SPS alignment article in Queen Anne and Magnolia News

[jmpewitt]

link: http://www.queenannenews.com/main.asp?SectionID=26&SubSectionID=248&ArticleID=29037

9/9/2009

Seattle Schools to build uniformity

Standardization of curriculum to end

By Jessica Van Gilder

With the Language Arts Adoption Curriculum Alignment for grades 9-12
taking effect this year, the Seattle Public Schools District aims to
close the achievement gap by upgrading curriculum to college-ready
standards and reducing the amount of site-based decisions that
fragmented the district for years, said a school district spokesman.

"Previously we had a lot of site-based decision making taking place at
each of our schools. There wasn't a consistent district-wide set of
standards or content that was being taught," said spokesman David
Tucker. "If you don't have an aligned curriculum then you're going to
have kids with different skill sets and different content knowledge."

Site-based decisions meant different texts for the same course at
different schools, meaning teachers could not collaborate on lesson
plans or strategies. The individualistic system also enabled
achievement gaps to sprout throughout the district.

According to Kathleen Vasquez, High School Language Arts Adoption
Coordinator, 46 percent of the district's high-school graduates who
enter into community or technical colleges have to take a remedial
core class. The realignment targets the site-based management that
Vasquez explained as "schools kind of operating like their own city
with their own mayor, creating their own curriculum, choosing their
own books."

Standardization, without micro-management?

The new curriculum synchronizes standards across the district, not day-
to-day lesson plans - an important distinction for wary teachers.

"We're not saying on Sept. 22 you're going to be doing this. We're
saying here's what all students in ninth-grade language arts should
know and be able to do," Vasquez said. "We're not saying we're
selecting all the books for you, we're saying here is the minimum
requirement across the district for all kids and then there's room to
add to that."

Currently, the core booklist is still being developed. But at this
point, an example of how the realignment works is that at least one
book per semester for the languages arts classes would have to be a
core novel that all teachers use.

Though standardizing generally raises red flags, a standardization of
core curriculum to the College Board Standards for College Success
ideally means students - no matter which school they attend - graduate
with the same knowledge-base. Until this year, disciplines were
aligned to minimum state and national standards.

Establishing

educational equity

"We want every child in every school to graduate with the same high
education," Tucker said. "We don't want to have disparities with
standards in the district and in skill sets of students that
graduate."

Furthermore, the realignment does not affect the curriculum of
international baccalaureate or advanced placement programs, which
already operate with program-specific college-ready standards. And the
realignment does not mean the elimination of specialty classes - like
Shakespearean literature or poetry.

"What we're talking about right now are core courses we believe
students should have access to from grades 9-12 but we absolutely
encourage schools to maintain electives," Vasquez said.

And the district is looking at ways an elective course can qualify as
a core replacement, Vasquez added. There may be potential for elective
classes to fill the same requirements, as long as they uphold the
college-ready standards of the district.

A 'work in progress'

As the teachers and students adjust to an aligned curriculum, debate
continues on some aspects, particularly the Common Assessments. The
SPS Web site states this portion of the alignment, "In addition to
measuring student progress, guiding teachers' instruction, and
focusing student learning, common assessments will also inform
building improvement and district-wide decisions pertaining to
curriculum and instruction."

"That is a work in a progress," Vasquez said. "We're really not ready
to even get there yet. What we need to do now is really have clarity
around the standards and how we get there. That's this year's bulk of
work. Then the following year we can really look at what those
assessments will look like."

While this year's focus addresses high school curriculum, this type of
realignment will eventually trickle down to middle and elementary
schools - further establishing a horizontal and vertical alignment.
Not only will classes taught in the district maintain the same
standards, but preceding classes will also align to those standards so
students would hypothetically receive the necessary preparations to
successfully matriculate and perform at the next level.

"The purpose is to ensure that all students across the district have
access to a rigorous curriculum and, we're very interested in closing
that achievement gap so that's our purpose when we talk about an
aligned curriculum," Vasquez said. "It's to ensure equity of access to
a rigorous curriculum that enables students to be successful in
college careers and life."