By Robyn Meadows
Published Jun 20, 2005 12:55
It has taken more than a year to prepare, but it’s ready for fall.
“Personally, it is a triumph on behalf of the committee who worked on this tirelessly, and also the superintendent and the school board who supported it,” said Rose Sampson, who is the assistant superintendent of curriculum.
The board will vote on the districtwide literacy curriculum at 7 p.m. Tuesday at McCaskey High School, 445 N. Reservoir St.
The vote is a formality to let the public know what to expect come September, said board member Veronica Urdaneta, who worked on the curriculum as chairwoman of the education committee.
“This is a first step,” Urdaneta said. “There’s more to be done.”
Math and science curricula will soon be ready and social studies will follow, officials said.
The purpose of a curriculum is to provide the same units of study for every grade level at every school.
“It ensures that there is continuity from school to school,” Sampson said.
For example, in unit 2, a sixth-grader from Wheatland Middle School will learn how to share theories about a book’s characters and their motives, and so will a sixth-grader from Hand Middle School.
That way if Johnny and Sue switch schools in the district, the “what” and “how” they learn won’t change, just the learning location.
“We have one of the highest mobility rates in the state,” said board president Pat Dixon. It’s about 60-70 percent, she said.
And new teachers will reap the benefits, said Diane Fisher, principal of Lincoln Middle School.
“When a new teacher comes in, there will be no guess work” about what to teach and how to teach it, Fisher said.
The curriculum also addresses the district’s diversity.
Every kindergarten through eighth-grade classroom will have a library stocked with multi-cultural literature and books that reach students on various reading levels.
“We have to make sure that our kids are reading the right material that is appropriate for their age,” Urdaneta said.
It will also address state and national standards.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education does not require that the state’s 501 districts have a unified curriculum, just that districts meet state standards. But many do have districtwide curriculums.
“It’s more common than not,” said PDE spokesman Brian Christopher.
Even Philadelphia, the state’s largest district, has one.
“It was only places like Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Allentown that didn’t (have them),” he said, but they have returned to that standard in recent years.
Oh, and parents, pay attention. You play a part in your child’s education.
The district has published a handbook that will outline what children should know at each grade level.
Some examples of grade-level expectations:
Third-graders will read books independently with 95 percent accuracy.
Sixth-graders will identify story elements: plot, climax, antagonist, protagonist and conflict.
Ninth-, 10th- and 11th-graders will compare, contrast and analyze cultural values, norms, stereotypes, beliefs and symbolism within and across several pieces of fiction.
Students might examine stereotypes in “Of Mice and Men” and “The House on Mango Street.”
The handbook also gives parents suggestions on what they can do to participate in their children’s education.
For example, parents of fifth-graders should read aloud with their child at least 15 minutes daily and have their child read independently for at least 20 minutes.
Parents should engage in conversations with their children about what they are reading and consider hosting a “Book Club” for their child and friends.
The curriculum, however, is not finished.
As it’s put in place, officials and teachers will shape, hone and build upon it.
“It’s a living, breathing document,” Dixon said.
