It amazes me that six months ago, I began my first superintendency in Escanaba. Collecting data and launching the district strategic plan took much of July and August. Throughout that process, we discussed Escanaba's vision for the future, with one of the four goals being: "Improve student achievement at all levels to exceed state and national standards." In discussions with groups since then, I've mentioned that my personal vision would be for people who encounter our graduates to exclaim, "Well you MUST be from Escanaba!" Our students would naturally outperform the norm, due to their incredible K-12 educational experience.
Part of how we determine if our students are indeed "outperforming" the typical, is to understand what standards of learning we expect our students to master. The curriculum is the "meat" of the educational sandwich. Without it, it is just garnish and bread. I expect our principals to lead their teaching staff to ensure the curriculum for each course is sound, that it is aligned to state expectations, but also that its delivery and assessment is consistent across courses, grade spans, and schools. The standards for what is taught and expectations for what is learned in each 4th grade classroom, for example, need to be common. HOW teachers deliver the curriculum, and adjusted to meet the needs of the different learning styles of their students may vary--but the end result should be that students learned what we intended them to learn. Algebra I with Teacher A should be consistent with Teacher B, and so on. The content should build from one grade level to the next, and not simply be a "repeat" of the previous grade. This is "vertical alignment."
Strategies to make this happen start with good discussions that end up with common understandings about what the learning expectations are for the content. It may include pacing guides (a roadmap for when things are taught), coupled with suggestions of what vocabulary, concepts, and skills need to be stressed, along with resources that give students a similar presentation. This all happens on the teacher end of things. I also am strongly in favor of letting students and parents know exactly what it is we expect kids to learn by the end of a course or school year. As the year moves on, let's allow students to know where they are in their learning, so that they know what else they have yet to accomplish. Finally, let's celebrate when indeed they master the content and demonstrate that they have learned.
It sounds simple, doesn't it? I haven't talked "curriculum" in about 5 months, due to the all-consuming work of dealing with school funding, but I wanted to do so today. it is the core of what we do. It is our business. I am hoping we can keep this idea in front of us as we move into the years ahead. Let's fully equip our students with the gift of a foundation of knowledge and skills to launch them into a successful future.