One district is pulling back from a state initiative intended to help students learn at their own pace.
But the remaining three school districts and a laboratory school at the University of Florida are sticking with a competency-based learning initiative backed by a 2016 state law.
School districts in Pinellas, Palm Beach and Seminole Counties, as well as P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School, say they’re exploring competency-based learning. They want students to advance to higher levels of learning based on their mastery of a topic, rather than the amount of time they spend.
The concept dovetails with personalized learning, the broader idea that educators should tailor instruction to students’ individual needs and learning interests.
The 2016 law created a pilot program for those districts. It also allowed them to apply to the Florida Department of Education for waivers from state laws that might stand in their way.
Neither the districts no P.K. Yonge has applied for such a waiver, yet, but administrators with each entity confirmed to redefinED that they’re still pushing ahead with the concept.
Only one district, Lake County, has opted out of the program.
The Central Florida district was one of six in the nation to receive a $3.1 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Next Gen Systems Initiative in 2014 to help prepare schools for personalized learning.
But three years later the district changed course. Under the new leadership of Superintendent Diane Kornegay officials said they did not need to spend money on a program dedicated to personalized learning. Other skeptics in the district added it simply embodies good teaching.
