Brian M. Stack's School Leadership Blog

This article was written originally for MultiBriefs Education . This past week, the CompetencyWorks initiative of the Aurora Institute (formerly iNACOL) released an updated definition of competency-based education (CBE). Aurora developed the first nationally-recognized definition for CBE back in 2011 after much input from over 100 practitioners in the field. The 2011 definition has provided schools and school districts from coast to coast develop a common understanding of the important features needed in CBE systems. As Eliot Levine and Susan Patrick described the release from Aurora this past week, the updated definition reflects the evolution of CBE in the field as the model has grown to include schools from forty nine out of fifty states . The updated definition includes new features that place an emphasis on equity, student agency, and different pathways for student success. With regards to equity, Levine and Patrick stated, “Competency-based education has always...

This article was written originally for MultiBriefs Education . If there is one thing I have learned after nearly fifteen years as an administrator in my NH school, it is this: There is no greater return on investment for a school principal than the steps he or she takes to build trust with the staff in their school. After all it is not the principal, but the staff members which includes teachers, support staff, office staff, custodians, bus drivers, and food service providers who act as the boots on the ground to make a school function successfully. Without trust between the principal and their staff, a principal will never be truly effective in his or her role. I know I am in a fortunate and desirable situation having stayed the course in the same school for so long. I have hired, or helped hire, 80% or more of my current staff. We have “grown” together as a team, in good times and bad, through many challenging situations. Longevity makes developing trust a much easier t...