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12
Point Foundation for Change
-
No student shall be enrolled in any course of study unless
the student is proficient in all pre-requisite learning objectives.
To enroll students in courses of study for which they are not prepared
is unfair. It places students in a failure pattern from which there
is little hope of escape. MORE...
-
Students who are placed in a course of study for which they are fully
prepared will be successful. Students who are fully prepared will learn
if given sufficient instruction and time.
- Students
vary considerably in the amount of instruction and in the amount of
time they need for learning. MORE...
- Rigorous,
sequential learning objectives shall be in established for every discipline
in the curriculum.
-
The primary criterion for placing students in classrooms for instruction
shall be their possession of pre-requisite proficiencies. Date of birth
shall not be a factor. Other factors may be considered as long as they
do not compromise the primary criterion. This will necessitate multi-age
grouping for instruction. Normally, elementary through secondary classrooms
shall have no more than a three-year spread in ages among enrollees.
MORE...
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Because all students must demonstrate proficiency in learning objectives
in order to advance to the next course of study, advancement in the
learning objectives of individual disciplines shall be independent of
advancement in any other discipline.
-
In most cases, students will advance more rapidly in some disciplines
than in others. There shall be no grade-level designations applied to
students or to the curriculum. All students will be exited from public
secondary education before their nineteenth birthday. MORE...
- A
"proficiencies profile" shall be established for each student. In this
profile student progress in proficiencies shall be designated as "passed"
or "in progress." MORE...
-
No
timeline or "norms" shall be used in evaluating a student. No student
shall be labeled as a failure. MORE...
- A
continuous strand of career education must be a core element in Social
Studies throughout elementary and secondary education. Rigorous, sequential
learning objectives for vocational disciplines shall be established
for students aged 12 and up, and offered as an alternative to college-prep
academic coursework. Until age nineteen, students shall be free to enroll
in any course of public school instruction for which they are qualified
as described in the above points. MORE...
-
Schools shall monitor, advise, and provide resources to students and
their families in order that students and their families can make well-informed
decisions about the direction and content of the student's courses of
study. Schools shall establish and recommend programs of study leading
to both academic and vocational goals.
- All of
the preceeding points of our foundation for change must be supported
by a total transformation of the culture of public schools. This begins
with a committment by school administrators, teachers, and support staff.
The school culture must reflect all of the values that are embedded
in the practices enumerated above. The value of educational achievement
must be held in the highest esteem. It must be seen as the primary purpose
of the institution. The intrinsic dignity and value of all people, regardless
of their circumstances, must be taught by precept and demonstrated in
the practices of the school. There must be an expectation of steady,
sequential progress and an expectation that students will give their
best effort. In connection with this, there should also be an expectation
that students will progress at different rates, and that there is no
failure in needing additional instruction or time. The values embodied
in the above practices will create a school community that at long last
achieves the stated goals of our educational institutions and reflects
the ideals of American democracy.
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