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In order to improve student achievement, maintain educational excellence, and to incorporate current research in the area of curriculum, the following procedures will be used to develop and propose adoption of curriculum, course descriptions, and courses of study.
It is often likely that the three processes of curriculum development and adoption, evaluation of instructional programs, and the selection of instructional materials/methods will be interdependent. While the sequence of these three may not always be the same, typically it will proceed with:
1. The adoption of new curriculum, course descriptions, and/or courses of study (often prompted by the adoption of new standards for student learning by the State of Maine)
2. A program evaluation to execute a gap analysis between the new curriculum/course descriptions/course of study, and current instructional and assessment materials and methods
3. The selection of new materials and/or methods to eliminate a potential gap as identified in the program evaluation
Roles and Responsibilities
The Board is responsible for receiving, reviewing, and approving curriculum, course descriptions, and course of study proposals from the Board’s Curriculum Committee and Superintendent.
The Board’s Curriculum Committee shall review and provide input to the Superintendent’s/Assistant Superintendent’s recommendations and the respective curriculum review team’s reports.
The Assistant Superintendent is responsible for the oversight of the curriculum review process including establishing review teams, reviewing and approving proposals from the teams, reporting to the Board’s Curriculum Committee, developing a communication plan to support the curriculum review and implementation process, and developing supporting budgets.
The Superintendent/Assistant Superintendent is responsible, in partnership with building administration, for monitoring and reporting on student achievement in approved courses and courses of study and for bringing final recommendations for any changes (additions, deletions, adjustments) to the Board’s Curriculum Committee and full Board.
Curriculum Review Teams
To ensure that the District’s curriculum is aligned to Maine’s system of standards for student learning, periodic reviews of our learning expectations will be completed. In order to have a variety of stakeholders included in the review, review teams shall be formed as follows:
- Minimum of two educators each from grade span (K-5, 6-8, and 9-12)
- Minimum of one administrator each from grade span (K-5, 6-8, and 9-12)
- Minimum of one representative each from special education, adult education and English Learners support, when appropriate
- Minimum of one District administrator
Curriculum review teams shall perform a content area-specific curriculum review that, at a minimum, includes the following tasks:
- Identify the standards (learning expectations) currently adopted in law by the State of Maine as part of its system of standards for student learning
- Address how the standards align sequentially from kindergarten to diploma
- If the standards sufficiently support grade-level, grade-span, and/or kindergarten to diploma pathways, the standards shall act as the curriculum for the respective content area.
- If the standards do not sufficiently support grade-level, grade-span, and/or kindergarten to diploma pathways, a district articulation will be proposed, and this shall be the curriculum.
- Describe any potential professional development needs associated with implementing the proposed curriculum
- Develop an accountability and monitoring system for measuring the effectiveness of implementing the curriculum
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Reporting
Once a review team has completed its work, it shall prepare a written proposal that includes recommendations, which shall be presented to the Superintendent. When the Superintendent approves of the proposed curriculum, he/she shall present, with the Assistant Superintendent, the proposal to the Board’s Curriculum Committee.
Once the Board’s Curriculum Committee has reviewed the proposal and recommendations, the Superintendent/Assistant Superintendent shall make a presentation to the full Board. Depending upon the circumstances, the Board may approve recommended revisions; approve continuance of the existing curriculum/course description/course of study; request that a program evaluation team be convened (in accordance with Board policy IL – Evaluation of Instructional Programs); and/or request that an instructional materials selection team be convened (in accordance with Board IJJ Selection of Instructional Materials).
In addition, on an annual basis, the Superintendent/Assistant Superintendent will provide the Board with an annual report on the District’s curricula. This report may include:
- Status update of curricular implementation
- Forecasting of initiatives relative to developments at the state or national level relative to new standards, assessments, rules, or statute
- Student achievement data relative to local, state and/or national results
BOARD REVIEW: March 14, 2013