6:040-AP1 – Curriculum Development

Curriculum Review Cycle

Each subject area curriculum shall have ongoing revisions and be formally reviewed and evaluated every five years. Subject area reviews will be staggered so as to not review more than one subject/department within a grade level span in any given year. The review shall be conducted by a subject area committee comprised of teachers representing each grade level and each building within the grade level span.

Subject Area Committees

Subject Area Committees assist in the District’s curriculum planning/review process and provide the Assistant Superintendent with recommendations and supportive summaries. Committees shall serve in an advisory capacity only.

The Subject Area Committee will:

• Conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the program of instruction using available achievement data and perceptions of teachers, parents, and students.
• Provide adequate and continual communication on matters relating to curriculum between individual teachers (between grade levels, within subject-matter areas and between instructional and administrative staff);
• Provide system-wide coordination of curriculum related to student learning experience;
• Identify and categorize problems related to curriculum to establish priorities with respect to studies;
• Conduct studies and research in the areas of curriculum, utilizing the resources available to the school system;
• Develop common grade level or course assessments.
• Engage in long-range planning for the continuous improvement of the curriculum in the School District.

The Assistant Superintendent will keep the Committee informed of the specific tasks and the time-frame in which the work must be completed.

Curriculum Guides and Course Outlines

1. Development of guides:
   • Curriculum guides are best developed by the staff and teachers who are to use them.
   • When entire staff participation is not feasible, staff representatives and/or departments concerned shall form system-wide committees for study, creation and revision.
   • Guides should contain learning outcomes and how those outcomes are aligned to state standards and assessment frameworks.
   • Completed guides will be given to the Superintendent.
2. Use of Guides:
   • Curriculum guides are to serve as a framework from which a teacher will develop units of study, individual lesson plans and approaches to instruction which will serve the student’s particular needs at a particular time.  The guides shall be used to map the logical sequence of instruction.
   • In subjects where sequence is important, such as mathematics, teachers shall be expected to adhere to the guide.  In subjects where sequential learning is less important, the teacher may be given a greater degree of freedom in respect to sequence.
   • In all cases, sufficient latitude shall be permitted to provide the teacher with time to teach the current, topical and incidental issues that add to motivation and meaningful teaching and learning.
   • The Building Principal and/or department heads shall see that optimum use is made of available curriculum guides.

Date Adopted: 09/09/2009