Blackfoot School Case Study
The Blackfoot School District has gone through many leadership changes in the past 5 years. We have had three different super intendents, and 5 out of 6 elementary principals changed schools. I think that the district is doing better at curriculum planning now that leadership changes are settling down. The district also hired a new curriculum director that is amazing and very well organized. I am excited to see all her hard work continue to improve our district. I also had no idea how much planning and organizing went into curriculum changes. I thought that a committee was formed, written curriculum examples and pilots were given out, and then the committee got together and made a recommendation after piloting material. After reading this
chapter I realize that much more goes into it. When I read through exhibit 5.1, I think that the Blackfoot school district does a good job with conducting needs assessment in high-productivity areas by standardized tests, curriculum-referenced test, and other measures and data sources (aligned with state standards); use assessment results to determine the need for curriculum development or improvement (p.193). For example, the school I am currently at was not showing success with the written reading curriculum so we were able to adopt a new reading curriculum and were provided with professional development so that we could successfully teach the new curriculum.
I think they also do well developing a planning calendar based on leaders’ assessments of organizational priorities. I have been on committees with all the second-grade teachers in the district and we had the job of aligning each reading unit with the CCSS. We identified areas where standards were left out or weak with in the written curriculum and created supplementary materials that we shared with all the second-grade teachers. We also used district data from Aimsweb to help guide us when deciding where ours needs were across the district in reading. I was on a committee that developed a pacing calendar for second grade in reading and math. We have many students that change elementary schools in the middle of the year and felt it was important that no matter what elementary school you go to the teacher will be teaching approximately the same unit. The units would align vertically and horizontally across the district and the grade levels.
chapter I realize that much more goes into it. When I read through exhibit 5.1, I think that the Blackfoot school district does a good job with conducting needs assessment in high-productivity areas by standardized tests, curriculum-referenced test, and other measures and data sources (aligned with state standards); use assessment results to determine the need for curriculum development or improvement (p.193). For example, the school I am currently at was not showing success with the written reading curriculum so we were able to adopt a new reading curriculum and were provided with professional development so that we could successfully teach the new curriculum.
I think they also do well developing a planning calendar based on leaders’ assessments of organizational priorities. I have been on committees with all the second-grade teachers in the district and we had the job of aligning each reading unit with the CCSS. We identified areas where standards were left out or weak with in the written curriculum and created supplementary materials that we shared with all the second-grade teachers. We also used district data from Aimsweb to help guide us when deciding where ours needs were across the district in reading. I was on a committee that developed a pacing calendar for second grade in reading and math. We have many students that change elementary schools in the middle of the year and felt it was important that no matter what elementary school you go to the teacher will be teaching approximately the same unit. The units would align vertically and horizontally across the district and the grade levels.