Standard on Curriculum
Narrative Essay
The curriculum of Dartmouth High School is designed to ensure that all students practice and
achieve each of the school’s 21st century learning expectations. All departments have taken primary or
secondary responsibility to design curriculum. Teachers instruct, assess, and provide multiple
opportunities for practice and feedback in each of the four academic expectations. School-wide rubrics
based on DHS 21st century learning expectations have been designed and are being implemented in some
classes. School-wide reporting of student achievement based on learning expectation #1 (individual
academic planning) began in June, 2013, and is ongoing.
The plan for implementation of the school-wide rubrics is still in progress.
For example,
curriculum in the required, heterogeneously-grouped Freshman Seminar class is aligned with our 21st
century learning expectation that students must: “Define their academic goals and develop and monitor a
plan to achieve them.” Through the use of the online software program, Naviance, students develop their
short-term and long-term SMART academic goals and develop guidelines to achieve them. The teachers
of the Freshman Seminar course assess all students on their progress toward the achievement of academic
expectation #1, and this data was reported out to parents with the June, 2013, report cards. Follow up,
monitoring, and revising of academic plans continues throughout their high school years through
meetings with guidance counselors, which includes a minimum of 13 meetings over their four years at
DHS.
The design of the curriculum ensures that each student has multiple learning experiences to
ensure he/she achieves the learning expectations. The design is present in many classes as students are
engaged in a variety of learning experiences. Students are required to complete a rigorous research
assignment that involves higher-order thinking, interpretation of multiple media, and problem-solving in
in DHS courses. For instance in U.S. History and World History, all students are required to evaluate and
interpret visual media, primary and secondary sources, and in World History, students complete a
research paper where they evaluate and interpret primary sources and scholarly articles. Junior English
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classes write a research-based "bridge paper" that ties a research assignment to a self-selected piece of
fictional literature; this paper requires students to determine their own research focus, to integrate
evidence from the fictional literature and outside resources, and to come to a logical conclusion that
synthesizes material as a whole.
Students who take a visual arts course in the DHS Unified Arts Department as their required arts
course, have to complete a written analysis project that interprets and evaluates a variety of media. In
addition, each student completes a self-assessment in every unit of study measuring the achievement of
unit goals; these goals often incorporate 21st century learning expectations.
Math, Science, Business, and Unified Arts Departments practice identifying, analyzing, and
solving conventional and unconventional problems by using critical thinking, modeling, data analysis,
innovative approaches, and digital technologies. Many classes use individual assignment rubrics and are
beginning to incorporate the school-wide 21st century learning expectations into their class rubrics.
Though not all teachers are currently using the school-wide communication rubric, the English
and world language departments consistently support the learning expectation it assesses. As the schoolwide communication rubric states, teachers in both departments instruct and assess requiring students to
"communicate thoughts, ideas, information, and understanding through a variety of modalities (written,
auditory, visual, and second languages)." Additionally, students in world language classes use
communication skills regularly in paired conversations, oral and written assignments, listening labs, and
alternative assessments.
English classes use strategies such as Socratic Seminar, Think-Pair-Share, dipstick
questioning, and cooperative learning to foster communication via writing and speaking within small and
large group formations. Students also complete written assignments of varying levels of complexity and
formality that require them to communicate their understanding of texts and literary concepts. For
example, while studying any particular text, students complete short formative assessments to prove their
reading comprehension or their understanding of a concept such as symbolism. Later in the unit, students
produce developed pieces of writing that demonstrate further processing of their thoughts.
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The current curriculum unit plan template includes a section where teachers align the curriculum
to the DHS 21st century learning expectations. We are in the process of analyzing and revising curriculum
in all areas to ensure the curriculum addresses these expectations. The 21st century learning expectations
are posted in all classrooms. Many classroom teachers post their learning goals for each unit of study and
some align them with the DHS 21st century learning expectations.
Students are provided multiple opportunities to demonstrate their civic competency in a variety of
classes and extra-curricular activities. For instance, all students are required to take an arts class where
students are involved in either a K-12 visual arts exhibition or a musical performance; both the exhibition
and performance invite community involvement. Students can elect to join Helping Hands, a teacher and
student-driven organization that raises money for the DHS family. DECA, a co-curricular organization of
marketing and business students, helps to raise money for DHS Helping Hands on the local level and
MDA at the state and national competitions. Key Club members prepare monthly meals for the Ronald
McDonald House in Providence, help with Buttonwood Zoo and YMCA fundraisers, and run food and
clothing drives for area food pantries and shelters. The club also sponsors local needy families through
the Holiday Hope Program. The Principal’s Service Award recognizes multiple students each month for
their service to the school and greater community.
Students have a variety of ways to meet their social competency of making healthy lifestyle
decisions and working collaboratively with and demonstrating respect for others. For instance, the Health
curriculum provides opportunities for students to make healthy lifestyle decisions. As the result of a youth
risk survey administered to our students, two years ago, the Physical Education Department revised their
curriculum to add a freshman wellness program. The personal financial planning curriculum ensures that
students learn to make healthy financial decisions. All unified arts, engineering classes and lab sciences
classes uphold health and safety protocols in studio and laboratory environments.
When determining whether or not to add, alter, or delete courses or units from the curriculum,
Dartmouth High School staff are required to submit a proposal to a team of administrators. This team
consists of the principal, a member from Guidance, a dean, and the teacher who submitted the proposal.
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The team will then meet to weigh the potential positives and negatives such a change would have on the
curriculum as a whole and make a final determination. If new courses are being considered, meetings
focus on the goals and objectives, curriculum, and assessment measures that would be utilized throughout
the new course.
Curriculum maps and unit plans are living documents that are always in the process of being
revised and updated. Some departments within Dartmouth High School are currently in the process of
completing their curriculum maps and unit plans, so adding and deleting courses is still part of
discussions. Departments have used final exam data to determine the efficacy of their courses, but not
explicitly with our school’s learning expectations.
At Dartmouth High School curricular templates have been redesigned in a common format which
includes units of study with essential questions, concepts, content, and skills; the school’s 21st century
learning expectations; instructional strategies; and assessment practices that include the use of schoolwide analytic and course-specific rubrics. The school’s curriculum is being both developed and revised
using a new curriculum map template and a revised unit plan template. The new curriculum map
template includes the time frame, content, concepts, skills, and alignment to the Massachusetts Common
Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy. The revised unit plan template includes the
time frame, essential questions, learning goals, alignment to national and Massachusetts subject
frameworks and the Massachusetts Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and
Literacy, key terms, instructional strategies, formative assessments, summative assessments,
supplies/materials, further opportunities for differentiated instruction, interdisciplinary opportunities, and
DHS 21st century learning expectations.
Over the past three years, Dartmouth High School has provided time during PLCs and summer
workshops for departments to develop and expand their curriculum. Currently, all departments have
curriculum maps in use and many departments have unit plans for their foundation courses.
The administration and lead teachers encourage the use of the “Workshop Model” in classrooms.
This structure utilizes a launch, modeling by the teacher, engagement of the students, and student
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reflection. It is focused on student-centered learning and using both formative and summative assessments
to adjust instruction to meet student needs. Unit objectives, essential questions, daily objectives, and
alignment to school-wide expectations are posted in some of the classrooms so that students are reminded
about what they are learning. Objectives are drafted utilizing higher-order thinking in mind by using
Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Dartmouth High School has adopted a set of school-wide rubrics to measure student achievement
of the 21st century learning expectations. Each department has been assigned responsibility for reporting
student progress for these expectations. Freshman Seminar classes in the Business Department began this
process in June 2013; they report out to students and parents on achievement of the academic goals and
plans. Teachers utilize course-specific rubrics in assessment. All departments are in the initial stages of
incorporating the use of the school-wide analytic rubrics into their curriculum. As the curriculum
continues to be written and revised into units of study, more emphasis is placed on strategies to improve
literacy across the curriculum and to practice and achieve the school’s 21st century academic expectations.
Dartmouth High School’s curriculum emphasizes depth of understanding and application of
knowledge through inquiry and problem solving, higher order thinking, authentic learning opportunities,
and informed and ethical use of technology. Various opportunities have been created to explicitly direct
student learning toward inquiry and problem solving. In Advanced Quantitative Reasoning, students work
in groups on problems that have occurred or are occurring in the world. One particular unit focuses
specifically on discrete mathematics, graphs, networks, and paths that require modeling with enough
exposure to develop student ability to represent situations that arise organically in life. In Spanish 2,
students are given a project that allows them to be “Teacher of the Day”; the expectations include
students presenting material in a way that appeals to the class and helps in retention of knowledge. They
must also build their own assessment tool that hits all three components in understanding a language—
speaking, writing, and listening. In science classes, students glean information through lab activities, class
discussions, videos, and internet research to thoroughly answer questions in the Primate Report related to
the Human Evolution unit. The entire strand of engineering courses (Exploring Technology, Intro to
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Engineering, Applications of Technology, Robotics), is project based with the degree of difficulty
ratcheting upwards with each course challenge. While the projects differ, the cycle remains the same: 1.)
identify a problem, 2.) do research, 3.) come up with a plan, 4.) build a prototype, 5.) test the prototype,
repeat steps as necessary. The Early Childhood Practicum classes assist in instructing kindergarten
classes at two elementary schools in the district four days a week.
Each of the examples above, as well as others throughout the building, reflects one of the DHS
21st century learning expectations: “All students should use higher order thinking skills to solve complex
problems.” Units of study reflect this expectation. According to the Endicott Survey, 79.8% of staff
believe the formal curriculum emphasizes inquiry, problem-solving, and higher order thinking. Students
concurred with another 79.8% agreeing that the content of the courses taken “challenges [me] to think
critically and solve problems” (Endicott). DHS parents possess a stronger, positive attitude on the topic
with 85.4% in total agreement that their children are developing problem-solving and higher order
thinking skills. With an extensive number of AP courses (18) offered from sophomore year onward, DHS
has the ability to challenge the most ambitious students.
Teachers at Dartmouth High School often express the desire to provide students with more crossdisciplinary opportunities. Less than half (44%) of staff polled in the Endicott Survey felt the curriculum
emphasized cross-disciplinary learning. However, common planning time for such endeavors is difficult
to negotiate, and as such, common planning is limited to addressing departmental needs. Despite this
deficiency, DHS does possess cross-disciplinary lessons which are recognized by the majority (55%) of
students. These students acknowledge that “teachers include topics from other subject areas” in their
classes, and students make the connection (66.8%) that information learned in one class can be used in
other classes (Endicott). For instance, in AP Environmental Science, students investigate the effect of
solar insulation on temperature ranges at various locations on Earth. Concepts of physics, and use of
math to calculate and graph are also applied in this exercise. ELA often uses historical events or people
as the topic of a writing assignment. As an example, in English 10, many students write a short play
based on a victim of some factual “witch hunt” from the past. The Early Childhood Certification
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practicum focuses on students making a lesson plan which meets either ELA or Math standards for
kindergarten children which utilizes visual arts to convey the learning in an effective manner. The
Ceramics course, as part of their unit on symbolism, requires students to design a plate and create a poem
inspired by the attributes of a person of their choosing.
Several years ago, Dartmouth High pursued a school-wide effort to improve critical writing skills,
spending considerable meeting time on numerous ways to add more writing in all content areas. A
variety of cross-disciplinary activities occurred stemming from the use of a common book of graphic
organizers: Thinkquiry: Toolkit 1: Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary. Staff members throughout
the building have incorporated these organizers and strategies into their classes, and it is not uncommon
to have students express having just used the same strategy in another course.
Authentic learning opportunities are evident throughout the DHS curriculum. In Accounting 2,
students go through a business simulation that provides a streamlined review of Accounting 1 concepts
while using real-world business tactics; in Entrepreneurship, students produce, propose, and put into
action actual business plans dealing with real money, culminating in production and sales of studentdesigned products. In Personal Finance, students must be able to independently use their learning to
recognize the importance of goal-setting, saving, and investing. The Unified Arts Department, in
partnership with UMass-Dartmouth, collaborated on a mural to welcome the new chancellor with the Art
2 Foundation class participating in the conception, design, and painting of the mural. As a whole, the
Unified Arts program annually hosts a district-wide art exhibit every May which is judged by qualified
professionals, reflecting the type of authentic experience artists endure in making their living in the field.
Algebra students are given a project wherein they investigate how math is used in a career of their choice.
Another example of an authentic learning task includes the annual DHS Reality Day for juniors.
The gymnasium is transformed, and booths are set up with visiting volunteers from various professions in
the community. Students are given a personal profile based on interest surveys and they must consider
their individual stipulations as they make financial decisions. The day consists of students making life
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choices concerning housing, transportation, food, and leisure time based on a designated career and
income level.
Multiple opportunities for authentic application are available throughout the building, yet only
50.9% of students express being in total agreement that their teachers “explain how to apply what [they]
are learning in classes to learning experiences in other courses and in [their lives] outside of school”
(Endicott survey). Based on teacher-provided evidence, there seem to be pockets of the school (such as
Technology, Business, and Unified Arts) where this is happening on a regular basis. In other curriculum
areas, authentic learning may take place more through extra-curricular activities – such as the school
newspaper or Medical Careers club – than in actual course content.
Students’ opportunities to experience informed and ethical use of technology begin freshman year
and are reinforced consistently throughout their four years at DHS. A first step each year is having
students read and sign DHS’s Acceptable Use Policy. (See Student Handbook.) One introductory course,
Freshman Seminar, extensively uses technology for exploration and research regarding setting academic
goals, personality and career interests, possible career paths and a plan to achieve goals. According to the
Endicott Survey, 80.8% of students are in total agreement that they are “knowledgeable about the ethical
use of technology.”
Commencing freshman year, students are introduced to academic reporting formats such as
Modern Language Association (MLA) and Chicago Manual Style for electronic resources, which is
supported in all academic departments. In core English classes and some other courses, teachers and
students have been using Turnitin.com; this site provides students with feedback on proper citation and
potential plagiarism. With this feedback, students have a chance to revise in ways that fulfill their ethical,
academic responsibilities regarding citing sources while also providing teachers with opportunities to
provide extra instruction about this ethical use before it impacts the students’ grades or their disciplinary
records.
Dartmouth High School has implemented some strategies to begin to align the written and taught
curriculum. Each department has collaborated to develop common assessments that align with their
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respective frameworks. Every student takes the common assessment at the end of each course with the
exception of the seniors who maintain a semester course average of 90 or above. Common assessment
data is collected and collated by lead teachers. Some PLC time, facilitated by lead teachers, is devoted to
analyzing the data using a common protocol and using it to adjust instruction to improve student
achievement. The common protocol helps the teachers to see if the standards are being mastered within
that course and leads to rich discussions on adjustments that need to be made within classrooms.
Departments collaborate informally and through their PLCs to discuss planning and pacing of the written
curriculum.
When a teacher is being observed, he or she meets with the evaluating administrator for a preconference before the administrator observes the class. At this meeting, the teacher and the administrator
refer to the curriculum maps to assess where the lesson falls in the map. This ensures that the unit aligns
with the map. As we move to a new teacher evaluation process, this process of aligning taught curriculum
with the written curriculum maps will continue and expand.
Effective curricular coordination and vertical articulation exists between and among some
academic areas within the school as well as with sending schools in the district. Each year, the
professional development calendar is created to organize the professional development time for the high
school which includes two monthly meetings after school and one early release afternoon meeting. The
lead teacher in the Unified Arts Department provides professional development for the arts teachers in
grades K-12. This group meets on specified release time days to work on curricular coordination and
vertical articulation. Other aforementioned professional development time includes working on
articulation between courses in individual departments, working across the curriculum on initiatives such
as literacy and infusion of the common core into existing curriculum.
Dartmouth Public Schools has a vertical team for the Math, Physical Education, Music, English
Language Arts, and Visual Arts Departments. Math team met during the school year 2012-2013 to begin
aligning curriculum to the Common Core. The team is developing collaborative relationships between our
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high school, middle school, and elementary schools. During the summer of 2013 the team met and began
to align their curriculum vertically and to the Common Core State Standards.
PLCs include members from each curriculum department in grades 9-12 who work to coordinate
and align expectations from one grade level to the next. This year, PLC time has increased to include
voluntary twice monthly meetings during the school day. The agendas for these PLC meetings include
implementing literacy within content curriculum, analyzing student work with the goal to improve student
achievement, and integrating the use of technology in the curriculum. An important part of this process is
providing support to teachers as they collaborate to revise the curriculum. A literacy coach was hired this
year to support the infusion of the common core to all curriculum areas. She has participated in PLCs and
has modeled techniques in multiple classes in various disciplines. To ensure success, we have provided
professional development for all the lead teachers/instructional coaches in the PLC process. This team
will learn, together, the process for running effective PLCs. This will empower these leaders to help
create the environment within the department level teams to have valuable meetings around curriculum.
A key strategy in the Dartmouth Public Schools District Improvement Plan is to align and make
consistent instructional strategies and materials within and across grade levels. An action step to achieve
this goal is to create a PreK-12 curriculum map that aligns research-based curriculum, assessment,
instruction, materials and specific tiered instruction. In June of 2013, a team, consisting of various
stakeholders from across the district, met and attended the Curriculum Alignment and Mapping Project
from the DESE. A common template and vocabulary was developed for a district curriculum map.
During the school year 2012-2013, DHS employed a part-time literacy coach and a part-time
math coach. This current year, a full-time literacy coach has been hired to work with departmental lead
teachers/instructional coaches and teachers.
High school PD takes place across disciplines through both large and small groups concentrating
on literacy. The high school has a shared curriculum map and unit plan design that is used in every
department that has been developed over the last four years.
Each department posts completed
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curriculum maps and unit plans on Aspen to promote vertical alignment within courses. All departments
use common assessments with the goal of providing a guaranteed curriculum to all students.
Staffing levels, instructional materials, technology, equipment, supplies, facilities, and the
resource of the library/media center are sufficient to implement the curriculum, including the cocurricular programs and other learning opportunities. Staffing at Dartmouth High School is generally
sufficient. The Dartmouth High School student teacher ratio is 13.7 to 1, which is sufficient to offer an
array of rigorous course offerings.
Over the past few years Dartmouth High School has begun transitioning away from relying on
traditional textbooks to assist in delivering the curriculum to the use of more electronic resources. To
help with this process, new technology has been purchased which includes: teacher laptops, SmartBoards,
projectors, document cameras, and iPad carts. This plan has also included improving and updating the
technology in the library/media center, in computer labs, and in staff planning areas. As this plan is still
being developed and implemented, there are issues which impede the implementation of the curriculum.
These issues include: courses not having enough textbooks to meet the enrollment sizes, inconsistent
school-wide wireless access, and the delayed upkeep of technology such as printers and copiers.
At Dartmouth High School, all student members of interscholastic teams are assessed a $50
participation fee for each season. This fee does not exceed $125 per athlete for the school year and does
not exceed $250 per family per school year. These fees are designed to help offset program expenses.
Students who qualify for free or reduced lunches are entitled to a scholarship and the fee will be waived
every year. No student-athlete is deprived of participating in athletics at Dartmouth High School due to a
financial hardship.
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Students driving their own cars to school are required to purchase a parking permit for $50 per
semester, which equates to $100 for the school year. For students on free or reduced lunches, the parking
fee is waived.
For students joining any club at DHS there is a one-time fee of $25 per academic school year
regardless of how many clubs the student joins. For those students on free or reduced lunches, this fee is
waived. Clubs at DHS are not supplied with an operating budget so fundraising is a necessity for the
purchase of supplies or other expenses. For example, DECA fundraises extensively to pay for registration
for state and national competitions, food, lodging, and air travel. The district provides buses for travel to
local competitions for DECA and Math Team. No student at DHS will be denied the opportunity to join a
club if unable to pay a club fee due to financial hardship. Organizations such as Helping Hands or the
DHS PTO may be approached to help or pay the club fee for students whose families may be faced with
financial difficulty.
The district provides the school’s professional staff with personnel, time, and financial resources
for ongoing and collaborative development, evaluation, and revision of the curriculum using assessment
results and current research. Dartmouth Public Schools has a director of curriculum responsible for
curriculum coordination and articulation throughout the district. Within Dartmouth High School, the
associate principal is responsible for overseeing curriculum throughout all departments. The associate
principal has been supported by a literacy coach and lead teachers/instructional coaches.
Dartmouth Public Schools provides for curriculum development, evaluation, and revision as part
of the professional development of all staff members. Professional development activities provide
support for the development and implementation of curriculum. Monthly department meetings, full-day
professional development days, half-day meetings, and activity blocks are all regularly scheduled
activities designed for discussion of curriculum. Teachers are reimbursed up to $1,000 per year for
professional development. There are also opportunities for paid summer curriculum work. A systemwide professional development committee is in place and regularly seeks feedback from the individual
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schools regarding professional development planning. As a result of these activities and structures,
teachers are able to design curriculum that can maximize student learning experiences.
Over the past five years, Dartmouth High School has made a concerted effort to develop,
evaluate, and revise curriculum, especially as it relates to literacy in the classroom, using current best
practices research. The literacy initiative is being accomplished through ongoing professional
development conducted through both whole-school and intensive professional learning community
sessions. A literacy consultant through the Public Consulting Group (PCG) Education has conducted
much of this professional development, supported by a teacher-run literacy committee. The main tool
teachers use to support literacy education in the classroom has been the Thinkquiry Toolkit 1, a researchbased text written by PCG for literacy instruction.
Dartmouth High School’s School Improvement Plan (SIP) requires that each department review
and reflect upon assessment results to inform curriculum revision. Professional learning communities
used the Common Core Standards to revise final course assessments in all subject areas, which align with
the academic competencies of our core values, beliefs, and learning expectations. In addition, final
assessment results are used to assist in the revision of curriculum to meet the learning needs of all
students as addressed by curriculum standards.
Dartmouth High School provides time for teachers to meet regularly throughout the academic
year. Teachers meet both as a department, in professional learning communities, and as a whole, in
general faculty gatherings. In order to make up for the lack of common planning time within departments,
biweekly voluntary meetings have been scheduled into the school day. These voluntary meetings address
and develop curriculum, improve instruction, and evaluate student work. Every month Dartmouth High
School schedules one early release day for teachers to review the success of curriculum and instructional
practices. The faculty is also contractually required, once a month, to meet after school for professional
learning community sessions or full faculty meetings. At these monthly meetings, DHS faculty reviews
curriculum, analyzes assessment data, and models and plans implementation of best practices.
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Overall, Dartmouth provided sufficient staff for ongoing collaborative development, but more
time and financial resources are needed to allow for further development of the curriculum and vertical
and horizontal alignment.
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Executive Summary
Standard on Curriculum
Dartmouth High School has a curriculum that is being revised to purposely ensure that all
students practice and achieve each of the school’s 21st century learning expectations. The school’s core
values and beliefs and learning expectations are a growing influence in the development of the school’s
curriculum.
Curriculum and unit plan templates have been adopted and are being used to design curriculum
that provides each student with multiple learning experiences to achieve the DHS 21st century learning
expectations. School-wide rubrics have been created to evaluate student achievement on each of the
academic learning expectations. The rubric for expectation #1 (academic planning) has been used to
report student achievement to both students in the Freshman Seminar classes and their parents since June,
2013. The administrative plan encourages teachers to begin using the school-wide rubrics in their classes.
The curriculum, to varying degrees, emphasizes deeper understanding, inquiry and problem-solving,
higher-order thinking, cross-disciplinary learning, authentic learning opportunities, and informed and
ethical use of technology. There are excellent examples of these skills throughout the various disciplines,
but there is work needed in most areas to provide additional opportunities for students to experience
cross-disciplinary learning and to apply their learning to authentic experiences. Another area needing
attention is the integration of technology as an instructional tool.
Dartmouth High School has implemented some strategies to begin to align the written and taught
curriculum. Currently this alignment is through the use of common assessments, the analysis of common
assessments results, and teacher evaluation process.
Effective curricular coordination and vertical articulation exist between and among some
academic areas within the school as well as with sending schools in the district. The use of PLC time is
being used to encourage curricular coordination with the departmental disciplines. Currently, vertical
articulation is being developed within the Math and Arts curriculum. More still needs to be done to
provide vertical articulation in many disciplines.
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Staffing levels, instructional materials, supplies, facilities, and the resource of the library/media
center are sufficient to implement the curriculum, including the co-curricular programs and other learning
opportunities. The inadequacy of technology in many areas and the shortage of working computer labs
needed to support the delivery of curriculum is an area that needs to be addressed. Temperature control
throughout many parts of the building is a continual problem during various times of the year.
The district provides the school’s professional staff with personnel, time, and financial resources
for ongoing and collaborative development, evaluation, and revision of the curriculum using assessment
results and current research. The district provides a director of curriculum responsible for curriculum
coordination and articulation throughout the district and the high school associate principal, supported by
lead teachers, is responsible for overseeing curriculum through all departments. More time and financial
resources are needed to allow for further development of the curriculum and vertical and horizontal
alignment.
Based on the CPSS Rating Guide for the Standard on Curriculum, Dartmouth High School
believes it compliance with the Curriculum Standard is LIMITED.
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Strengths

The school has curriculum map and unit plan templates to be used for development of curriculum
in all courses which includes concepts, content, skills, alignment to the Common Core ELA and
DHS 21st century learning expectations, and instructional strategies.

The majority of courses utilize a curriculum map.

The current schedule affords the opportunity for students to take multiple elective courses and is
facilitated by use of the workshop model.

Courses in business and information technology, unified arts, music, science, and technology offer
students a wide array of authentic learning opportunities which incorporate inquire, problemsolving, and higher-order thinking.

Course-specific rubrics are utilized in all departments.

There is strong community support of co-curricular and extra-curricular activities through the PTO
and Helping Hands.

Each department posts curriculum maps and unit plans on Aspen to promote vertical alignment
within courses. All departments use common assessments with the goal of providing a guaranteed
curriculum to all students.

All students are educated on the ethical and informed use of technology in the Freshman Seminar
course which is reinforced in multiple departments.

Strong curricular coordination exists among all academic areas within the school.

Overall, the facility is sufficient for implement of the curriculum, including the co-curricular
programs and other learning opportunities.

Professional Learning Communities meet regularly.

Monthly professional development is scheduled on release time days.

Curriculum development is ongoing.
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Needs

A plan should be implemented that allots more time to purposely design the curriculum and
develop unit plans to ensure that all students practice and achieve each of the school’s 21st century
learning expectations.

A process needs to be developed to ensure that learning unit expectations are aligned to schoolwide learning expectations.

A clear alignment between the written and taught curriculum needs to be developed.

Cross-disciplinary learning must increase.

Vertical articulation needs to be further implemented between DHS and sending schools in the
district.

A plan to transition from traditional textbooks to technology-based resources needs to be in place.

The school-wide technology plan needs to be followed to maintain and update hardware and
wireless access on a consistent basis.
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