The Brown Center on Educational Policy at the Brookings Institution has published “Expanding Choice In Elementary and Secondary Education: A Report on Rethinking the Federal Role in Education,” a 31 page report. It says, “The types of school choice now available include choice among traditional public schools within districts (intra–district choice), choice between school districts (inter-district choice), charter schools, school vouchers, virtual schools, and finally, the oldest and most pervasive form of school choice–choice of school when selecting one’s residence.” The report describes each of these with pros and cons. The report recommends expanding choices so that all parents of school-age children have options to better meet needs and values. This requires more choices and well designed information systems. “The reauthorization of ESEA should incentivize districts to establish open enrollment plans such as those currently in place in New York City and Boston.” A well-written valuable report with references.

Also noted is the  National Center on School Choice at Vanderbilt University. Their federally funded work appears to be primarily the publication of scholarly papers and books on the topic.

IALA promotes giving schools greater autonomy over program, staffing and budget; multiple measures for gauging program effectiveness; flexible licensure; and, pilot programs as a way of supporting innovation. See position paper.

We now see interest in spelling out the specific competencies of effective teachers with training programs established to accomplish that result. Public Impact’s report Using Competency-Based Evaluation to Drive Teacher Education and School Turnaround Leaders: Competencies for Success describes the  thorough and successful training of teachers in Singapore and elsewhere. Similarly, the concept of badging  or badges and here is finding greater acceptance as a way of indicating successive accumulation of skills and knowledge, not unlike merit badges of Scouts. The competency approach applies to children and youth as well.

One well-developed plan describes the teacher competencies for a progressive school and how to assess competence. This is a document on our website and available for all to use.

The California Continuation Education Association will hold its annual conference April 26-29, 2012 in North Hollywood.

The Magnet Schools of America will hold its 30th annual conference May 18-21, 2012 in Dallas.

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools will hold its 12th annual conference June 19-22, 2012: in Minneapolis.

The Association of Recovery Schools will hold its 11th annual conference in Houston July 18-20, 2012.

The Alternative Education Resource Organization AERO will hold its annual conference August 1-5, 2012 in Portland, OR.

The Association for Experiential Education will hold its 12th annual conference November 1-4, 2012 in Madison.

The National Youth Leadership Council will hold its 24th annual conference in Denver March 13-16, 2013.

The International Democratic Education Conference will hold its 21th annual conference August, 2013 in Colorado.

IALA espouses this policy as its core mission.

CASEL promotes the development of five interrelated sets of cognitive, affective, and behavioral competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. The result: A shift from being  predominantly controlled by external factors to acting with internalized beliefs and values, caring and concern for others, making good decisions, and taking responsibility for one’s choices and behaviors.

Besides full time programs, blended learning programs are increasingly found in almost all high schools in the nation and now spreading to middle and elementary schools. This describes students taking regular courses along with one or more online courses for credit endorsed by their school. A new 178 page report “The Rise of Blended Learning: Profiles of Emerging Models” by the Innosight Institute describes 40 blended learning organizations and 48 different models.

From IALA’s standpoint, this is an overdue but welcome affirmation of our position that all students should have a choice of distinctively different programs.

Take the time with this webinar to consider the impact of this rapidly growing segment of computer use. The implications may blow your paradigms.

This pathways system would be based on three essential elements. The first is the development of a broader vision of school reform that embraces multiple pathways to help young people successfully navigate the journey from adolescence to adulthood. The report contends that at present, we place far too much emphasis on a single pathway to success: attending and graduating from a four-year college. Yet only 30 percent of young adults successfully complete this preferred pathway. Meanwhile, even in the second decade of the 21st century, most jobs do not require a bachelor’s. The report notes that while the United States is expected to create 47 million jobs in the 10-year period ending in 2018, only a third of these jobs will require a bachelor’s or higher degree. See reference for other points.

• Self-directed, project-based learning primary focus; driven by constructivist pedagogy (Adults explain; Students explain)
• Personalized Learning Plan (PLP) for all students emphasizing student needs and interests (view video)
• Personalized work space for each student; Internet access (view video)
• Technology infused environment; technology as a tool
• Individual/group projects complemented by multiple teaching approaches based on student needs and interests (view video)
• Achievement demonstrated publicly; highest work place standards are quality goal (view video)
• All students prepared for post-secondary education, workplace and active citizenship (view video)
• All students and staff engage in quiet reading every day (view video)

Other major categories with numerous videos include:

• Authentic Assessment
• Teacher Ownership/Democratic Governance
• Small Learning Communities

The Design Elements professional contributions shows student-centered learning in action, the best I have seen! Thanks to the award winning New Country High School and Avalon School students and staff for their exemplary videos.

“Online learning is sweeping across America. In the year 2000, roughly 45,000 K–12 students took an online course. In 2009, more than 3 million K–12 students did. What was originally a distance learning phenomenon no longer is. Most of the growth is occurring in blended-learning environments, in which students learn online in an adult-supervised environment at least part of the time. As this happens, online learning has the potential to transform America’s education system by serving as the backbone of a system that offers more personalized learning approaches for all students.”