Lindsay Unified School District, Lindsay, CA

A strong, competency-based system occurs when districts know exactly where students are in their academic journey and where they are progressing. Lindsay Unified School District (LUSD), one of the most innovative school districts in America, achieves their mission of empowering and motivating learners by monitoring the data and using their core values to promote lifelong self-directed learning. In order to support students learning at various paces, teachers act as “learning facilitators” to monitor and provide direct and tailored assistance to students. LUSD students work within a district-wide performance-based system, and each student advances through the curriculum once they have demonstrated proficiency of the required knowledge or skills. They have recently developed a teacher-facing dashboard that makes it easier for teachers to identify personalized training and development that can support their teaching, rooted in the needs of their students.

School Type

District

School Context

Small Size, High School, Rural

Dimensions

• Outcomes: Whole child, Learner Profile, College ready, Bilingual supported, Careers Academies;Personalized Learning Plan; SMART Goals
• Learner Experience: Personalized, blended, project-based, and competency-based; Performance Based; Mass Customized
• Competency & Credentialing: CBE credentials, student-led conferences, Capstone exit interview, Not time bound, a-g parallel, Strongly connected with Empower LMS; Learning Progressions
• Wellness: SEL/CCR (life) competencies, Advisory Model/Post-Sec/academic coaching, youth and family services, community partnerships, health/wellness centers; Healthy Start Family Resource Center
• Equity: 97% FTE and 90% ELL, Newcomers, Alternative day structure, SPED inclusion, Spanish as a competency; All learners with devices; All learners and their families connected by broadband
• Professional Learning: Teacher Leadership, Teacher Powered, Co-facilitation/Team teaching (Interims), Multi age/cohorts, SPED facilitation model, (pods as advisory families), Mentors, Strong alumni involvement
• Strategy: Lindsay Leads Network to help other districts, Started with HS then became district model, Tight structure with LMS; Strategic Design; Cultural Shifts based on Strategic Design
• Partnerships: Strong before/after school program, adult learning for community; No official network but Future Ready, Race to the Top, League, MCL, Major National and International Consultancies; Major Funders
• Technology: Empower LMS (lead design partner); Blended Learning Assistants at each Learning Community

See More

• Aurora Institute: Strong Evidence of CBE Effectiveness
• Learners Lead at Lindsay Unified
• Education Reimagined Lindsay School District
• Schools Out: Lessons Learned From Lindsay Unified School
• Book: A Handbook for Personalized Competency-Based Education (Marzano)
• Book: Beyond Reform Systemic Shifts Towards Personalize Learning