6141
Policy
Instruction
Curriculum Design/Development
The curricular structure
will be coordinated and integrated in such a way as to contribute to continuity
in the instructional program from kindergarten through grade twelve. The board
of education encourages the development of a program designed to explore,
evaluate and adapt new techniques for curricular improvement.
The board of education
recognizes that changing student needs, new pedagogical developments, and the
development of new knowledge require that the school's curriculum be revised
periodically to insure that the district's students are provided the best
education possible given the available resources.
All subjects--courses and
classes--offered shall meet the requirements of statute, state regulation,
accreditation standards, and board policy. The board delegates responsibility
to the superintendent or his or her designee for maintaining the quality,
integrity, and cost-effectiveness of the program of instruction approved by the
board.
All courses approved for
credit are approved by the board. At least annually, the Superintendent or his
or her designee shall report to the full board those courses that represent the
instructional program of the district. The Superintendent shall establish
guidelines for the approval of courses and classes offered to students. The guidelines shall establish procedures for
review and approval of all new courses by the board of education.
The superintendent is responsible for developing rules and regulations
for implementation of this policy.
Adopted: June 04, 1990
Revised: February 18,
2006
Revised February 19, 2007
6141
Regulation
Instruction
Curriculum Design/Development
Responsibility for Curriculum Development
The
Ashland-Greenwood Public Schools shall provide a comprehensive curriculum to
serve the educational needs of all students in the district. Curriculum offerings will be researched by
curriculum teams, approved by the Curriculum Council, administrative team and Superintendent
and shall be presented to the Board of Education on a regular rotation in order
to assure that the curriculum is current and matches best practice. The district curriculum shall reflect the
mission of the district, the needs of society and the requirements of the law.
Curriculum
development is the responsibility of all teachers and administrators in the
district and is an on-going process. As
much as possible, the district curriculum will be an integrated
curriculum. Opportunities will be
provided to students to promote understanding of concepts across subject
content and using multicultural experiences.
The curriculum will provide teachers and students with the expectations
for teaching and learning. Teachers will
align their teaching to the current curriculum offerings.
The
Curriculum Supervisor shall coordinate the development of the curriculum. A process for curriculum review will be
developed and a yearly schedule established and given to all teaching staff
members in order to assure that the necessary curriculum work is completed in a
continuous process. A timeline shall be
included in the schedule to establish when certain parts of the process are to
be completed.
A
Curriculum Council will be organized each year by the Curriculum
Supervisor. The Curriculum Council is
advisory to the administration and the Board of Education. Each curriculum team
will have at least two co-chairs that serve on the Curriculum Council. These
co-chairs will be established based on staff volunteers as well as staff appointments. One co-chair will be an elementary teacher
and the other a middle school or high school teacher. The role of these members
is to co-chair at least three curriculum team meetings each year. The purpose of these meetings will be to make
revisions and clarifications to curriculum if necessary. After these meetings, the co-chairs will bring
ideas, concerns and questions back to the Curriculum Council regarding their
content area for further discussion and next steps will be determined based on
the recommendations of the curriculum team as well as the entire Curriculum
Council. The Curriculum Supervisor shall lead the
Curriculum Council and the high school guidance counselor shall serve as
permanent member of the Council. One member of the committee shall serve as the
group's secretary and shall maintain minutes of Curriculum Council meetings for
dissemination to the teaching staff and members of the administrative team.
Curriculum
Review Cycle
The
curriculum review cycle will be set up on a consecutive, multi-year cycle with
the first year being an extensive review. The purpose of the review shall be
to:
a) Review the current curriculum and
curricular practices
b) Examine current research regarding
best practices in the curricular area(s)
c) Examine current statutory
requirements and district practices
d) Examine state and national standards
for the curricular area
e) Collect and review current student
data on curricular outcomes
f)
Develop
and revise the scope and sequence and course outcomes
g) Develop new courses
h) Submit curricular changes to the
Curriculum Council, Administrative Team, Superintendent and Board of Education
for approval
i)
Develop
curriculum matrices, course descriptions and curriculum promotional materials
During the second year the committee shall:
a) Develop and/or revise curricular
assessments and develop grading protocols and rubrics
b) Seek input from staff regarding
instructional materials needs
c) Identify instructional materials and
resources
d) Obtain samples of various
instructional materials
e) Pilot new instructional materials in
classrooms
f)
Conduct
a cost-benefit analysis to establish program budget
g) Make appropriate instructional
material and resource decisions
h) Complete curriculum matrices, course
descriptions and curriculum promotional materials
i)
Devise
implementation plans
j)
Submit
curricular changes and implementation plans to the Curriculum Council,
Administrative Team, Superintendent and Board of Education for approval.
During the
third year the district shall implement the curricular changes and the
committee shall:
a) Conduct in-service training for
staff on new curricular materials
b) Monitor implementation of the
curriculum
c) Provide resources and staff
development to staff to refine the program's implementation
d) Collect and review student
assessment data to determine additional or alternate program needs
During the
fourth through the seventh year the Curriculum Supervisor, the Curriculum
Co-Chairs as well as the Curriculum Council shall:
a)
Monitor the curriculum, materials and staff needs for support or changes
that are necessary
b)
Make recommendations for any revisions or clarifications to current
curriculum in order to assure best curriculum practices are happening during
these years.
Out of
Cycle Course Development
Periodically,
it becomes necessary to develop new courses that are outside the normal
curriculum review cycle. New courses may be developed with the permission of
the superintendent. These courses will be submitted to the Curriculum
Council, Administrative Team and to the Board of Education for approval.
Although
the development time for new courses developed out of the curriculum cycle may
be shorten, new course development should consider all of the steps involved in
the curriculum review cycle. The courses will be designed based on needs of
students and educational needs as recommended by institutions of higher
learning.
New High
School Courses
All high
school course changes or additions will be submitted for approval to the
SCHEDULE FOR CURRICULUM
REVIEW, SELECTION OF MATERIALS
AND IMPLEMENTATION
|
YEAR |
Year One EXTENSIVE REVIEW |
Year Two Assessment Review and MATERIALS Selection |
YEAR THREE IMPLEMENTATION |
|
2006-2007 |
Language
Arts |
|
-Career
& Technical Education -PE &
Health -Foreign
Language |
|
2007-2008 |
Mathematics |
Language
Arts |
|
|
2008-2009 |
Science |
Mathematics |
Language
Arts |
|
2009-2010 |
Social
Studies |
Science |
Mathematics |
|
2010-2011 |
Fine Arts |
Social
Studies |
Science |
|
2011-2012 |
P.E.
& Health |
Fine Arts |
Social
Studies |
|
2012-2013 |
-Career
& Technical Education -Foreign
Language |
P.E.
& Health |
Fine Arts |
*This
schedule is subject to change based on requirements from the United States
Department of Education and the Nebraska Department of Education.