New Hampshire's Vision for the Future of Learning

The New Hampshire Department of Education (NH DOE) has released NH Vision 2.0: New Hampshire Goes First - A Blueprint to Scale Competency-based Education across a PreK-20 System, a new multimedia publication that builds on the 2014 New Hampshire Story of Transformation.

While last year's publication provided a lens into the successes and struggles to transform an entire education system from the bottom up rather than the top down, in this new publication the NHDOE has developed an action-oriented blueprint for how it is planning to implement and scale the state’s educational efforts over the coming years.
This work is the culmination of the past six months of planning, where we pushed ourselves to answer the question: What would need to be true in New Hampshire to prepare all of our students for the complex future that awaits them? This resulting blueprint is our answer. Created in partnership with leaders from across the education system—from early childhood, K-12 schools and districts, higher education institutions, non- and for-profit organizations, and New Hampshire’s business community—the publication outlines the key activities and measurable outcomes needed to become a fully personalized, competency-based state.

“NH Vision 2.0 builds on New Hampshire’s position as a national leader in Competency Based Education and provides a comprehensive vision for providing our students with an education that will equip them with the skills necessary for the 21st century innovation economy,“ said Governor Maggie Hassan.

“We are working towards designing a seamless statewide learning system that provides all of our students with a personalized, competency-based and integrated learning experience that enables them to develop the knowledge and skills, when and where they need them,” says NH DOE Commissioner Virginia Barry. “No two children learn the same, and it’s up to our educational system to approach education in a different way to ensure our learning environments are as unique as our students.”

In 2005, New Hampshire began to build a competency-based education policy and has eliminated the Carnegie unit in its high schools. As the first effort of its kind, New Hampshire’s example demonstrates the power of this statewide competency-based education policy. The state’s move has enabled many innovative schools to transform the educational experience for students. NH schools continue to address the complex needs of students, and the Department has taken an increasingly active role in providing technical assistance to support “competent” and “confident” students. An Ecosystem Approach: New Hampshire’s Vision for the Future of Learning provides a framework for NH to build on this foundation as a national leader in competency-based education.

The publication takes the perspective of students, parents, educators and the business community illustrating their vision for where learning and education should be in 2020. To get there though, requires an integrative approach, especially in areas where the system has seen weakness in the past. The document walks through where the system has seen success and where much work still needs to be done, and how all the stakeholders plan to approach it.

“Change is not easy, but we are on a great path,” says Deputy Commissioner Paul Leather. “The goal of this document is to provide the rationale and context for our vision, to ensure all of the stakeholders in our system have a voice and we’re all aligned on the next steps.”

This document can be found at www.education.nh.gov/vision.htm. (link no longer active)