On September 6th, 2023, senior Peyton Metruk and junior Ella Ferrone were panelists on a webinar that had participants from across the globe. Invited guests of the Aurora Institute, Peyton and Ella were asked to share their experiences of learning and progressing through high school in a proficiency based system. The Aurora Institute sponsored the webinar to showcase their new report on Next Generation Learning Credentials.
As student representatives who have only known education through a proficiency lens, Peyton and Ella wrote their own script for their portion of the webinar. They shared about how they use PowerSchool to check their academic progress daily and they explained what BFA’s report card and transcript show. The students also explained how they use the opportunity to apply for BFA’s Graduation with Distinction to personalize their learning, make academic course choices, and plan co-curricular participation throughout high school.
The audience members of the webinar hailed from all over the United States and Canada, and included some international folks calling in from Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.
In response to participating in the webinar, Peyton said:
“It was completely unique to anything I had ever done. It was really interesting and exciting to see how receptive professionals in education were to hearing the ideas and thoughts of students, and the actual process for presenting was exciting in that we could make it all our own, and really focus on what we as students wanted educators to know."
Ella reflected:
“The webinar was such a great experience to participate in, truly so memorable. It was an amazing opportunity to inform and educate others on something that I have always been familiar with. Getting outside perspectives and additional information on proficiency grading was so cool, and encouraged me to think a lot more about how much proficiency grading has pushed my learning and mindset to entire new levels! Hearing the excitement that so many viewers had to hear from a student's perspective was the icing on top, and I have so much respect for everyone who took time out of their day to join us.”
Congratulations Peyton and Ella on a job well done. Your leadership and communication about BFA’s Proficiency-Based Learning are commendable! The entire webinar was recorded and is available at this link (Peyton and Ella present at minute 31).
---
Jensen Welch
BFA High School Teaching and Learning Coach