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Curriculum Adoption
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Below are the final math and ELA curricula adopted by RPS for the 2020-2021 school year.
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What is Curriculum?
- At RPS, we define curriculum as the universal foundation for what is taught, and what students learn, at each grade level (for each subject) PK-12. Curriculum includes the learning standards and goes beyond textbooks or traditional state-developed standards (like Virginia’s Standards of Learning) which are generally too broad or require individual interpretation, resulting in students learning different topics at different paces.
- Unlike a textbook, which serves as a reference tool with some learning exercises spread throughout chapters, a curriculum enables teachers to offer students a more comprehensive learning experience by providing teachers with:
- Scope and Sequence, which paces concepts containing knowledge and skills to be addressed.
- Units of instruction that group together knowledge and skills with instructional tasks/experiences that allow for the development, application, and use of knowledge and skills. Units range from three to six weeks and may end in assessment.
- Daily Lessons which give a range of tools and strategies to support the learning toward the goals.
- Assessments that include the reasons for and methods to assess student learning and academic progress.
- Instructional Resources, including the texts, media, and tools that are used for teaching and learning.
- These five components of curriculum create the universal foundation for what every RPS student is expected to learn each year in each subject, so they are well-prepared to reach their full potential.
- There is plenty of research that emphasizes the importance of curriculum. A strong curriculum boosts student learning and a weak one can actually cause students to lose ground (Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy, 2017). Absent a high-quality curriculum, a division cannot adequately guarantee standards-aligned, high quality tasks being given to students (Ed Trust, 2018).
Why Curriculum?
- Our RPS student achievement data show that our students need more support to meet proficiency expectations.
- RPS most recently adopted new curriculum in 2014 for math and in 2015 for ELA. New Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs) were implemented for math in the 2018-2019 school year and english language arts in the 2019-2020 school year. RPS needs new curricula to align what we are teaching our students to the standards that they are being expected to learn.
- A high-quality curriculum is a lever for equity. It helps us as educators standardize what is an appropriate level of rigor for students based on grade level and enables all students to reach grade-level proficiency.
- More than ever with COVID, there is unfinished learning and a common curriculum is one way to address the wide variety of gaps that students will have once they return to next school year.
- In our Dreams4RPS Strategic Plan, priorities 1.2 and 1.3 expect that we will adopt a K-8 ELA and math curricula that will ignite rigorous and exciting teaching and learning.
Plans for Success
Phase I (May 18- May 30)
- Curriculum Previews
- Principal Meetings around Implementation Plans
- Readiness Discussions
- Community Engagement
Phase II (June - July)
- Virtual Professional Learning options (for administrators, coaches, and teachers)
- Monthly coaching trainings
- Bi-weekly Principal meetings/trainings
- Monthly strategic planning and alignment meetings
- Ordering of all materials
Phase III (August - June)
- Virtual Professional Learning during DWPL days
- Monthly coaches capacity training
- Coaches Curriculum training (Coaches Corner/Coaches Turnkey)
- Monthly Cluster Meetings
- Monthly Master Classes
- Monthly Learning Walks
- Monthly Strategic Planning sessions