NEW BRITAIN BOARD OF EDUCATION

CURRICULUM SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING

December 16, 2019 – 6:45 PM | NEW BRITAIN EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION CENTER

272 Main Street • P.O. Box 1960 • New Britain, CT 06050-1960 • P (860) 827-2200 • F (860) 612-1527

WWW.CSDNB.ORG

NEW BRITAIN BOARD OF EDUCATION

NOTICE OF MEETING

TO: New Britain Board of Education Members Mayor Erin Stewart Mr. Mark H. Bernacki, Town and City Clerk

New Britain Common Council Members DATE: December 13, 2019 RE: New Britain Board of Education Subcommittee Meetings The following subcommittee meetings will be held:

● The New Britain Board of Education Policy Subcommittee will hold a regular meeting on Monday, December 16, 2019 at 5:30 PM at the New Britain Educational Administration Center, located at 272 Main Street in New Britain, CT.

● The New Britain Board of Education Curriculum Subcommittee will hold a regular meeting on Monday, December 16, 2019 at 6:45 PM at the New Britain Educational Administration Center, located at 272 Main Street in New Britain, CT.

New Britain Board of Education Merrill Gay – President | Nicholas Mercier – Vice President | Violet Jiménez Sims – Secretary

Monica Dawkins | Anthony Kane | Diane Leja | Annie S. Parker | Diana Reyes | Nancy Rodriguez | Gayle Sanders-Connolly

New Britain Board of Education l Curriculum Subcommittee Regular Meeting December 16, 2019 – 6:45 PM l New Britain Educational Administration Center

1. Call to Order and Opening

A. Meeting called to order

2. New Business

A. Discuss New High School Graduation Requirements B. Review and approve minutes from Curriculum Subcommittee Meeting on November 18, 2019 C. Digital Arts Curriculum Presentation

3. Closing

A. Other Business as permitted by law B. Adjournment

NEW BUSINESS

Board Memorandum Submitted by Damon Pearce (Policy) for approval at the Regular Board Meeting on January 7, 2020.

Type of Memorandum

Other - Proposed Graduation Requirements for NBHS, class of 2023

Background and Purpose/Rationale (Alignment to District Strategic Plan)

Proposed graduation requirements pursuant to state legislation.

Financial Information

The total is n/a and the funding source is n/a n/a.

Committee Review

This was reviewed by the Policy Subcommittee and the Curriculum Subcommittee on December 16, 2019.

grad requirements overview - Damon Pearce.docx

New Britain Board of Education Merrill Gay – President | Nicholas Mercier – Vice President | Violet Jiménez Sims – Secretary

Monica Dawkins | Anthony Kane | Diane Leja | Annie S. Parker | Diana Reyes | Nancy Rodriguez | Gayle Sanders-Connolly

New Britain High School

Graduation Requirements Class for 2023 and beyond

9 credits: Humanities

4 credits in English (including select ESL courses)

3 credits in social studies (req. 1 credit U.S. History, ½ credit civics)

2 additional humanities elective credits

9 credits: STEM

3 credits in math (req. 1 credit Algebra I)

3 credits in science

3 additional STEM credits (req. ½ credit personal finance)

1 credit: World Language

1 credit: Physical Education

1 credit: Health

1 credit: Mastery-Based Diploma Assessment

3 credits: student choice

25 total credits

New Britain Board of Education

Nicholas Mercier – Vice President | Gayle Sanders-Connolly - Secretary Monica Dawkins | Merrill Gay | Anthony Kane | Diane Leja | Annie S. Parker | Diana Reyes | Nancy Rodriguez | Violet Jiménez Sims

New Britain Board of Education Curriculum Subcommittee Meeting November 18, 2019 – 6:15 PM l New Britain Educational Administration Center

Call to Order and Opening

Dr. Violet Jimenez Sims, Curriculum Subcommittee Chair, called the meeting to order at 6:31 PM.

Committee Members Present Mr. Merrill Gay, Ms. Diane Leja, Mr. Nicholas Mercier, Ms. Annie Parker, Ms. Diana Reyes, Dr. Violet Jimenez Sims

CSDNB Staff Present Ms. Amy Anderson, Ms. Lara Bohlke, Ms. Allison Galin, Ms. Kristin Salerni, Ms. Nancy Sarra

New Business

Review and approve minutes from the Curriculum Subcommittee Meeting on October 21, 2019 Minutes from the Curriculum Subcommittee Meeting on October 21, 2019 were approved as corrected.

K-3 Reading Assessment Presentation Ms. Allison Galin, Instructional Coach and Wilson In-District Trainer, spoke to Curriculum Subcommittee members about the different options available for reading assessment at the K-3 level. Ms. Galin is currently piloting the Fundations Program, a multisensory and systematic phonics, spelling, and handwriting program, in four first and second grade classrooms at Smith Elementary School with the guidance of a Wilson Literacy Specialist. She is also coaching and working on Fundations with several grade 1-3 teachers at Smalley Elementary School and the Small Classroom Setting Program at Lincoln Elementary School. The Academics Department is recommending that the district adopt the i-Ready Assessment for reading assessment at the K-3 level starting September 2020. Ms. Galin explained that this assessment best aligns with the scope and sequence of what is being taught with Fundations when compared to other reading assessments such as AIMSweb, DIBELS 6th, DIBELS Next, EdChekup, NWEA, STAR, and iSTEEP. These assessments are all approved for use to fulfill the state-required administration of a reading assessment and for purposes of ongoing assessment to inform instruction. Ms. Anderson, District Coordinator of PK-5 Curriculum, told committee members that she will prepare pricing quotes and supporting materials for the i-Ready Assessment for submission to the Finance Subcommittee for their review and approval at a future meeting.

Public Participation Mr. John Board, New Britain Pride Chairman, spoke to the Curriculum Subcommittee about his proposal to adopt American Sign Language (ASL) as one of the official world languages taught as part of our curriculum. He stated that ASL is already offered as a course in over 30 school districts in Connecticut. Mr. Board highlighted the potential benefits the inclusion of ASL would have for students, educators, and community members. He also added that this could lead to a potential career path as ASL interpreters are in high demand. Committee members discussed the appropriate teacher certification that would be required and Superintendent Sarra reported that she spoke to Mr. Pearce, NBHS Principal, to ascertain interest at the high

New Britain Board of Education

Nicholas Mercier – Vice President | Gayle Sanders-Connolly - Secretary Monica Dawkins | Merrill Gay | Anthony Kane | Diane Leja | Annie S. Parker | Diana Reyes | Nancy Rodriguez | Violet Jiménez Sims

school. Mr. Board also spoke to the Curriculum Subcommittee about his interest in having LGBTQ history included as part of the district curriculum including topics related to the history of the movement, bullying, and diversity and tolerance. Mr. Board recommended True Colors, Inc. and Human Rights Campaign (H.R.C.) as two organizations that might be helpful in increasing understanding of LGBTQ rights and issues. Subcommittee members discussed the possibility of weaving lessons of inclusivity into current Social and Emotional Learning, Health, and Advisory class curriculums.

Closing and Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 8:01 PM.

Digital Arts I

Curriculum Breakdown

Unit 1: Image manipulation for fine art Compositions

Software: Photoshop / Illustrator (or equivalent)

01. Pre-Assessment: Self Portrait Trading Card

Technical Skills Acquired

a. Layers

b. Selection Tool

c. Magic Wand

d. Lasso Tool

e. Font Tool

f. Gradient

g. Opacity

Fine art connection: Portraiture

Students will begin the course by creating a “Trading Card” of themselves. This project

introduces students to basic photo selection, editing, and placement. Students will take a selfie,

select their silhouette in order to place it on a new background. Students will then arrange their

“stats” around their image to give it a trading card feel. This process will allow teachers to

introduce the most basic skills of digital editing as well as see what skills students already

possess.

02. Photo manipulation Digital Sandwich

Technical Skills Acquired

a. Mask

b. Dodge

c. Burn

d. Blur

Fine art connection: Still life

Students will use pre-generated photos to create a new composite image of a sandwich.

Students will use selection tools from the previous lesson to pick which elements make up their

sandwich. Students will also be introduced to the blur tool to soften the edges of their selections

to make them look more natural. They will also be shown how to use the dodge and burn tool to

create shadows and highlights.

03. Personal still life composite

Technical Skills Acquired

e. Mask

f. Dodge

g. Burn

h. Blur

Fine art connection: Still life

Once students attain the needed skills to crop and assemble disparate images into a single

composition, they will be asked to create a still life composite of items that represent

themselves. Students will take images and apply newly learned skills to create a unique

representation of themselves through objects. Students will need to use and understand not

only the technology but also have a strong understanding of composition.

Visual Literacy Connection: Fiction or Reality

The use of photo-editing technology has the ability to drastically shape our perception of

reality. Students will look at a variety of images from publications and web sources to

determine how

Unit 2: Traditional art techniques through digital means

Software: Sketchbook (or equivalent)

04. Creating basic shapes through vectors (dependant on software)

Technical Skills Acquired

a. Defining Vectors

b. Using tooltips to create organic and geometric shapes

c. Color selection

d. Filling shapes

FIne art connection: Collage/Assemblage

Students will learn how to use basic vector skills to create 2-3 basic compositions made up of

simple shapes and forms.

05. Intro to layers, tool selection and pallet.

Technical Skills Acquired

a. Tooltip selection and modification

b. Creating a palette

c. Blur, blend, and sharpen

d. Layering

e. Opacity review

FIne art connection: Elements of Art; Painting

Students will start with a photo of an apple. The will then create a new layer in order to build a

replica of the image using the tools and pallet in the drawing program. This process allows for

an introduction to basic tool and color selection within the given drawing software.

06. Impressionist Landscape

Technical Skills Acquired

a. Tooltip selection and modification

b. Creating a palette

c. Blur, blend, and sharpen

d. Layering

e. Opacity review

FIne art connection: Elements of Art; Painting

Students will utilize multiple tooltips and layers to develop a modern impressionist landscape.

Landscape should highlight the use of a cohesive pallet and imagery will reinforce students

previous understanding of value and atmospheric perspective.

Artist inspiration

Leonid Afremov

Claude Monet

Renior

Van Gogh

Unit 3: Basic Digital Illustration

Software: Sketchbook (or equivalent)

07. Creative Character Design

Technical Skills Acquired

a. Tooltip selection and modification

b. Creating a palette

c. Blur, blend, and sharpen

d. Layering

e. Opacity review

f. Other: dependent on student choice

FIne art connection: Figure drawing / Illustration

Students will use a variety of writing strategies and graphic organizers to develop ideas for a

Self developed student character concept. Students will design a character that could exist

within a video game, cartoon, or comic book using current design techniques within the industry.

Students will need to develop a wire frame as a base layer and build up their character from

there.

08. Character Environment

Technical Skills Acquired:

a. Perspective tool

b. Tooltip selection and modification

c. Creating a palette

d. Blur, blend, and sharpen

e. Layering

f. Opacity review

g. Other: dependent on student choice

FIne art connection: Perspective Drawing/ Landscape / Illustration

Students will use a variety of writing strategies and graphic organizers to develop ideas for a

self developed student character concept. Students will design an environment that could exist

within a video game, cartoon, or comic book using their character design the past lesson.

Students will continue practicing digital illustration techniques that exist within the gaming /

illustration industry.

Unit 4: Effective Visual Messaging

09. Current Event/Social, Cultural, Political

Technical Skills Acquired:

a. Other: dependent on student choice

FIne art connection:

10. Appropriation

Technical Skills Acquired:

a. Other: dependent on student choice

FIne art connection:

11. Student Choice/ Your own Voice

Technical Skills Acquired:

a. Other: dependent on student choice

FIne art connection:

Objectives/Goals:

● Students will explore and develop personal techniques and styles that showcase skills in

digital design.

● Students will develop ( ) that demonstrates applied digital design skills at the mastery

level, indicating ability to effectively and properly use elements of art and principles of

design.