Competency-Based Learning Puts Students At The Center. It’s Perfect For Now.

Twenty-year-old Asmaa is an example of how constant change and upheaval were hallmarks of the previous school year. A student of mine in an accelerated program for new arrivals to the U.S., in just over 10 months, she became a wife, mother and a high school graduate. Then COVID-19 catapulted education into crisis mode, forcing her and all students and teachers into at-home learning situations across the world.

Access to computers and Wi-Fi at home was woefully inadequate. Districts distributed devices and internet providers allowed free connections. But even with that assistance, families reported lack of adequate resources; my student Ismail’s family was issued only one device for seven siblings to share…………………………………………………………….