades K-12 to make sure our total system is completely aligned and flows together smoothly so that our students can graduate from Gorham High School prepared to successfully meet any challenge our complex world may throw at them!

We know that many parents may still not understand exactly what PBL is, or why the Gorham Schools has worked so hard over the past few years to create this new system to benefit our students.  Therefore, another major goal this year will be to engage parents, students and community members in conversations about our PBL work so that we can work together to improve both an awareness of what the work entails so that we can all better understand why it is so important for our children, and to promote continued support for the work at all levels.  We will be working to host informal sit-down conversations with parents at all grade levels on an every-other-month basis this year for this very purpose.  Additionally, we will work to incorporate PBL information into school level newsletters, blog posts, and news articles.  Finally, we will be working to create several "PBL Handbooks" that will be posted on our website.  Our hope is that through this multi-pronged communications approach, we might be able to provide the answers to many of the questions you have while simultaneously listening to your feedback and making sure we are staying true to our new mission, vision, and core beliefs as we continue this important work.

Finally, I wanted to remind all parents/guardians of our excellent volunteer program here in the Gorham School Department.  The Gorham Schools are well known for our robust volunteer programs where parents and community members are encouraged to actively participate in the educational processes of our schools in various ways.  Last year we had well over 2,000 hours donated to our schools by our awesome volunteers!  THANK YOU!  Each year we welcome new volunteers into our classrooms and work to align the specific skills of our volunteers with the needs of our students.  In order to continue to keep this program vibrant and strong, WE NEED YOU!  In order to make sure our students are safe, and that we are working to help meet the needs of all children through our volunteer programs, we also need you TO REGISTER.  This registration process is required for both short and longer-term commitments.  All of our forms can be found on the district website at http://www.gorhamschools.org/volunteer/ .    When parents/community members click on the link it will take you to the Gorham Schools Volunteer Program website where the process is outlined and the individual forms can be accessed.  The forms will be updated and accessible by August 22nd.  You may also inquire at your school's Principal's office for more information.

In closing, I would just like to share how proud I am to be your Superintendent of Schools here in Gorham.  If there is one thing I learned via my 250+ entry plan interviews conducted last year (my first year) with parents, staff, students, and community members, it is that our community strongly supports our schools and cares greatly about the success of our children - and that our schools care deeply about our community and its success as well.  Our students understand what a community truly means, mostly because our community models what it means for our students on a day in and day out basis.  Our students strive to live our Code of Conduct by demonstrating respect, honesty, courage, compassion, and responsibility because our community as a whole actually lives it!  I know I've only been here a year - but already - I am a Ram through and through!  I look forward to another great year this year!

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with questions, comments, or concerns.  My email is heather.perry@gorhamschools.org and my office phone number is 222-1012.

GO RAMS!