Our systematic approach to ensure student learning is called the Re-Inventing Schools Model (RSM). It features shifting away from time based (grades K, 1, 2 etc) to a performance based student advancement. It has been provided to us by our partner, the Re-Inventing Schools Coalition (RISC) of Wasilla, Alaska. It was used by the Chugach School District of Alaska when it was one of the first two school districts to win the Malcolm Baldrige Award, the only Presidential award for organizational performance excellence in 2001.
The Re-Inventing Schools Model
The Re-Inventing Schools Model realizes the inherent value of aligned and realistic assessment practices and allows students to progress individually by demonstrating (in a variety of ways and at their own pace) that they have reached high levels of academic performance.
This Re-Inventing Schools Model is effective at getting students to take ownership for their learning. It entails a definite shift away from teacher-directed, to student-centered learning. Students move at their own pace (as fast or as slow as needed) through developmental levels in standards, rather than age-based grade levels. End-of-level assessments demonstrating proficiency will determine a student's advancement into the next standard level. Students become the drivers of their education — not the teacher!
The core of the model is simply . . . . "students must demonstrate competence in specific standards before they can pass from one grade to the next, or one level of schooling to the next." (excerpt from "Delivering The Promise" by Richard Delorenzo).
It is our goal for each and every student to be proficient as to the goal of the afore-mentioned No Child Left Behind Act. We believe that the Re-Inventing School's Model (RSM) of instruction is so powerful as to fulfill this goal for all of our students.
You can learn more about the Re-Inventing Schools Model and the Malcolm Baldrige Award at the following sites:
