Based Classroom

Chapter 1

The Seven Components of the Competency-Based Classroom

On an early fall morning somewhere amidst the rolling hills and pastures of the bluegrass region in northern Kentucky, Jada, a middle school mathematics teacher, is making her way to the school for the first day of the new school year. As the sun starts to peak over the hills, a breeze begins to rustle the leaves and stir the horses on this crisp but otherwise typical September day. Across the community, the sunrise has prompted Jada’s students to stir from their beds and start their beforeschool routines with their families. Parents are taking pictures of their nervous, but excited preteens as they wait for the bus, taking advantage of every opportunity to capture the moment for their social media feed. Unbeknownst to Jada’s students and their parents, they are about to be part of one of the greatest transformations their community has seen. Jada and her team are committed to building their work on the vision of learning for all, whatever it takes. Jada is committed to implementing a competency-based learning structure in her classroom, and she is hopeful that her efforts and those of her teammates will become groundbreaking work that other colleagues and coworkers at her school will soon join her and her team in.

Like many who have been in her shoes, Jada is going to rely on her optimism, her dedication to her students, and a little bit of faith to help her reach her goal. With the right support and background, we have no doubt she will be successful in her efforts, and you could be, too.