THE ART OF CURRICULUM POLICYWho, What, When, Where, and Why?

The Urgency to Emerge

“He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future.”

~ George Orwell

The Urgency to Emerge

“He who directs the present must understand the past. He who understands the past, must nurture the future.”

Divergent Interests

• What does high quality instruction look like?

• What is an appropriate mechanism to set into place to monitor curriculum and instruction?

• Collaboratively create in concert with one another.

• Lay out the consequences of not providing high quality instruction at the outset.

Monitoring

• Two-way

• Board to hold administration accountable

• Administration to hold board accountable

• Ensuring execution is predicated upon understanding

• On-going, deliberate, informal

Transparency—The Research

• Michael Fullan - “…both inevitable and desirable…”

• Sheila Bethel – “Congruent words and actions gain trust.”

• Warren Bennis – “…to lay our cards on the table.”

• Steven Covey – “…disclose…ahead of time.” • Ken Blanchard – 43% important/41% mistake

Paramount—Responsibility

“The vast possibilities of our great future will become realities only if we make ourselves responsible for that future.”

~ Gifford Pinchot

Governance

“To rule is easy, to govern difficult.”

~ Goethe

*Framework for School Governance

Vision: student achievement

Structure: guidance &

direction

Accountability: measure &

communicates

Advocacy: promotes vision

Unity: teamwork

toward vision

*Adopted by the State Board of Education, January 1996

Revised by the State Board of Education, July 2012

Principles to Guide GovernanceHigh Functioning

• Stability (desire to serve)• Short regular meetings• “Governance Team”• Communicative Board

Chair• Policy focused on student

achievement• Ability to collaborate=trust• Training

Low Functioning

• Personal agendas• Operations focused• Micromanagement• Board openly speaks

against superintendent• Clandestine meetings

between board members and employees

• No vision

Walser, N. (2009). The essential school board book: Better governance in the age of accountability. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press..

POLICY

“It is easier to change the location of a cemetery than to change the local curriculum.”

Woodrow Wilson

From the Top: Superintendents on Instructional Leadership

Comprehensive research study conducted by Education Week, Belden, Russeleno $ Stone (2005) 4 important areas:

1. District leaders on setting the direction of Curriculum and Instruction

2. Effect of NCLB on Leadership

3. Leadership practices on instructional Leadership and Student achievement

4. Barriers to providing Instructional Leadership

Why

If you do not change the direction, you may end up where you are heading.”

Lao Tzu

• Are we equal?• Where are we?• Is everyone capable?• What do we want leaders to do?

How does it happen?• Attended Curriculum Audit Training (CMSI) at TASA.• Researched policies from many districts• Collaborated with Supt. and ILT• Formulated a combination of various policies.—Adopted

By LISD Board of Trustees, July 2012.

Purpose and Scope of Work• Central Office leadership is responsible for developing

and managing the district curriculum operations. • Implementing a guaranteed and viable curriculum and

monitoring fidelity are key drivers in the curriculum management process

• Providing support through building teacher capacity and allocating resources are critical to ensuring an effective curriculum system.

• The overall purpose is to provide an agenda for improvement for all stakeholders: board trustees, administrators, teachers, students, and parents.

Auditing

• Guiding Principles• Objectivity• Independence • Consistency• Materiality• Full Disclosure

• Audit Standards• Control• Direction• Connectivity• Productivity

Findings

• No comprehensive local policy

• Triangulation of goals, resources, and related curriculum policy are not clearly evident.

• Collective faculty and staff efforts and district direction fragmented, and unclear.

• comprehensive curriculum development plan does not exist.

• The absence of district mandated curriculum guides leaves teachers without a planned board-approved focus as they plan their teaching

Who?• Board • Superintendent• Instructional Leadership Team • Campus Principals• Assistant Principals• Teachers• Students

Curriculum Policy EG-Local• If it is not monitored, It’s optional

• Student Performance 2 things• Curriculum• Instruction

• Informs ALL parties – Public, Board, Students, Teachers and Administrators our commitment to education

How to translate success• Board Support• Administrative Commitment• Teacher Commitment• On-going, Comprehensive Professional Development for

ALL Parties• Continual Monitoring• Staying Power