Professional Practice Innovation Grant (Fund Code 213)
Summary of Round One Awardees
Abington, Avon, Bridgewater-Raynham, Hanover, Rockland, West
Bridgewater, and Whitman-Hanson
Focus Area A: Curriculum & Planning
Focus Area B: Assessment
Curriculum Frameworks: Science, Physical Education, Art & Music
Description of work: This collaborative partnership of seven districts is working together to identify
Common Course Objectives (CCOs) and accompanying assessments (which will be used for DDMs) for
between nine and eleven courses. Administrators and teacher leaders who have demonstrated
expertise in the content areas of focus are in cross-district teams that are receiving training in the
development and analysis of DDMs. Teachers will use the new CCOs to revise their curricula and to pilot
the newly-developed DDMs to enable them to gather data to inform their work on finalizing the DDMs.
Greater Lawrence Regional Vocational Technical High School
Focus Area A: Curriculum & Planning
Focus Area B: Professional Collaboration
Curriculum Frameworks: ELA, Mathematics, Science, selected Career & Technical
Description of work: Teachers and administrators on Greater Lawrence’s ILT are refining curriculum
maps and building exemplary units of instruction, which will then be observed in practice by groups of
administrators during six walk-throughs. Administrators will collaborate around giving specific,
actionable feedback that will help teachers to improve their practice.
Pierce Middle School, Milton Public Schools
Focus Area A: Curriculum & Planning
Focus Area B: Assessment
Curriculum Frameworks: ELA, Mathematics, Science, Technology & Engineering
Description of work: Teachers from Pierce Middle School in Milton are working in PLCs that include six
teachers and six administrators to study the principles of “Schooling by Design” and to create curriculum
maps and common assessments for math, ELA, and science, technology and engineering. The common
assessments will be piloted as DDMs and teachers will gain an understanding of what acceptable
evidence looks like as they engage in the development and refinement of curriculum maps and
assessments.
Newton Public Schools
Focus Area A: Curriculum & Planning
Focus Area B: Professional Collaboration
Curriculum Frameworks: ELA, Mathematics, and Science
Description of work: Educators in Newton Public Schools are creating a series of videos showcasing
effective practices including: teacher collaboration to create and refine standards-based lessons, highquality instruction of those lessons, and evaluator observation and feedback. The lessons will be in the
areas of elementary ELA, middle school math, and high school science.
Northampton, Belchertown, Gill-Montague, Hadley, South Hadley, and
the Berkshire Hills Regional District
Focus Area A: Curriculum & Planning
Focus Area B: Assessment
Curriculum Frameworks: ELA and Technology Literacy Standards and Expectations
Description of work: A collaborative partnership of six districts is pooling collective resources and
knowledge to select and analyze pilot DDMs that will serve to inform and strengthen both curriculum
and instruction and educator evaluation decisions. The districts are also collaborating on building an
online resource bank that will house the DDMs themselves, as well as accompanying annotated student
work samples, and a forum for teacher discussion and feedback about the DDM implementation and
resulting data. The resource bank will assist teachers in collecting and annotating evidence and artifacts.
The districts have chosen to pilot this work in two areas – Grade 10 Writing-to-Text and Grade 6
Technology and Proficiency, with a particular focus on English Language Learners.
Watertown Public Schools
Focus Area A: Curriculum & Planning
Focus Area B: Diverse Learners’ Needs
Curriculum Frameworks: ELA and Mathematics
Description of work: A collaborative team of teachers and administrators are creating unit plans and
curriculum-embedded performance assessments that will later be piloted as DDMs in elementary ELA
and math. These curriculum maps will be the foundation of the Tier 1 curriculum, from which ELL and
SPED teachers will work to then identify instructional practices and accommodations that best support
the needs of diverse learners in meeting the MA Curriculum Frameworks.