Brian M. Stack's School Leadership Blog

Recently, I was excited to share the work that my team and I have done in New Hampshire on competency based education with a group of South Carolina educators as part of the Transform SC institute on Meeting the Needs of Every Student With Competency Based Progression . My preparation for this institute was an opportunity for me to reflect on what has now been a six year journey with competency education with Sanborn Regional High School in Kingston, NH . This past month, our school district was recognized for the second year in a row as a “leader in competency education” by Tom Vander Ark’s organization Getting Smart , noting that Sanborn was one of 30 School Districts Worth Visiting in 2015 .  Throughout my journey as a building principal navigating the uncharted waters of a new competency education model, I have shared my thoughts, my reflections, and my research through articles on Competency Works . It has been three years since I wrote one of my first articles ent...

Today, in a presentation to a group of South Carolina educators on competency education hosted by the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness , National Center for Innovation in Education Executive Director Gene Wilhoit praised the House for their overwhelming support on Tuesday of ESSA, the Every Student Succeeds Act . The act sailed through the house in a 359-64 vote and is expected to have similar support in the Senate. He stated that ESSA reauthorizes the 2002 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law in a way that will open the door for innovative, personalized, and student-centered learning to take center stage in state and local school district education reforms in the coming years around the country. His comments were met with applause from the 100+ teachers, administrators, and business leaders who had come together to discuss next steps for South Carolina’s personalized learning reforms. Wilhoit held up the 1,000 page ESSA document, explaining to the crowd that he and his colle...

This past month, movie enthusiasts rejoiced at the arrival of October 21, 2015, the actual date that a young Marty McFly traveled back in time to fictitious Hill Valley, CA to save his children in the hit 1989 movie Back to the Future II . Back in 1989, director Robert Zemeckis introduced us to a world in 2015 that looked very different from the one we knew. Although we don’t have flying cars and food hydrators, we do have drones, video conferencing, hands-free video games, and video glasses. Sadly, however, Marty McFly would find almost no differences in the Hill Valley High School from 1989 to 2015. In fact, he may not see many differences from the Hill Valley of 1955, the year he traveled to later in that same movie. Why have we made so much progress as a society, yet our schools continue to operate in much the same way as they have for decades? In a recent Ed Week article, William Tolley asked Why the Factory Model of Schools Persists, and How We Can Change It? He talk...

Late afternoon on a school day means only one thing in my house – it is time to put on your game face and prepare for the inevitable: The bus is about to drop off my three elementary aged children and my wife Erica will transform into an after school teacher and tutor. In our house, homework must be completed before anyone gets to go outside to play with friends. Through the years Erica has found that some homework assignments, such as practicing their music instruments, reading silently, or writing in their journals are appropriate and effective. Some assignments, however, amount to little more than “busy work” for our children that do not challenge them with deeper understanding nor do they seem to have a clear meaning or purpose. At dinnertime Erica and I will often debate the purpose of homework. Is it to reinforce skills from the classroom? Is it to provide additional practice? Is it to develop appropriate work study practices? Edutopia blogger Clare Roach , a former Sp...