Creating the District Curriculum

1. Creating the District Curriculum It is easier to change the location of the cemetery than to change the school curriculum. Woodrow Wilson, 1917

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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.

7. 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

8. 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.

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

10. Curriculum AlignmentDelta County Schools Graduate With Options Content Concepts (Nouns) Skills (Verbs) Guaranteed, Viable Curriculum for Every Student Mastery of Essential Learnings, Exposure to Same Content, 21st Century Skills

11. 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.

12. 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

13. 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

14. Responsibilities/Primary • will lead all sessions not conducted by consultant • attend all trainings • work directly with Curriculum Director and consultant in making crucial decisions • continue the process after the design has been created: 2012 and beyond • choose teachers for Phases I, II, and III • attend additional leadership meetings outside of trainings

15. Responsibilities/Secondary • work with leaders and teachers to accomplish the work • give feedback to leaders; share unique perspectives • attend all trainings • continue the process after the design has been created: 2012 and beyond

16. 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

17. Job Description of Teacher Leaders • Willingness to take risks • Flexibility • Attention to detail • Knowledge of Standards and curriculum writing • Team player

18. Phase I: All Phase I Teachers and Admin Attend February-June, 2011

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

20. 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

21. 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.

22. Phase II: All Phase I and II Teachers and Admin Attend June-December, 2011

23. 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

24. 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

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

26. 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

27. Phase III June, 2011-April, 2012

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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

31. Monitoring/Accountability

32. 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

33. 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

34. 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

35. Always Keep the End in Mind Guaranteed, Viable Curriculum for Every Student Mastery of Essential Learnings, Exposure to Same Content, 21st Century Thinking Skills

36. In Closing What we know today does not make yesterday wrong, it makes tomorrow better. Carol Commodore