ELEMENTARY DISTRICT - Curriculum and Academic Goals

 

Theme: Curriculum and Academic Goals

 

System level: District

 

Practice: Develop clear academic goals and objectives that are aligned with state standards.

 

 

What does this practice look like in Arkansas?

 

Academic goals are revisited several times each year to evaluate progress and identify areas of improvement. Academic goals for the district are in a continual state of examination and revision, not only by district personnel, but also by teachers and principals, for the purpose of monitoring the district's progress towards those goals. Regardless of size, high-performing districts revisit their goals either by grade level or by subject area rather than attempting to evaluate progress for every grade level in every subject simultaneously.

 

Curriculum alignment is done district-wide. Teachers and principals are involved in the alignment process. The horizontal and vertical alignment process includes all schools in the district. All stakeholders are involved in the process of alignment and are encouraged to provide input. Since teachers and principals, as well as district personnel, are involved in the process, the district goals are perceived as relevant and important to individual schools and classrooms.

 

State standards are closely analyzed to determine what should be taught at each grade level, and curriculum goals strictly adhere to state standards. Curriculum goals are established by first examining the state standards with a critical eye to determine what specific instructional topics are included in each standard. State standards can be accessed through the Arkansas Department of Education website (http://arkansased.org). Goals are then developed so that all state standards are addressed for each grade level.  Additionally, goals in high-performing districts include both academic and behavioral goals.

 

Goals are clearly and concisely written and distributed to all stakeholders. Stakeholders know what the goals are for their district and where they can be located. Teachers and principals all have copies of the district goals and incorporate the goals into everyday school life.

 

Both long-term and short-term goals are clearly defined for the district. High-performing districts have both short- and long-term goals. Short-term goals are created as "stepping stones" toward the long-term goals.

 

Documents related to practice:

 

Little Rock School District provides “refrigerator curriculum” for each grade level. These publications are sent out to parents to communicate what content students will be learning each year, and parents are encouraged to track their child’s progress.

Examples:

 

North Little Rock School District provides Quick Notes curriculum guides for math and language arts at all grade levels. The Quick Notes are aligned with the state standards and teachers use the Quick Notes to track when topics have been covered in their classroom. Teachers can easily see if a content area has been skipped or make notes as to what content areas may need to be revisited. Included in the Quick Notes booklet is a copy of the state standards for that subject and grade level.

Examples:

 

Rogers School District has curriculum maps for all subjects and all grades. State curriculum guidelines are divided into content topics, and faculty then determine if the topic should be introduced (I), developing (D), mastered (M), or reviewed (R) for each quarter of the school year.

Examples: