SREB Training: Prioritzing, Mapping, & Monitoring the Curriculum

On April 20, 2005, from 4-8 pm, and April 21, 2005, all day, leadership teams from 4J elementary, middle, and high schools participated in the "Prioritizing, Mapping & Monitoring the Curriculum" part two training workshop put on by the Southern Region Education Board. The purpose of the part one training was to develop knowledge, skills, and commitment among participating school leaders that will make it possible to create and sustain high-performance leaning cultures in our schools. After that portion of intensive training, participants were given follow-up action plans to do, which they re-visited and refined in the April training session.

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Participants start out by discussing improving curriculum by prioritizing.	Now where were we when we last met...oh yes, collecting the data for curriculum standards.	Participants discuss various formats for mapping the curriculum (who teaches which standard when).
Presenters from each team talk about which mapping format they chose for consistency.	Now the work begins to determine the "content" of the map, as well as the skills and assessment portions.	At Kelly, they need to discuss how this fits with prior work, as well as with recent school reorganization.
At a first read-through, they look for gaps, repetitions, potential areas for integration, timeliness and consistency.	Getting it out there for the team to see the scope of standards work across grade level helps.	Then they determine areas of concern or in need of revision.
As a newly constructed school blending two exisiting schools, Holt Elementary carefully lays out their planning.	Team members determine which standards are essential, important, and condensed, which helps them look for patterns.	Willagillespie Elementary School keeps their purpose in mind as they fill out their curriculum map plan.
How does this all fit with assignments, grades and the calendar?	Edison Elementary staff members review their plan.	Buena Vista Elementary keeps a tight focus on their purpose.
Kelly Middle School staff has the added complication of three programs within one school.	And how do we communicate this plan with others?	Putting the curriculum standards map into a calendar format is the next step.
Participants look for patterns, gaps, and repititions across grade levels.	Charlemagne French Immersion Elementary School needs to articulate their curriculum across languages.	Just looking at one curriculum area in one grade is complicated.
Now that you've done all this work, how can you monitor and revise implementation?	Here's another curriculum map, this time of one subject across grade levels.	Each school team sets up a plan fo continuous review and long-term revision.