One North Dakota school would like to phase out the age-old question, “What grade are you going into?”…
In this podcast: Northern Cass Superintendent Cory Steiner joins Amy & JJ to explain the process of getting rid of grade levels.
Steiner says the idea came after looking at their results. They were good, not great. And when you feel like your school has everything in their favor: great educators, parents, and learners… “we kept coming back to the system… the system has to be the problem”.
That idea has lead them to a “complete re-build” within Northern Cass.
Eliminating grade levels will not only help students who are falling behind or excelling at certain subjects, but, as Steiner notes, will give the student more control over their learning.
“A lot of schools are finding ways to blur grade levels rather than getting rid of them,” said Karla Phillips, policy director for personalized learning at the Florida-based Foundation for Excellence in Education, or ExcelinEd.
At Northern Cass, teachers plan to step in if a student gets more than three weeks behind or ahead of an expected “teacher pace.” Students who struggle will get extra support. Students who speed ahead will get a conversation about next steps.
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This fall, Northern Cass will start year 2 of the 3 year pilot program, and they plan to be in full swing by fall 2020.
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KFGO Podcast –
ND School Safety Conference – Chris Potter, NDASRO President
KFGO Podcast –
ND School Safety Conference – Kelly Peters
KFGO Podcast –
The End of Student Loans?
(Amy Iler & JJ Gordon are talk-show hosts at 790 AM KFGO in Fargo-Moorhead. “It Takes 2 with Amy & JJ” can be heard weekdays 11am-2pm. Follow Amy on Twitter @AmyKFGO. Follow JJ on Twitter @JJGodon701.)
