Creating the District Curriculum
It is easier to change the location of the
cemetery than to change the school
curriculum.
Woodrow Wilson,
1917
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.
Where We’ve Been
 2007-08: District Writing PLC continued with K-10
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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
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
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
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.
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
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.
Why?
 Because it is good for kids, and morally the
right thing to do… to create a system that is
equitable for all.
Curriculum Alignment
Delta 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
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.
Primary/Secondary Leaders
 Our team of 6 will be the primary curriculum design
leaders:
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Language Arts-Doug Egging
Math-Kurt Clay and Paul Rodriguez
Science-Jim Farmer
Social Studies-Derek Carlson
Electives-Brent Curtice
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
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Directors will attend as many trainings as possible
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
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
Job of Teacher Leaders-Phase 1,2,3
 Chosen by Primary Leaders and Curriculum
Director(nominated by principals)
 Job Description:
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Belief in the work
Teaching experience
Work ethic
Commitment to the project
Strong interpersonal skills
Job Description of Teacher Leaders
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Willingness to take risks
Flexibility
Attention to detail
Knowledge of Standards and curriculum writing
Team player
Phase I: All Phase I Teachers and Admin
Attend
February-June, 2011
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
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
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.
Phase II: All Phase I and II Teachers and
Admin Attend
June-December, 2011
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
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 lessonone 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
Phase II
Exemplar Units Created:
•Unit organization
•Instructional strategies
•Rubrics
•Assessments
•Objectives
•Materials, resources to tie in content
•Performance-based focus
•Weekly, daily plan
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
Phase III
June, 2011-April, 2012
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
Monitoring/Accountability
Grade Level/Content Area:
Data Team Analysis of Pretest, Posttest, and Dipstick Results: Schoollevel 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 AssessmentsAdministrative Teams, Principals, District Administration/District
Calendar-What is monitored? Alpine reports by teacher, school, district
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
Monitoring/Accountability
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
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
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
Always Keep the End in Mind
Guaranteed, Viable Curriculum for Every Student
Mastery of Essential Learnings, Exposure to Same Content, 21st Century
Thinking Skills
In Closing
What we know today does not make
yesterday wrong, it makes tomorrow
better.
Carol Commodore