April 2017                                                                                                                 Visit our blog     View our profile on LinkedIn     Follow us on Twitter   Like us on Facebook
Welcome colleagues,
 
I am excited to introduce you to CCE's newest program area, Essential Personalized Learning. Inspired by our continuing work with the Massachusetts Personalized Learning Network, Essential Personalized Learning (EPL) is partnering with schools and districts in our home state, New England, and beyond to create their own visions of personalized learning. EPL is grounded in what we see as the foundations of a student-centered learning environment:  Our Five Principles of Personalized Learning ( Competency-Based Learning , Flexible Learning , Student-Driven Learning , Dispositions for Learning , and Authentic Learning). As an official kickoff, Essential Personalized Learning is holding its first annual summer  Institute  for educators this August in the Boston area. We hope to see some of you there!
 
Sincerely, 

Dan French 
Executive Director
Essential Personalized Learning Institute  Institute
CCE is hosting our first annual  Essential Personalized Learning Institute from August 7 - 9, 2017 at the Holiday Inn in Dedham, MA

The 3-day workshop is facilitated by our highly-trained staff who will work with teachers and administrators to: 
  • Explore our Five Principles
  • Collaborate with like-minded educators
  • Create an action plan to bring personalized learning practices to their schools/districts. 
  • Experience personalized learning pathways in a professional development setting
Upcoming Personalized Learning Convening







In partnership with The Boston Foundation , CCE is excited to announce our upcoming personalized learning convening, Envisioning an Equitable Future Through Personalized Learning , on  Tuesday, May 23 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m . at Wheelock College, Brookline, MA. 

This event will bring educators together to  learn more about personalized learning that is happening in Massachusetts now, and think about how we can shape the future of education across the state.  Breakout sessions will highlight what personalized learning looks like in the classroom, with schools presenting on strategies including project-based learning, competencies, and student advisories. A l unch panel will feature local leaders and policymakers discussing what do we need to do to bring personalized learning to all students in MA.  The keynote speaker, Ron Berger of EL Education, will be presenting on authentic learning. 

This is a free event. A light breakfast and full lunch will be served.

Change Your Outlook on Assessment

Check out our QPA Summer Institute Webpage to learn more.
We're Hiring! 
We have two new openings in our LA and Boston offices. 

We're seeking an Office Manager to provide overall administrative and program support to the Los Angeles New Administrators Leadership Program and Los Angeles Urban Teacher Residency programs in CCE's Los Angeles offices. This is a full-time position. Apply here.

Our Boston-based Quality Performance Assessment team is hiring a 
Program Associate. The Program Associate will work with educators, school, district, and state leaders to put student-centered instruction and assessment into practice This is an entry-level, full time position. Apply here.
Reimagining Design at BPLC 2017
Representatives from both the  Quality Performance Assessment and  Personalized Learning Network  teams attended the  2017 Blended and Personalized Learning Conference  in Providence, Rhode Island on April 1 st . The conference acknowledged that, in the words of Highlander Institute's Chief Education Officer Shawn Rubin, "The blended and personalized learning movement is not doing enough to address equity and the growing achievement gap in this country". 

The conversation then turned to radically imagining how to fix this issue. Caroline Hill and Michelle Molitor of the 
Equity Design Collective gave a powerful keynote address about the   equityXdesign  process. Their thesis? " Racism and inequity were designed and can be redesigned". They discussed the importance of "designing at the margins" to ensure that those who are experiencing social oppression are co-leaders in the process of designing solutions. Too often, professional conversations about equity focus solely on either the moral or technical aspects of practice.
Our Blog Excerpt 
Guest author Kurt Morris, a sixth grade teacher in Kettle Moraine School District, talks about how micro-credentials have helped him develop as an educator: 

"Since the District adopted micro-credentials three years ago, educators have been encouraged to challenge ourselves both in and outside of the classroom with innovative approaches to teaching, curriculum and assessment design and instructional delivery practices."

More From Our Blog
On Performance Assessment
Demonstrations of Mastery at the Met High School 
by Michelle Portilla

On Culturally Responsive Practice
Putting Agency Back Into Personalized Learning  by Diana Lebeaux

On Communities of Practice