CPSD Curriculum Standard
In the Clintonville Public School District, staff take a personal interest in the success of all their students. Educators are members of collaborative teacher teams, working interdependently to achieve a common goal for which they are mutually accountable.
Equity is of utmost importance in education. Each educator is required to have a clear understanding of what students are expected to learn and how students will be asked to demonstrate their learning. Our collaborative teacher teams have clarified the most essential learning for each grade-level and course 4K -12. The teams are working continuously to ensure all students in the same grade or course have access to the same knowledge and skills.
Common formative assessments will be developed and administered to determine the learning needs of each student. Collaborative teacher teams will analyze the results from these assessments, not only to identify students who are having difficulty, but also to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each team member’s instruction. This process will allow opportunities for teachers to learn and implement the instructional materials, methods, and tools of their colleagues who are getting the best results. This process of continuous improvement will provide an equitable education built on best practices.
Our commitment to equity also means that when some students do not learn the first time, it will not be left to chance or to the discretion of individual teachers to help them. We utilize and continue to improve upon a systematic intervention process to monitor student learning on a timely basis that ensures that students receive additional time and support for learning in a consistent and directive way as soon as they experience difficulty. This process requires that teachers report student progress accurately and often regarding the skill or concept the student is not proficient in. Targeted intervention is planned and implemented based on students’ area(s) of need. Progress monitoring and additional assessments provide evidence of intervention success.
Every collaborative team is expected to develop and pursue SMART goals to drive the continuous improvement process of the district. Each SMART goal will be aligned with one of the school goals, be focused on results that require evidence of student learning, and will call for a contribution from every member of the team in order to be achieved.
One of the most powerful forms of professional development we experience is the ongoing, job-embedded learning that takes place among teammates as they work together to meet the needs of all their students. Days set aside for professional development in the school calendar are reserved for collaborative curriculum planning and progress towards our district and school goals. In addition to district-provided professional development, each teacher is required to submit evidence of 16 professional learning hours outside of their contracted days to improve their teaching practice.
Four Critical Questions of Learning
All curriculum development and continuous improvement action steps originate from one of these critical questions.
1. What do we expect students to learn?
2. How do we know they are learning it?
3. How do we respond when they do not learn?
4. How do we respond when they have already learned?
Curriculum Vision
Focus on Student Learning - Teachers examine their practices from the perspective of impact on student learning. We continue to improve our systematic processes for intervention and enrichments.
A Collaborative Culture - Teachers work in high performing teams and take collective responsibility for all students' learning, rather than working in isolation. They see students as "our students" not "mine" or "yours".
Focus on Results - Teachers assess their effectiveness based on student results. They use the information to improve their individual practice and build the collaborative team's capacity to ensure high student achievement.
