Educate For A Change - 12 Point Foundation

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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 standards. 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 standards shall be in established for every discipline in the curriculum. The sequence of standards must embody and denote the pre-requisites for each standard.
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...
Because all students must demonstrate proficiency in course standards in order to advance to the next course of study, advancement in the standards 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 standards for vocational disciplines shall be established for students aged 12 and up, as an alternative to college-prep academic coursework. Until age nineteen, students shall be free to enroll in any course of 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 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 more time. The values embodied in the above practices will create a school community that at long last approaches the stated goals of our educational institutions and the ideals of American democracy.