Sending a clear message to the community, the Westminster Public Schools Board of Education unanimously voted to support the district’s unique Competency Based System (CBS) as the “most effective educational model” for students.

The vote came at the board’s September 5 meeting.

“We think it is important symbolically to state to our community and our staff that this is who we are, what defines us,” said Brian Kosena, Chief Learning Officer for the district. 

Every year since its inception in 2009, the board has passed a resolution supporting CBS. A competency-based education system prioritizes student comprehension and full understanding of a learning topic. A traditional model is based on student seat time and the assumption that all students progress in the same time frame. CBS allows some students to accelerate their learning and move ahead of their peers, while others can take more time to fill in their learning gaps. 

The resolution commits the district to “ending social promotion by ensuring honest and accurate conversations with students and parents about current academic performance …”

WPS operates the largest comprehensive Competency Based System in the country and every other year hosts a summit bringing in interested educators from around the country. This year’s summit is scheduled for October 6-8.

The resolution also reaffirmed the district’s commitment to its CTE/STEM pathways for academic and career growth. 

Read the Resolution