Claudette Trujillo on Implementing and Sustaining Competency-Based Education

You’re listening to the Getting Smart podcast where we unpack what is new and innovative in education. I’m your host Jessica and today we’re giving you a look at a new conversation series led by Getting Smart team member Rebecca Middles. She’s been having informative and inspiring conversations with leaders in the field of

competency-based education and they are all available to you at www.gettingsmart.com.cbe. We’ll put a link in the show notes and on the blog. On this episode she is speaking with Claudette Trujillo, principal of Metropolitan Arts Academy, a PK-8 Arts Innovation School in Westminster Public Schools and a long time advocate for CBE.

Claudette is in her 21st year in the education field and her 12th year of competency-based implementation. She also has a master’s in educational counseling in addition to her administration license and bachelors of English with a secondary endorsement. Today Rebecca and Claudette unpack what it takes to successfully implement a competency-based

learning model, share stories from the field and much more. Let’s listen in. Welcome Claudette. Thank you for joining us today at Getting Smart. We are starting a podcast about your work and your experience.

If you wouldn’t mind we’d like to add to your introduction a little bit about how long you’ve been doing this, the different roles you’ve had and maybe lead into what brought you to this work. Welcome. Awesome.

Thank you for having me. This is my 21st year in education and 12 years working with implementation of competency-based models and I’ll say models because ours has evolved quite a bit. And during this time I have had such an honor to be in many different roles from a Beacon classroom teacher piloting this in an alternative high school, learning along with others to

moving into an instructional coaching role in middle school and then moving into an AP role and looking more at the social-emotional lens of a competency-based model and how that affects things. And then now moving into a Principalship of a PK-8 and we just recently opened last year as a brand new arts innovation school.

So that’s been an exciting change for us, but still completely in a competency-based model. Talk to me about the equitable access to education piece. You just touched on a little bit. Could you share a little bit more about that?

You know, I really think that this work for me personally started with wanting equitable access for all kids in all content areas and really meeting students where they are. And so it really came from a mindset shift, you know, and knowing that you need to do what’s right for kids and really changing the mindset and your circle of influence and the people around you.

And so looking through that lens, how can we motivate others and network together to create a system that truly honors who kids are, right, and honors the pace in which they need to move through learning and whether that be a little faster or a little slower, really honors who they are. And so that’s been the motivating force behind me in this work and also the motivating force

in wanting to learn all the different roles so I could see these different lenses, be able to know where I could best support and where we had those gaps. And I think that leads directly to equity on multiple levels, right? You know, are we servicing our marginalized groups? Are we servicing our students who are gifted and talented and have these other desires?

Are we preparing students for post-secondary work? Specifically, in this role, are we preparing students for auditions and scholarships and conservatory, right, applying to conservatory model schools for the arts. And so that’s been a big driving force and a lot of that really stems from that mindset. I think when I first met you, you were teaching in an alternative school.

So I think about all the roles you’ve had in Westminster, including your current role with your new school now and all the different perspectives, and still basing this off of more or less the principles of one model. You’ve said it’s made changes, you’ve modified it, you’ve adapted. Maybe speak more to that as you can and we go forward in this conversation.

But let’s start with maybe even how you took the first steps as a teacher and then as a leader to transition that vision of what you wanted education to be to practice. How did that get started? You know, I think looking back, it’s funny when I think back about all these roles, right? When I see younger me with this drive and this desire for this.

And it’s so exciting now to see so much of it come to fruition, yet it’s so inspiring to see how much further we have to go as a community. When I say community, I’m talking about all of us working together in that working piece. But for me, starting out, I think it really was about responding to that hunger, right, to reach kids.

You know, in an alternative setting, it was really important for me to see kids that I saw that didn’t necessarily fit in that traditional model of education and were absolutely brilliant. I mean, came in and they can, you know, they could adapt and adjust and, you know, throw their assignments at me that were very traditional in five minutes and go, okay, I’m done now, what?

And so to see them so willing to engage in education, but so missed in how we were unable to reach them. For me, it was about how can I get involved in something that will honor these kids? These are some of the most brilliant kids that I have found. And so looking at, you know, why does this kid have to sit through traditional learning?

Right? Why is this time bound? Why do we have these grade levels and they’re just filling seat time? And this is, you know, the alternative setting was a perfect model because those kids were ready for it.

They were like, I want to get on with my life. I want to do some other things. Just give it to me and let me rock on. And so, yeah, really trying to figure out how I could reach them. And so looking at why can’t they just take an assessment and show me that they’re competent

in this and we move on? Why do they have to sit here and wait if they can move ahead? And likewise for my other kids, why do they need to be rushed through something? Just because I’m trapped in this pacing, you know, traditional model when they’re, they’re mean a little bit more time, you know, really trying to honor who they were as learners.

And so for me, it was about starting to develop assessments within my own classroom where I could capture not only what, what they could show me they were competent in, but in their strength area, how could they demonstrate this? That was really exciting for me to think about why do they have to, okay, so now we’re going to do an essay or now we’re going to do, why don’t they have any choice in how they demonstrate

this understanding? Right? And so, you know, for me, it was developing units and lessons asking them like, hey, I’ve never really thought about this. What ideas do you have that you guys want to show me?

And they would come up with just things that I’m like, wow, okay, well, you know, I can show you, I understand angles through, you know, skateboarding, you know, I do some skateboarding, I’m actually sponsored and I’m like, you’re sponsored? Okay, that’s good to know. Didn’t know that.

Yeah. And I’d like to show you that I understand, you know, math in this way and I can actually do a video and I’m like, oh, okay, that’s pretty sophisticated. And I probably would have never thought of assigning that knowing that the kid next to this kid doesn’t want to demonstrate it that way.

You know, once more of a, I’d like to, I’d like to draw it or I would like to demonstrate it through an explanation one-on-one with you. And really thinking about how can I use the time I have, because we know there’s never enough time with kids. How can I capitalize on the time that I have with these kids to stop wasting everyone’s

time including my own, right? Trying to figure out everyone’s going to show me in this magical way that I’ve deemed is the right way. And just start asking the questions of your kid. I think that’s key.

Like, how do you want to show me that you understand this? What’s the best way? And I have found that to be so exciting and that’s a small way that I think everyone can get started in their classroom, in their school. Likewise, when you’re working with your staff, how do you guys want to show me that you understand

this training or this pedagogy or, you know, rather than me telling you, oh, you know, when you’re done, you’re going to have to sign off on it and you have to do these things. Tell me how you want to demonstrate this in your classroom. It doesn’t need to look like the person next to you. And I think that same thing applies with kids.

So truly a user-centric approach. Really thinking about the folks who are sitting in front of you, the folks that you’re serving, whether that’s students or staff and your different roles that you’ve had, and really checking in with them. I also hear the importance of transparency of expectations.

So if students are really clear about what the focus of learning is, they may be able to bring in their varied context to that situation. With you, when you don’t have that, you may not understand how that could transfer to things of interest. And so making that more available is also important.

Would you agree? Yeah, I would completely agree. And I would add, I think the transparency of expectations is key, but I also think the understanding that they have a voice in education and that we want them to know. I think they come in going, okay, tell me what to do.

All right, where’s the agenda? Okay, what do I have to work through today? Great, done. Check, check, check. And obviously that’s not critical thinking.

We’re not pushing their thinking. But we’re also not instilling in them that they have a right to that. And that gets to the heart of equity. You have a voice in your education. You don’t have to show up.

Yeah, legally you do. But let’s play the game that you don’t. You have a voice and you get to create what this looks like. And who isn’t stimulated, excited by that? Who isn’t feeling empowered when someone tells you, you get to design what this looks like

and make it meaningful for you. And guess what? It might actually even catch on and other people could learn from you. I think that’s, there’s the transparency piece, but then there’s also the empowerment piece, which leads to student agency, right?

And once they have that student agency, like get out of their way, like truly get out of their way. They’re gonna go for it. That’s right. I mean, I think that’s the promise we make as educators.

Every time they enter the door, our promise is that they’ll leave when they graduate, when they leave our system with some level of agency and advocacy for, to go after what they pursue. I mean, I feel like that fundamentally is the promise that everything fits under. And I feel like you’re really calling that to attention too.

Certainly in the past with your experiences and presently, I would imagine even more heightened with the current pandemic. Absolutely. We’ll touch more on that after this piece too. We’ll dive into some pandemic questions towards the end.

So when you’re thinking about getting started, you’ve just opened a brand new school. We could focus it on that. What are ways that you create momentum for change? Because even within a district that’s already cutting edge in the country, Westminster, already seen as really kind of that leading edge of the work, you are a district that now are

also providing really unique pathways in your K-8 school. So a new approach or a new context to some common look for is what are ways that you’ve created momentum and begun that work with your staff that others could benefit from hearing some ideas? I think a lot of it comes from looking outside the box and taking some calculated risks,

right? Obviously, you need to have a strong vision with your stakeholder buy-in and input. Those are key. But then doing it, getting started. Even if it’s small, even if you make a mistake, I think that’s always making it a safe space

for people to make those mistakes and then honoring it. What did we learn from it? What do we want to do differently next time? I think that’s key as a leader and I think that’s key as an educator. And I think being transparent about your own mistakes, like, wow, we were going to try

that, but that didn’t go so great. How could we try things a little differently next time? I think being able to just stop and realize this is a work in progress. I think being humble and honoring that and being real with yourself, right? I think when you come in of like, this is the role of a principal and I’ve got to lead

it all myself and I’ve got to be the sage on the stage and have it figured out, nothing works that way, especially in this model. It’s really collaborative. It’s really choice and it’s listening. I think as a leader, boy, is it listening to the staff and the students and they will

tell me things. I will wander in a bathroom and the children will be like, Mr. Yo, have you thought about maybe, you know, we could do this or we could, and it’s about learning. And I’m like, okay, honey, thanks for talking to me in the bathroom. And I walk out like, oh, that was really smart.

Like I would have never thought of that. But it’s really about setting that climate and culture where people feel free to approach you and talk to you and feel like they’re going to be a piece of the puzzle that works together. And you know, boy, did I make some mistakes first coming in, right, even though I knew

this system and I felt like I was this like listening leader. I like that. I’m going to coin that term, listening leader. But I wasn’t, right? I was like so nervous about moving into this role and with competency-based, you know,

we have this in a traditional setting, we have this illusion that we control things, right? Whether as an educator, we control. I control the curriculum. I control the assessments and when you get it and get a retake it or not retake it.

We have this illusion of control, but at the end of the day, the students buy in is really where the control lands, right? And so, you know, as you move into leadership, and I’m leaders, everyone is a leader in this system. That’s the beauty of this, right?

And the strongest leaders are your students. But as you move into this, it’s really starting to let go and be comfortable in the unknown and being in that creative space that some people are very uncomfortable with of, I have really no control over any of this, but I feel the power of what we’re creating and of what the students are capable of.

And I just want to be a part of that. And so setting that culture and that vision and having that buy in and when you fail, you go back to the vision and you’re like, here’s, all right, let’s figure it out. Did we align everything back to this foundational vision or do we need to change the vision? Like, what have we learned here, which goes back to those, I want to say, multifaceted

models of thinking and different, in our district, we do, you know, PDCA, plan, do, check, adjust, what do we need to now adjust? And sometimes it’s something as foundational as the vision, but we keep the core. This was our belief and this is the outcome we wanted to see. That’s great.

I can see how a lot of people could even connect to this district vision and school vision to a portrait graduate vision. Because they have a vision of what they want for their graduates, how would their system adjust to make that a reality? And you can see how much of this would apply and revisit.

Because it’s not that it’s, it’s the competency based model or not that it’s a mastery based system is the vision, right? It’s really about what you want your students to leave with when they leave your system and what you want them to carry forward. So really making space to reevaluate that and make sure you’re meeting those needs.

Super important. I think you also mentioned or hinted at the ways you may have changed or endorsed different types of celebrations in that, in that setup too. Would you want to share a little bit more about the celebrations that come along with that?

If you’re changing the vision of what a school and what it looks like, what would celebrations maybe, how would they change? Well, you know, I think for us, it was about developing benchmarks, right? Like when we reached something, whether it was like, okay, across the board, you know, the kinders have agency, this one component of agency, like, yes, they did it.

Versus, you know, we have older kids now ready to talk about those secondary things or, or advocate, right? Like when you start seeing students advocate, boy, is that a celebration and stopping and just recognizing it and honoring it. You know, as we transitioned into the art school, it was really about celebrating their

creativity and providing performance opportunities, right? That was new. Like how do we, how do we celebrate the success of that? And so, you know, with our, with our staff, they, they really looked at classroom celebrations. You know, I know a lot of things in a traditional system, you do these big award nights, right?

Like these big, and you’re going to get a certificate and then your parents are going to come and it’s very formal and I’m going to come dressed very nice and shake your hand. For me, it felt more authentic for those celebrations to happen in the classroom. So as we saw students leveling up in our system at any time, right? As they, as they do, anytime they’re ready, they move, we felt the intimacy of a classroom

setting to say, look at, look at what this student has done. Look at what, look at, and to listen to them encourage each other as, as elementary kids was like the coolest thing. Like, yes, we’re so proud of you. You worked so hard.

So instead of creating this culture where they’re moving faster than me or, you know, I’m the slowest, really creating a you did it, like we did it. We’ll work with you. We’ll sit beside you. Those celebrations for me were so much more meaningful than seeing it in the classroom

when you go into observe, you know, as a leader, you go in and you’re like, okay, do they have their objective up? You know, you want all those things, right? But then you hear the conversations between kids and them celebrating each other. And that was to me, really more of a focus for our staff moving forward.

Those types of celebrations were more innovative to stop and pause and take time for those things than to schedule a huge level up ceremony or a huge, you know, yes, we still wanted to honor that, but really on a personalized level for kids. Same with staff, right? Like those one on one.

Yeah, I can, your observation was great, you know, those things. For me to really send a thank you card and say, I see how you reach this kid. And last week, this was a kid that I know you were really struggling with. And, you know, I’m really proud of you, like way to have show resilience and not give up. Those celebrations to me were so much more profound as you’re building out this system

than the big showcasing, right? And I also think that what you’ve highlighted is you’re not having students delay that celebration. It’s happening right when it’s, when it’s occurring. They’re getting to be excited about it, take it home, talk about it with their families instead of waiting a month or two for now where they’re one of many maybe being celebrated.

So other ways that you can have different celebrations in the moment and maybe something that’s captured in a formal setting where parents can come and honor is still there, but that they’re actually getting to celebrate white when it’s happening, right? Yeah. And it reminds me, like when we first opened, I was trying to think of like, you know, certificates are cool and we did those, right?

Parents love those. I think those are an important thing to honor for parents. They love them for the scrapbooks and all of those things. But I also wanted these like achievement things that kids could kind of have. And so we started with like dog tags and they could earn dog tags, you know, by content area

when they leveled up and there was no, they didn’t have just one level. They could move. They could move beyond that. And then we, you know, transition to bracelets and, you know, different things that would show. And it really changed the culture of the building to be academic focused and that you could take pride in that, that there was, there was a great deal of pride in being smart, right?

Let’s get, let’s get that, break that stigma of it’s not cool to be smart and let’s make it about. Yeah, it actually really is. And we can recognize that in each other. That’s cool. You didn’t have that yesterday where you lunched together and look at you, you leveled up today and having those celebrations in class. But I think the coolest thing for me was seeing parents wearing those dog tags.

Like they would come to parent-teacher conferences and the parents were wearing the kids’ dog tags. And I remember taking a picture of a parent and I was like, they’re like, yeah, I’m like so proud. Did you see that, you know, my little kid over here levels up and now I was like, yeah, right. Like, look at you. Like, okay. So, you know, just getting, getting parents involved in those celebrations.

But like I said, in a very kind of intimate, authentic way. So as people start this journey and they get excited, I know that you have certainly been there. And it’s been a while since you were in the beginning stages of this, but I can imagine you can relate to folks who maybe go and observe back when we could observe. Folks in their, their schools in their classroom seeing some really high-function systems in place. And having this like will that just want to take it and drop it back at home.

Not recognizing that there was phases of this level of implementation. What are some future roadblocks or challenges that you think a school or a district could have as they start this work that would be helpful? Knowing that it’s a process, knowing that they’re going to start small. But what are some like lessons learned or some tips that you might offer about as you start this process of transformation? One thing I would say is, and I recognize that not everyone has the ability to do this, but it is a lot easier if things are systemic.

Right. If everyone is creating that vision as stakeholders, you know, if you can’t start with an entire district, I mean, we were fortunate to be able to do that. But if you can’t start with that, start as a whole building. Right. Like, and if for some reason you can’t start there, start as a whole classroom. You know, keep in mind that you have stakeholders in the room and those are the students. But even if you are a teacher just starting out and you feel like I’m in an island and I’m alone, right, I can’t do this.

Look for partnerships. Look for, you know, if you don’t have the means to or resources right now, we’re all struggling with that. If you don’t have access to a consultant or a trainer, do the research and start with your students. Right. Like, get their voice in the room, recognize they’re part of that vision. Let them be the driving force in where you go with it and then own it with them when it maybe doesn’t go there and go back and say, OK, how is this work when we fail forward?

How does this look when we do this together? And and I think they they get to celebrate with you and they also get to to grow with you. And I think that’s that’s been one of the benefits in our district is doing it systemically. You know, we would all kind of walk in on some days to our meetings like yes. And other days like, whoa, we better we better check and adjust that.

Who wants to help with that? But always being humble and knowing that we didn’t have it all figured out, right? And and I think the other key is networking. You know, get involved. There’s enough research out there now.

There’s enough of a movement across our country and beyond that there there’s articles. There’s so many places you can go picking up the phone. Sometimes that powerful conversation is really more of a one on one or through a webinar and just realizing there’s other people that get it and want it and are going to go after it. And, you know, don’t be afraid to take that first step.

Excellent advice. I know that you probably have some more to add to this, but there’s been some conversation about the term pilot or the term demonstration or the idea of the have and the have nots who got the first training, the early adopters. There’s been some conversation about when you phase out how strategic are you and what you name it

and what you call it. We’ve had some folks share with us that calling themselves a demonstration school was better if you phrase it as just demonstrating where we are in the journey. Not that we’re piloting it, meaning we’re trying it. We might stop doing it or that we’re the star example, but really just come see where we are.

We’ll demonstrate what we’re learning to you in the moment. Are there any things that you might advise? I know that you guys had a way that you helped early adopters get started. And I think you did a really good job of pulling opportunities and for people who just really wanted to not wait for a systemic district wide chance, but where they could just, you know,

begin to do some of that work right now in their classroom. Any tips that you might offer in that regard? I really like the idea of demonstration, right? It’s a level playing field. We have what we’ve termed as a lab school, Marzano School that we have recently partnered

with Dr. Bob Marzano and opened and it makes it safe to go and observe, right? But understanding for the people in that system, you don’t have to have it all figured out. Doesn’t have to be perfect, right? Like we’re kind of learning together and people can come and go as their own learning requires, right? And so, you know, I know that we started out with, you know, I think we were called the Beacon Lighthouse.

You know, it was this big, big term and there was an amount of pressure like, oh, we better figure it out real quick if we’re going to, you know, call ourselves that. But like I think it goes back to honoring the culture, you know, the culture, setting up the tone in the culture that whether you call it pilot, whether you call it demonstration, really whatever term that you identify, it’s a work in progress. It’s learning together, right?

Learning from each other, learning with each other. And I think you mentioned a few of these ideas, but we really wanted to give space for just as you enter those challenges. You talked about really kind of going back to your vision and making sure you’re being solid there. But as you move into these challenges, what are some ways that you can stay strong, stay focused, move forward, recommendations that you might offer in that respect? The first thing I would say is look at what’s in your locust of control, right?

So one thing that was really hard for us was finding curriculum that was not grade level based. So when you’re designing these units, you’re designing these things and you have a combination level classroom and you’ve set up that tone that we don’t have these strict grades and it’s this fluid movement at any time. Then you get this like text that’s like grade three and you put that in front of a child, right? And so really looking at can I control that? No.

I could be really frustrated by it, right? Because things are not moving at the pace maybe I need or the kids need. But really what it’s about is how can I shape this so that it makes sense to the kids? How can I help them to understand that we’re innovating? And sometimes when you innovate, you’re going to go beyond where other things are and we have to kind of adapt what’s available to us.

But really looking at what you can and can’t control and being okay with that, right? And also looking at your system of support. Right? Like I said before, if it’s just your students, that’s okay. If it’s your parents that are bought into this and really are excited about this opportunity. Hearing their feedback, designing ways that they have a consistent way of giving you that feedback.

Having those things set up so that when you start to feel like, you know, I need to do a temperature gauge on how my community is feeling or how the students are feeling. Having a system in place where you can get that information real quick because it’s affirming that some of the things you’re doing are really working. And it’s also affirming that, yeah, I felt like we needed a change. I felt like this really wasn’t as impactful as I had hoped it would be. And I’m going to check and adjust based on that.

And so really looking at communication, how you streamline it, how you get that feedback. And then using that information to stop and celebrate how far you’ve come. I think that’s hard. It’s like when you’re hiking, how often do you, we’re trying to just get up the mountain and we’re sweaty and we’re tired and our blood sugar is low. Maybe that’s just me way back in the day.

But, you know, how often do you actually stop and turn around and go look how far I’ve come? Right. And recently I went on a hike and I had a friend tell me stop and turn around and I was like, I’m not going to make it. Like I’m just trying to get back to the car. Just let me be. And he was like, no, seriously, I want you just to stop in the moment and turn around and feel the power of how far you’ve come.

And being in this for 12 years, for me, I thought, oh my gosh, how does this metaphorically apply to this system and our model? And how often have I stopped to turn around? I’ve just been going and going. Look at me. I took my sweatshirt off, I’ve changed my shoes, I’ve retied them 10 times. I’m just going and I’m plugging forward and I haven’t stopped to recognize the power of shift.

Right. And I’ve had air. I’m still going. I’m going to make it, but I haven’t stopped to turn around and really look. And so for me, that was really powerful. And that’s a recent thing for me just to stop and go, wow, how does this apply?

Systemically, look how far we have come for kids and look how much equity we have created and look at our students that are now thriving in colleges. You know, from where we started 12 years ago, now these kids are out there in the world. They have jobs they are happy with. Right. They didn’t settle for a job that they had to go into to pay the bill. They really worked towards what is my vision?

What do I want to be? You know, our superintendent always says the most important day of school is the day after graduation. Right. Where are they? What are they doing? What do they want to do?

And have we set them up to be able to take that first step? And so, you know, when you start to feel that would be my biggest thing. When you start to feel like, wow, have I even made a dent? Even if it’s in your own classroom, like stop and turn around. Like that’s key and recognize the power of where you’ve come from.

That’s wonderful. I think we are some of the worst at that is a profession. We’re always looking at the next, if I’m going to go with your metaphor, the next trail marker, the next what do I need to get to next? And certainly true in your journey, certainly true now. What have I been able to manage and do and within my locus of control for the learners that I serve during this unprecedented time?

Really being able to take that in. So I really appreciate that message. I think that’s really powerful. Okay. So let’s talk about the impact on students. I think this is a good time.

Let’s let’s think about that transformation. How has this impacted the students that you serve and that you know, and maybe in your most recent capacity as a leader of a new school within this district? Well, I touched on that a little bit when I talked about like what they’re doing now, they’re thriving in things that they’re excited about. Right. And I think that’s key. You know, when I first started out, I thought about, oh, I want kids to go to college and I want them to get a good job and I want them to be able to buy a house.

I never thought about, I want them to be critical thinkers. I want them to be contributors to society. I want them to carry the torch of equity. I want them to, you know, lay the foundation for the life that they want. Right. If they want to be a struggling musician, if they want to be whatever that looks like, I never thought about that.

Right. We equate this socioeconomic status and degrees and all of that too. What we deem as this traditional model of success. And I think the impact on the kids, for me, the biggest is agency. Right. Seeing them be able to advocate and articulate their needs, even through frustration, even if it has to come, you know, not maybe in spoken word, but in written word. If it has to come through their frustration of things that are happening out of their control in a poem.

If it has to come through, you know, advocating for me to have a dance or have something. Those little moments are key. And so the biggest change for me has been giving them the power and letting them speak and hearing the stories, even in the lounge, you know, as teachers come in and out of the lounge, how excited they are hearing that from their kids. Right. Like one thing that was really, really powerful is, you know, we last year, when we had to flip the switch overnight going to remote, you always wonder, you know, you’re like, let’s just keep it going. Let’s just let we’re just got to get learning to them. Just, you know, get it to them. Be the vessel. Right. And so it’s been interesting to hear we opened as a district day one face to face.

And my staff in particular, we, I did a temp check and we decided to offer remote learning and face to face learning simultaneously. That was a big lift for the staff and we knew that that would be double the work. Double the planning. A lot of kids that would be disengaged that we would say they wanted remote that we wouldn’t be able to reach and we would have to work 10 times harder to get them there. But that’s that was the choice that we made as a team and it’s been hard. Right. Like October looks like April, sometimes on their faces. And so the integrity of that choice for them and watching them keep that commitment was was very

powerful for me to see. And I think for them, I think one thing seeing the impact on kids to go back to that like hearing their stories, you know, being in this pandemic, we have had to quarantine a classroom. We’ve had to quarantine a cohort. And when the kids go out, I had this epiphany of like, how do we reengage them when they come back? Right. Like, okay, go away for two weeks. Okay, it’s safe to come back. They’re little, they’re like, what? Okay. You know, they just do as they’re asked. And that’s something, honestly, I’m still working on. Like, how do we still make them feel connected when they come back? And I don’t have it figured out. But I know that when one of my teachers went out, she asked the kids like, what are you thankful for? Prompt. We do big on connection circles here. You know, we really try to keep that culture in every classroom tight. And, you know, you get that I’m thankful for my mom. I think, you know, you usually get that. And the answers that the kids gave in a level five classroom were very profound. It was, you know, I’m thankful that I got to come back for a short time.

I’m thankful I get to go back again. I’m thankful I got to have some time with my friends before we went out, you know, I’m thankful for my teachers who come in and are taking this risk to be here with us. It was, I’m like, wow, you know, you, you hope that they kind of understand it, but you also want to protect them. Like, you know, it’s not scary. We’re all in masks and gloved up and face shields, but we’re okay. And to hear them authentically own that the impact. We could not have done this if we did not have the foundation of competency based learning prior, and we did not have student agency. We could not have flipped that switch. We couldn’t be doing this remote in person, flexible schedule that we’ve been doing if if we didn’t have that. And I think that is what created the trust from our families and it’s what created the trust from our kids, because they could speak their truths. And so I think the impact of this system on them is giving them even an unsure unknown times of voice and giving them the ability to express that whether it’s social emotional or whether it’s academics.

You’ve really highlighted, I think, at its core what competency based learning is always meant to be, and sometimes misunderstood, because sometimes people think, oh, you’ve changed the way you do grading, or you’ve changed the way you do planning, but really strong competency based learning is all of the things that go behind what why you changed it right. You want kids to know how to have transferable skills and application of skills in multiple contexts, and to understand the why to have that understanding and to feel powerful from that to have that be very transparent, so they can advocate and lead their learning. So much of that when you say competency based on I hope people are hearing you say because it’s really that whole culture shift changing the way you essentially switch from being an adult centric kind of model to a very intentionally student centered model, even with your superintendent saying the best days when they know what they want to do. That’s determined outside of the data of what we consider to be what are successful schools and successful districts. I’m really appreciating that. Let’s talk a little bit more about the pandemic because I think people hearing that is really helpful. I mean I think that’s what’s drawing people and their interest into what you do and personalized learning and competency based for those reasons because they’ve heard systems that

had those in place made more of a fluid switch not necessarily as a dramatic change. And this is more that you could share with us that you are learning to this pandemic that would be helpful for others because I don’t think this is going to go away. Right. This, this has changed fundamentally the way we look at school across the country, and it certainly changed the way families are looking at what is happening in their schools with their students. I know you’re in Colorado and there’s a tendency to have a little bit more face to face experiences in that state. Other states may have that hybrid but a lot of other states are still maybe at remote. So what are some facets that you would share with us that you’ve learned about your model that you may have had to change that wouldn’t be expected with this pandemic. I think the biggest shift for us when we went remote last year is as a building and a district I mean really was a district. Push, you know we’ve always used PLC to look at assessment data, right and progress monitoring data and we’re going to talk about it and we’re going to talk about it and I think those things are really important.

But when you have to flip a switch overnight it became all about engagement, authentic engagement, right. And so our PLCs in my building shifted and every principle did it a little bit differently right but we had a complete district focus on how are we going to measure engagement right like we already had a learning management system in place. We were solid with that kids knew how to log on, we were still working on getting parents to engage in that and then it became the core of like oh and we didn’t want them just logging on right we needed to know they were completing things we needed to know that they were understanding the work right not just we didn’t just want to go back to the old model of here’s a worksheet turn it in here’s you know turn it in. How can we create authentic learning experiences remotely and then monitor engagement and really monitoring engagement became more important than monitoring all these big type of assessments and data. Yes, we cared about that but we also could recognize that there was going to be a gap when we came back right we weren’t going to reach everyone. How are we going to get a handle on who are we reaching how often are we reaching them. And so we came up and worked with our learning management system and power to find different ways and tweak their system to monitor these things we were looking for and then we would all meet as leaders and say okay here’s what my building looks like here’s

like transparency in the system like I can see your engagement looking here minds here oh you know these guys are here and not being afraid of that right because we can learn and help each other because then we could say you’re doing great how are you getting that like what does that look like how are you how are you monitoring that in your building that’s amazing. And being okay with that knowing that transparency and so that for us was a big shift because you know we, I think one thing about that I’m really proud about our district is we have pushed really hard on policy right we’ve pushed really hard on the state and not been afraid to push back and, you know, we are going to do what’s right by kids and you’ll catch up eventually but in the meantime, here’s here’s what we’re going to do. And, you know, really monitoring consistently how do we do on state assessments and I think those things are very very important, but really recognizing it’s one piece of the puzzle right and so this whole remote experience when we were out that entire time and lipping a switch and telling our teachers as a PLC now you’re going to look at engagement, really prepared us for when they came back. You know, another big shift for us coming back was having to go into this cohort model, right like I can’t have this locked in master schedule and I’d get really really good, in my opinion, at master scheduling in a competency based system and having combination levels and we’re going to be especially an elementary you know when I first came I’m not going to lie they had some hiccups where I was like well they just moved between teachers and everyone’s like hold on their babies we can’t have them seven teachers in a day I’m like they’re five we’ve got to figure it out they’re going to have to know this.

You know I had my own hiccups and got in my own way, but I felt like master scheduling I had finally got a handle on and then we come back and it’s like oh by the way, they need to be in these cohorts and they can’t have over this capacity, and there was all these new regulations and I was like, Oh, so I can’t just have that specials time there and they can’t just. And I had to go out of the box and think about what does co teaching look like right how, how do we honor that system and I had to take some risks that I wasn’t necessarily ready for like, you know, okay, we’re going to now go to a wheel model so I can really monitor what specials is with who. And we’re going to be really mindful about who is with who and and then in order to keep our lift of arts integration, which is our focus of our building our innovation plan is built on that. How do I sustain that in this if they’re not going to see the dance teacher till later, or you know, in the year, not every day as a primary kiddo how how am I going to keep that going. And so really coming up with innovative things one practice we put in place with co teaching, and we decided to have them teach alongside teacher of who they were with for that specials time.

And so right now they’ve got you know, 45 minutes of co teaching with that teacher, and they built some great arts integrated units. And then they have their specials class with that same teacher and connecting those two to really deepen the level of learning and make it stick right not about the frequency. And so when I was traditional mindset thinking, it’s about the depth of the understanding and making it stick. And so, getting out of my own way and I thought oh this may just this may fail forward and I’m just going to have to go with it. And hearing, you know, this year at my teachers we had a staff meeting and I thought, you know, there’s a couple extra minutes I’ll just let them talk a little bit about how this teaching things going because we have to do it now we had to figure this out because of the cohorts and okay, I’ll just let them share. So each of you just take a turn, and they blew me away. I mean like how to turn my camera off like almost crying because I was listening to them speak about the power of now I understand arts integration.

Now I understand how I can connect these things. Wow. Now I understand partnering with someone was, I was like, oh my God, this is the best thing we’ve done and it was the thing I was like, we have to do this. But it’s that like didn’t even know that we were being innovative and now I’m like, I think this might be the way we need to do this until we don’t. Right. Because it’s the thing that’s best for kids, and it kept and sustained our vision of the building. It maintained competency, you know competency based learning and have them as a new team, they’re a new team. And we created the relationships we can’t have right now. I can’t have a whole staff meeting where we do celebrations and hugs and high fives and, you know, I was like, how are we going to build relationships with this team everybody’s in their room on zoom. And those one on ones for the term they were together created such a tight connection and then they go to the next place and create a tight connection and it all is coming together in a more intimate caring way more thoughtful way.

And I said, we’re all going to get together and we’re all going to do true colors and we’re all going to learn about you. And this was so much more powerful and built so much more trust and respect between so many different walks of education and within the building. So you saw an opportunity for improvement through this and you’re going to probably do now. I mean, that’s it. That’s wonderful. And you I mean the code teaching is something that I’m sure, you know, second language learners and others have been, you know, advocating for a long time but to see it in this context and to see it be so successful. I think that’s a great place for us to share out any tips that you would you would give as people are setting that up now that you’ve gone through it.

I would say be open. Right. Be open to the unimaginable way that should be the opener of 2020 be open to the unimaginable. There’s the movie moving forward, but but really it’s about that because we were having to invent things as educators that you wouldn’t even typically think you know be open to working with new people be open to working in a new context. You know be open to trying things and not having it be perfect be open to this new world of technology if you’re not comfortable there because you know that’s that’s in some ways this was the push we needed in our district to not only affirm that the work we had done was quality work, but to also say, Oh boy, we got we got a ways to go. Alright, I’m stopping I’m turning around I’m looking but we still have a long way to go. And so I would say just being patient with yourself and knowing that this is this is hard work. It is every principle I know every teacher that I speak with every secretary every every day is a new adventure coming back and knowing

that this employee was here today they’re gone now the seamen two weeks, you know this one has a sick family member they have to take care of my way of taking care of people has had to adapt I’ve had to adjust as a learner and be a more compassionate, kinder, softer person and that’s that’s been interesting to get in touch with that part of myself and be a little bit more nurturing and I typically am because the work that our educators are doing right now is immensely, immensely powerful. There’s not a day we line them all up in the morning outside we have, you know, 120 of our kids remote, and we have another 200 plus in person, and they report to the field without parents, we really kept that separate. And to watch my teachers out there every morning line their children up socially distance with mass temperature checked, do screener questions before they even hit the building have a plan for those that are not well and take those babies around to be re screened has been something I would have never imagined I would see in my entire lifetime, and to watch them do it with such grace and courage, and make the children smile through that. And, and, you know, dance coming in and get them excited about it and watching the little babies put their hand out so they know that this is far enough away and they’re walking in a little straight line, and then making the line zigzag so it’s just a little bit fun in the morning, creating outside learning

experiences has been something that’s been very helpful so people starting out in this or transitioning back to face to face learning, you know, our district was very thoughtful about telling all the leaders come up with a plan for them to spend time outside so they have some air they have that space, and coming up with a map for that. You can’t go here you can’t go here this is your space. That’s been, you really have to think through things that you took for granted who uses the playground when, and how is that sanitize and, you know, how much time in between. And you have to work with people that maybe we’re not your greatest friends, but boy do you see the character behind the people that are stepping forward in education right now and I would say, first and foremost, it’s the people on the front lines, I have an immense amount of respect for, you know, my office staff that treats the sick kids who are crying who are who want their mask on at that time right and watching them, you know, glove up and shield up and mask up and go in there, fearless, because it’s about kids.

And I think those are the things that the public doesn’t see, I think that they’ve always seen us as you know we’re an institution of education but we’re, we’re really doing some things that are absolutely incredible and it these teachers and and our staff they’re just their magic. And I look at them like I admire them so so much they’re so brave. I don’t think we could end on a better note than that. Thank you for sharing about how you interchange how you support yourself how you embrace productive struggle for learning for yourself and for others and how you look for every opportunity to serve those kids that come and see you every day, as well as your staff that takes care of them. I love that you’re sharing the story with us and I appreciate that you’ve made time to do that. Thank you so much.

Thanks for for having me. A big thanks to Claudette for joining us today. We appreciate the important work she is doing at Metropolitan Arts Academy and are grateful for her insights on competency based education. To hear more from Rebecca on competency based learning be sure to check out Episode 205 Reflections on Time at D51 or visit our new conversations on competency page at gettingsmart.com. We’ll be sure to put a link in the show notes. All right, that’s it for today listeners. Thanks for tuning in for the Getting Smart podcast. This is Jessica signing off.