New Hampshire’s Virtual Learning Academy Charter School (VLACS) is a statewide competency-based virtual school that was designed to provide all students with a personalized education.  Currently, the school has over 15,000 enrollments and a course catalog that spans grades 6 through 12 and includes Advanced Placement and dual credit high school and college courses. 

VLACS provides students with the ultimate in flexibility as students may enroll in courses at any time and complete coursework at a pace that matches their needs. The school moved to a competency-based approach in 2013 and now offers competency recovery, competency-based courses, and experiential learning opportunities (ELOs).  ELOs are blended online courses where students meet many course competencies through internships or other workplace experiences and complete the remaining course competencies online. 

Seat time is a thing of the past at VLACS.  Student progress is measured by the completion of competencies and not through traditional attendance-based measures. The method for determining state aid also supports the competency-based model, as the school earns funding based on the course completion percentage of each student.

Blog

• Competency Moves Beyond Courses - Sarah Luchs, Sept. 2013

     Resources from blog

• Competency Model Example
• Competency Map
• Sample competency map 

In the News

• Competency-based Schools Embrace Digital Learning Ed Week 10/12