NESSC School Redesign in Action

"Lawrence Public Schools will share their rationale and strategy for devising a districtwide Family Engagement Partnership Council, a learning and leading stakeholder group committed to expanding high quality engagement in our school district. The session will include how the Council is structured, the types of discussions and decisions that take place, and the anticipated outcomes of this shared decision making model. Participants will hear from district leadership as well as a school that is replicating the model. Addressed will be the benefits and challenges of this new structure, including lessons learned, and participants will experience a demonstration exercise around shared leadership.

Participants will gain an understanding of common challenges and the steps they can take to address these in their own rollout of a Partnership Council at their school(s)."

Across the country, new learner-centered schools are opening each year. Can a large, traditional, open-enrollment school ever provide the same personalized and high-agency experience for all students? In this session, you will hear the story of TechBoston Academy, a Boston Public School, who is trying to do just that.

Participants will examine the transformation of TechBoston Academy through the creation of their vision, school culture work, redesign of supports, time, and space as well as their commitment to data systems that support learner-centered practices and continual improvement. Participants will have an opportunity to engage in critical conversations around areas of interest.

Participants will practice identifying and assessing the eight components of organizational design listed in the Global Best Practices using the TechBoston Academy context. In small groups, participants will dive into one element to problem-solve and share best practices through critical conversations.

Across the country, new learner-centered schools are opening each year. Can a large, traditional, open-enrollment school ever provide the same personalized and high-agency experience for all students? In this session, you will hear the story of TechBoston Academy, a Boston Public School, who is trying to do just that.

Participants will examine the transformation of TechBoston Academy through the creation of their vision, school culture work, redesign of supports, time, and space as well as their commitment to data systems that support learner-centered practices and continual improvement. Participants will have an opportunity to engage in critical conversations around areas of interest.

Participants will practice identifying and assessing the eight components of organizational design listed in the Global Best Practices using the TechBoston Academy context. In small groups, participants will dive into one element to problem-solve and share best practices through critical conversations.

Teacher leaders and administrators at P.K. Yonge DRS have been personalizing professional learning through teacher action research as they work to redesign their secondary school to fulfill a vision of proficiency-based learning. The session will begin with an opportunity for participants to share their experience with action research. Based on relevant experience, we will create working groups that strengthen the conversation throughout the remainder of the session. Participants will be guided through the teacher action research process as they develop their own question of practice related to an aspect of proficiency-based learning.

Participants will have the opportunity to learn from P.K. Yonge’s implementation journey, specifically focusing on the important role action research has played in developing teacher practice and supporting school-wide change. Participants will leave the session with exemplars, knowledge of critical junctures in the research process, and protocols to facilitate a cycle of action research.

In this session, teachers from the U-32 school district in Montpelier, Vermont will share their experience with implementing the New Tech Teams approach to project-based learning (PBL). This approach is part of the New Tech Network’s multi-year initiative to infuse principles of proficiency into engaged, authentic, and meaningful projects for secondary school students.

The New Tech Teams approach brings together a grade-level team to collaborate on planning, implementing, and evaluating project-based learning. U-32 has several interdisciplinary teams that meet regularly to coordinate instruction. Teachers from these teams will share their successes, challenges, and future hopes for robust project-based learning at U-32, and participants will examine project entry documents, assessments, and other materials that address both transferable skills and content standards. Participants will leave with copies of project documents used in the 2018-19 school year.

"This workshop will focus on the critical cornerstone of a successful proficiency-based learning (PBL) system: the PBL transcript. The PBL transcript logistically represents the comprehensive system elements of assessment and graduation verification. PBL-specific transcripts are the first innovative change in secondary learning reporting in the last one hundred years, and therefore need to be well articulated and communicated in order to ensure success in delivering a whole student report of skill-based mastery within a new innovative model.

Participants will learn how to design a PBL transcript from their school’s established PBL system components, ensuring effective communication of student outcomes and expectations while understanding how new generation transcripts can communicate flexible pathways and alternative learning experiences."