Creating the District Curriculum

It is easier to change the location of the cemetery than to change the school curriculum.

Woodrow Wilson, 1917

Curriculum Alignment/Not a New Event

2006-07: School Support Team audited both Lincoln and Garnet Mesa bringing the importance of Standards-based instruction to the forefront of the district

2007-08: Delta staff members visited the Performance Learning Center in Denver (Doug Reeves’ organization) to get training in unwrapping standards and standards prioritization

2006: The first writing PLC began for the district, hosted by Hotchkiss Middle School. We gave our first common assessment to 6th-8th graders and did common scoring.

Where We’ve Been

2007-08: District Writing PLC continued with K-10 representatives.

2008-09: District Math PLC began with K-10 representatives

2009/summer: Reading PLC began with Language Arts teachers and content teachers across the district, K-12 representatives attended

2009-10: Reading and Writing PLCs combined-K-12

2010: Science PLC began-5-12

Where We’ve Been

2007-08: individual schools began unwrapping Standards, forming PLC data teams, writing common assessments, focusing on formative results

2007-10: individual school training on teaching Standards/Ava Lanes

2009: Ava Lanes did district training on Standards with principals and Directors and later included CAT

2010: Assessment matrix became a target for all schools in the district

Where We’ve Been

2010- CADI visit emphasizes need for more of a district curriculum, and recognizes the work begun in individual schools

2011- teachers are using “I can” statements, learning objectives, essentials, rubrics, scoring guides, and common assessments recorded on the assessment matrix

2011- conversations between schools and within schools are happening about Standards and best practices

Why a “next step?”

New standards in Language Arts and Math-2010

A need to address standards in other content areas

Schools at different places in standards implementation

District assessments lack accountability.Proficient looks different from school to school.Teachers will know what to teach and when to

teach which essential.

Why?

We still hear the phrase, “It’s just a bad class!”

Low expectations for some groups (Sped, ELL, for example)

Essentials are being taught individually, not with a unit approach.

We would be able to share resources across the district.

Student mobility within the district

Why?

It will make us a school district, and not a district of schools.

If we are teaching the same essentials at the same time, we can have real conversations about instruction.

Best practices can be identified and replicated.

We can share units and ideas.

Why?

Because it is good for kids, and morally the right thing to do… to create a system that is equitable for all.

Curriculum AlignmentDelta County Schools

Guaranteed, Viable Curriculum for Every Student

Mastery of Essential Learnings, Exposure to Same Content, 21st

Century Skills

Skills(Verbs)

Concepts

(Nouns)Content

Graduate With Options

Training and Leadership

Connie Kamm, a consultant from the Leadership and Learning Center (Doug Reeves’ company), will be conducting training in the district for all Phase I teachers and administrators.

After each step of training, the curriculum director and curriculum design team leader in charge of the content area will take the Phase I teachers and finish what was started in the training.

Primary/Secondary Leaders

Our team of 6 will be the primary curriculum design leaders: Language Arts-Doug Egging Math-Kurt Clay and Paul Rodriguez Science-Jim Farmer Social Studies-Derek Carlson Electives-Brent Curtice

Primary/Secondary Leaders

Our team of 7 will be secondary leaders: Language Arts-Carrie Coats Math-Wayne Frazier Science-Greg Figenser Social Studies-Delaine Hudson Electives-Todd Markley, Mike Beard, Helen Groome

Directors will attend as many trainings as possible

Responsibilities/Primary

will lead all sessions not conducted by consultant

attend all trainingswork directly with Curriculum Director and

consultant in making crucial decisionscontinue the process after the design has

been created: 2012 and beyond choose teachers for Phases I, II, and IIIattend additional leadership meetings outside

of trainings

Responsibilities/Secondary

work with leaders and teachers to accomplish the work

give feedback to leaders; share unique perspectives

attend all trainingscontinue the process after the design has

been created: 2012 and beyond

Job of Teacher Leaders-Phase 1,2,3

Chosen by Primary Leaders and Curriculum Director(nominated by principals)

Job Description: Belief in the work Teaching experience Work ethic Commitment to the project Strong interpersonal skills

Job Description of Teacher Leaders

Willingness to take risks Flexibility Attention to detail Knowledge of Standards and curriculum writing Team player

Phase I: All Phase I Teachers and Admin Attend

February-June, 2011

Phase I

Step 1: Prioritizing the Standards/led by LL team and district team/March 2

Step 2: Identifying the units of study/led by LL team and district team/March 3

Step 3: Assigning the Standards to units-priority and supporting standards led by district team only/March 7

2-day overview of rigorous curriculum process/led by LL team and district team/February 1,2

Phase I

Step 4: Preparing the pacing calendar/led by district team only/March 8

Step 5: Construct unit planning organizer, format the organizer, add the priority, supporting, and interdisciplinary standards), vocabulary/led by district team; any days following led by district team only/April 5

Step 6: “Unwrapping” the priority standards within each unit of study, learn the process and apply process to one or two units of study/led by district team only/April 20

Phase I

Write all unit frameworks including the organizer, the unwrapping-Phase I teachers: each content area works at their own schedule with a due date of June 2011./led by district team/Open, will need approximately 8 hours

Most of Phase I training day work can be accomplished on that day. If additional time is needed to complete a step, district leadership will complete without the trainer. A deadline will be established and the Primary Leader(s) will determine how it will be accomplished.

Phase II: All Phase I and II Teachers and Admin Attend

June-December, 2011

Phase II-June-December, 2011

Step 7: Create unit assessments (pre and post tests)-learn the process and apply to one or two units; district quarterly tests created /led by LL team and district team; several days to follow training led by district team only/June 9, 10/district will work on assessments the week of June 13-17

Step 8: Plan engaging learning experiences-creating performance tasks and scoring guides-apply to 1-2 units-1 or 2 days: continue work on performance tasks-develop for at least one unit.; include corrective and enrichment strands; Phase I and II would attend and all admin/led by LL team and district team; several days to follow training led by district team only/August 11-12

Phase II

_____________ Step 9: Detail the unit: all six categories of instructional strategies, decide learning progressions sequence of unit activities, and detail a unit-2 days-all Phase I and II teachers and admin attend/led by LL team and district team; days following led by district team only/date not set

_____________ Step 10: Write the weekly plan, design the daily lesson-one day to create an example of each for unit of study-2 days-all Phase I and II teachers and admin attend/led by LL team and district team/days following led by district team only/date not set

Phase II

Exemplar Units Created:•Unit organization•Instructional strategies•Rubrics•Assessments•Objectives•Materials, resources to tie in content•Performance-based focus•Weekly, daily plan

Completion after 2011

Individual teachers will write their own units, using the exemplar as a model preferably in PLC groups; units will be posted in the curriculum folder

Phase III June, 2011-April, 2012

Phase III (Cohort 2)-June, 2011-April, 2012

Trained admin would lead this process without assistance from the Leadership and Learning Center. All electives would be addressed; again one exemplar unit would be created and the framework of the unit organizer, unwrapped standards, suggested materials and resources, vocabulary, acceleration and intervention strands, all pre and post tests and district quarterly assessments would be developed../led by district admin team only

11 teachers will participate: 3 each from each level in art, music, health and pe, and 2 high school teachers in Spanish; the question of vocational and technology classes will need to be addressed as they have no state standards. ELL and SPED will be included in Core areas

Monitoring/Accountability

Grade Level/Content Area:Data Team Analysis of Pretest, Posttest, and Dipstick Results: School-level PLC teams, CAT-What is monitored? Assessment

matrix

School Level:Analysis of Pretest—Posttest Growth-CAT, Principals, Assistant

Principals- What is monitored? Assessment matrix

District Level:Analysis of Posttest Results, District Quarterly Assessments-

Administrative Teams, Principals, District Administration/District Calendar-What is monitored? Alpine

reports by teacher, school, district

Purpose of Monitoring

District Identification of Promising Strategies, Best Practices-Shared with CAT,

Brought Back to School-Level PLCs-Monitored by School Admin Team

Posting of Promising Strategies/Best Practices on District Curriculum Server/ Podcast, Video Clips-Mike Jensen

Best Practice Models Available to All Delta County Teachers

Accountability at all Levels

Monitoring/Accountability

Monitoring/Accountability

Ongoing work in both Phase I and II will be shared at monthly principal meetings by the leaders of the effort to make sure all administrators are up to date and able to support the work

District administration assigned to schools will monitor use of curriculum work by looking at assessment matrices completed by school PLC groups and Alpine reports for assigned schools

Although all 4 district indicators of success will continue, curriculum alignment will be the focus of the monthly meetings

Technology

Teacher Interactive Website:Curriculum Server/Interactive Units, Activities, Podcasts, Video

Clips, Resources/added as an icon to teacher/admin desktops

GotoMeeting. com ( 15 Participants at One Time)

Skype, Instant Messaging, Email, Blogs, Wikis

Needed Resources and Training

Textbooks, Trade Books, School-Level Technology

System to Begin “Pooling” Textbook, Technology School Budgets (School and District) to Purchase Needed

Resources at the District Level

Data team analysis training (CAT and others); sharing of units district wide with ideas for acceleration and intervention; common class offerings at high school level, standards-based grading

Always Keep the End in Mind

Guaranteed, Viable Curriculum for Every StudentMastery of Essential Learnings, Exposure to Same Content, 21st

Century Thinking Skills

In Closing

What we know today does not make yesterday wrong, it makes tomorrow better.

Carol Commodore