Curriculum Review Stages
Curriculum Review Process
Stage 1: Committee Work
A committee of educators from early childhood through high school is formed to lead the improvement efforts. A broad representation of the educators ensures a focus on the continuum of student learning, specifically through key transitional years including early childhood to kindergarten, 5th grade to 6th grade, and 8th grade to high school.
Goals for Stage 1
- Engage in learning focused on building a strong, shared knowledge base
- Conduct a needs assessment including gathering feedback from staff, students and parents as well as reviewing achievement data
- Identify strengths and areas of need in the current curricular programming
- Identify, review, and select new resources as needed
- Plan for professional development
- Communicate vision for student learning to staff, parents, and community
Stage 2: Implementation of Curriculum Revisions
Once revisions to the curriculum are finalized, typically toward the conclusion of the second year of committee work, the review process transitions into the next phase, implementation. An important outcome of the implementation period is to ensure revisions become regular practice in the curricular area of focus.
Goals for Stage 2
- Fully implement new resources
- Engage in professional development training to support new resources and instructional practices
- Support collaboration between teachers, administrators, and instructional coaches to deepen teachers’ implementation of new resources and to analyze the effect on student learning
- Collect feedback from staff to make adjustments and determine revisions that need to be made in the professional development plan
- Monitor impact on student learning
Stage 3: Monitoring, Evaluating, & Adjusting
Once the implementation of revisions to the curriculum takes place, a multi-year period of monitoring, evaluating, and adjusting as needed for the curricular area commences.
Goals for Stage 3
- Sustain the goal of ensuring the revisions become part of a teacher’s regular practice
- Continuously monitor assessment data to improve instructional practices
- Ensure commitment and alignment to mission and vision
- Make adjustments as needed to bring clarity to instructional practices and refine instructional practices or identify a technology tool or instructional material to supplement the curriculum