Providing all students with a relevant and rigorous curriculum is a dynamic, ever-evolving process that requires a well-thought-out, articulated curriculum management plan. This curriculum management plan needs to be all-encompassing to:
As a recently retired district administrator working in various roles in my career, I have found that there are common threads to successfully implementing and managing curriculum. These common threads include the following:
In working with Eduplanet21, I know that these threads are common to their customers - individual schools and school districts, small or large. Let's dive a little deeper into each of these threads.
Successful schools/districts have a vision and purpose for their school/district in regard to curriculum, with clearly defined goals. A vision statement serves as the foundation to convey the core values, purpose, and focus of the school/district; upon which curriculum goals are established and decisions based.
Successful schools/districts have a comprehensive process for developing their curriculum and units of study that is consistent across all disciplines. A standardized approach details the sequence of student learning outcomes, provides consistency across classrooms, highlights alignment in addition to any gaps or redundancies, and provides transparency to all stakeholders.
Successful schools/districts have a systematic vertical (PK-12) approach to setting up and utilizing their management platform. To produce a formal, coherent curriculum document it is necessary to identify or develop standardized naming conventions, coding, templates, formats, etc., and to provide clear expectations of the requirements and what is optional for all users.
Successful schools/districts have an approach to strive for coherency across all grades and disciplines to ensure clean data for analysis, a polished product for publishing, etc. On-going training, support, and monitoring are essential, so all users understand how to use the platform to meet the expected requirements and with fidelity.
Successful schools/districts have a systematic system to develop, review, and revise their curriculum within the platform over time. Curriculum development is a cyclical process, which needs to be responsive to changes in the educational sector and student learning needs. Hence it is imperative that each discipline engages in a full curriculum review periodically utilizing a predefined process.
A curriculum management platform is just one component to successfully implementing and sustaining your curriculum. And in order to maximize the platform, all other “threads” are essential for success. This is where Eduplanet21 can help!
To assist and support customers with the challenges they might be experiencing in organizing, developing, and implementing their curriculum management plan, I am excited to be working with Eduplanet21 to offer Curriculum Consultation Services.
This service is in addition to the EP21 Customer Success model, providing schools/districts with more expertise, individualization, and assistance in planning to target their needs specifically.
Curriculum Consultation Services are available for all of the essential “threads.” These are areas I have experience with, have successfully maneuvered through in my roles, and can help other organizations with.
Below are samples of the topics and activities that can be supported:
As you think about your curriculum management plan - regardless of where you are in the process - consider the essential threads mentioned in this blog. Are there any threads you could use additional support with? If so, we would love to help.
How to connect with us about Curriculum Consulting Services:
It’s always easy to reflect back, and as someone who played a role in implementing and sustaining Eduplanet21 for many years, establishing this plan was critical to our success. Keeping the focus on establishing a coherent, visible curriculum and having a plan to continuously make improvements and create better learning experiences for our students helps us become better educators.
Eduplanet21 is excited to welcome Dr. Donna Nestler-Rusack to our team. She will be our primary Curriculum Consultant and a valuable resource to our company and customers. Donna is a recently retired Connecticut educator who held various positions during her career. She taught grades 3-12, held building-level administrator positions, and served in different senior leadership roles.
For the last decade, she served as the Assistant Superintendent for Avon Public Schools. Over the course of her career, Donna had the opportunity to work and lead in different districts, providing her with a wide range of academic and socio-economic experiences. Donna is not only a curriculum expert, but she is also an Eduplanet21 “Super User!”