Off the Clock

"School taught me that I was not very bright. Life taught me that school was wrong." These words epitomize the foundation for Fred Bramante's dedicated passion for transforming public education into a system that will work for virtually ever student. Fred is a former middle school Science teacher, a former candidate for governor, a life long entrepreneur, and a past Chairman and long standing member of the New Hampshire State Board of Education. Appointed by both Republican and Democratic governors, he led a full-scale effort to redesign public education, especially at the high school level, which resulted in a major revamping of New Hampshire's education regulations and the subsequent development of the New Hampshire vision For High School Redesign. Fred has been the public voice of this movement and has carried the competency-based message around the country. Fred consults with state departments of education, and national and regional associations across America. He has been a featured speaker and presenter at numerous education conferences. He holds a BS from Keene State College (1970) and an MA in Educational Leadership from Plymouth State University (2006). He has been honored to receive the Alumni Achievement Award from both Keene (1995) and Plymouth (2009). In 1964, Fred graduated 206th of 212 students in his high school; that year his applications for admission to both colleges were rejected. Rose Colby is a nationally recognized Competency-Based Learning and Assessment Specialist, assisting schools in designing high quality competency, assessment, and grading reform systems in many states. She is a Talent Cloud Fellow for 2Revolutions, an education design firm. She is a member of the national Advisory Board and contributor to CompetencyWorks, the national clearinghouse and resource for innovative practices in competency education. She has served as Competency Education Consultant for the N.H. Department of Education supporting school districts as they develop their competency education systems and in designing and supporting the new state accountability pilot system, the New Hampshire Performance Assessment for Competency Education (NH PACE). She is an Adjunct Professor at Southern New Hampshire University in the Masters/CAGS program in Competency Education. Rose is the author of two books on Competency Education: Competency-Based Education: A New Architecture for K-12 Schooling (Harvard Education Press, 2017) and Off the Clock: Moving Education from Time to Competency (Corwin, 2012.)

Acknowledgments About the Authors Introduction: Imagine School Without Clocks Part I. Leverage: The Perfect Storm 1. Setting the Table for Transformation 2. Reform: Getting Better at Things That Don't Work Part II. The New Hampshire Story: Mandating Flexibility: Why Leadership From the Top Matters 3. Fred's Story 4. Rose's Story 5. New Hampshire Present and Future Part III. The New Model for Learning: 20th Century Versus 21st Century 6. Time Versus Mastery 7. Competency-Based Learning 8. Learning in the 21st Century 9. Dropouts Versus Engaged Learners 10. Teacher Versus Educator 11. Teacher Compensation Part IV. Selling the Concept: A Conscious Effort to Create Public Demand 12. Selling to Students and Parents 13. Selling to Business, Nonprofits, and Communities 14. Selling to the Education Community and Professional Organizations 15. Selling the Concept and the Politics to Legislators Part V. Imagine the Possibilities 16. Moving Education From Time to Competency Appendix Bibliography Index

"Bramante and Colby offer an insiders' look at how America's schools might make the long-awaited break from the factory model of education. This book gives us more than just hope that a real transformation is finally upon us-it shows the path." -- Jason E. Glass, State Director & Chief Learner "At a time when there was an unusually large number of deserving nominees, New Hampshire won the Frank Newman Award for State Innovation." -- Roger Sampson, President "The authors have eloquently described the beginning of 21st Century Education. The move from time as the constant and high level learning as the variable to an education where high level learning is the constant will impact the next generation of citizens to be better equipped to deal with their future." -- Jeff Herzberg, Chief Administrator "Provides the urgency for school systems to begin focusing on the whole child's education. The model in New Hampshire similar to the CCSS sets the stage for schools to begin their theory of action so student achievement increases system-wide." -- Elizabeth Alvarez, Principal "Off the Clock is a book that is, for many, ahead of its time. As New Hampshire blazes a trail for the rest of us, we can appreciate and be grateful to the authors for presenting the road map and journey in a manner and context that will help us down the same essential pathway to educational transformation." -- Marsha M. Myles, Educational Consultant "This book is an excellent resource for practitioners and leaders at local, regional, state, and national levels. The authors offer innovative insights for restoring meaning to learning." -- Lyne Ssebikindu, Assistant Principal "Off The Clock provides practitioners with an enormous amount of research on why our antiquated way of instruction is obsolete." -- Tanna Nicely, Assistant Principal "The competency-based approach is consistent with our changing context in America and may be the one approach that unlocks the numerous restraints in our current 20th century delivery model. By honoring choice and personalization of learning, this book's ideas have potential for support by parents, educators, employers, and policy makers." -- Ronald Fielder, Chief Administrator "The authors identify important issues about learning, shows what they did to invoke changes, and provides alternatives that can be used in schools, districts, and states. This book challenges educators to create alternative means for students to learn that meet or exceed proficiency for standards and courses." -- Glen Ishiwata, Former Superintendent "In an era of proposals involving quick turnarounds of educational delivery systems, the authors have shared a view of a long-term, high stakes process to rethink how schools do business while maintaining a focus on both Real World Learning and Following the Child. This has the potential to change the landscape of public education nationwide." -- Dan Lawson, Superintendent of Schools "A must read on education reform in the 21st century. This book gives a "how to" perspective that we can all learn from." -- Ann Dargon, Superintendent of Schools "An impressive account of New Hampshire's journey from time-based teaching to competency-based learning, Off the Clock presents the rationale, process, challenges, and key learnings from the NH quest for zero dropouts and substantive, sustainable secondary school redesign. Based on firsthand involvement in the inception and implementation of the change process, Off the Clock is as informative as it is inspirational." -- Kim Carter, Executive Director "Off the Clock is a delight! Bramante and Colby have given us a deeply personal, vibrant, and visionary insight into the why, what and how to move us past the schools of old. With their deep hands-on knowledge, the authors take you deep into the details of New Hampshire's bold break from the strangling hold of the time-based Carnegie unit into a mastery-based education system. For anyone interested in competency-based learning, Off the Clock is a must read." -- Chris Sturgis, Founder "No more "one-size-fits-all." The conversation that will follow the must-read, Off the Clock, will transform educational models and policy to individualized learning with the essential measures of accountability for student growth and competency." -- Marsha M. Myles, President and CEO