Northside Elementary School

Why Northside Elementary School was nominated

Northside is a diverse community of learners with similar poverty level (62%) of another nominee and different diversit—a large percentage of English Learners from a variety of countries. This school started exploring competency-based learning through a transparent learning curriculum and learning progressions (lines of learning). They have created an environment where students own their learning and progression in their learning. Exemplars provide visual information about expectations for mastery in the lines of learning. More students able to see where they are, where they are going and what they need to get there. Teachers collaborate with students to set learning goals and make plans to meet those. Strong PLCs collaborate vertically to develop and support vertical lines of learning that are not restrictive to grade level curriculum, laying the ground work for possible multi-age classrooms as they progress on this learning journey. They have transformed their STEM piece to be more inquiry based using their library/media center for exploration and makerspace for creative design.