Building Community Support

Your vision for personalized learning must be created, shared and celebrated by everyone within your learning community. Community support is crucial. Encouraging questions and making room at the decision-making table for educators, parents, students and community and business leaders is critical for a successful implementation of personalized, competency-based learning.

A district’s vision is central to everything they do and everything they hope to accomplish. If you really want to change the system, a vision must be created by and lived throughout your community.

Laying the Groundwork for a Community-Wide Vision for Personalized Learning

This toolkit provides guidance for creating, communicating and sustaining your vision for personalized learning.
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Virgel Hammonds and Bill Zima, former and current superintendents of RSU2 district in Maine, share tips for including community voice in school visioning.

6 Tips for Engaging Your Community in the Visioning Process

By requesting feedback and insight from local neighbors, business owners, community developers, higher education partners, elected officials and parents, a district can build buy-in that extends beyond the school walls. Read on for strategies to build community support.
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A transcript from a personalized, competency-based system has the potential to be not only a truly accurate reflection of what a student knows, but also makes learning transparent to all stakeholders – including families.

Talking with Families About Transcripts and Grading in a Personalized, Competency-Based Environment

From wondering why their children’s education looks so different from theirs or how their children will get into college with a competency-based transcript, this resource explores common questions parents have about personalized learning—and how to answer them.
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It's important to think about how you can cultivate advocates for personalized learning. Four education leaders share recommendations to get started.

How You Can Work Together with Local Business and Community Leaders

Everyone—from students to teachers and parents, business and community leaders—needs to be able to see and understand what students are learning, how and why. Read more to learn about strategies for working together with business and community leaders to realize your vision for personalized learning.
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Read about three learning communities with strong school community partnerships that are benefiting students with new learning opportunities.

Unlikely Partnerships: Superintendents Can Find Additional Support Outside District

Mesa Valley District 51 (D51) in Grand Junction, Colorado reached beyond the school walls to build partnerships to support their work to personalize learning. In addition to engaging with their community, the district also turns to other like-minded districts to build a community of practice, state leaders for policy help and outside organizations for support and professional development.
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Is there a shared vision for personalized learning among educators, parents, students and community members in your district? Find out if you’re ready to scale personalized, competency-based learning.