K-8 Math and ELA Curricula Proposal for Adoption Presented by: Tracy Epp, Chief Academic Officer Venue: Richmond City School Board Meeting (Virtual) Date: May 18, 2020 Richmond Public Schools | 301 North 9 th Street | Richmond, VA | www.rvaschools.net
K-8 Math and ELA LA Curricula: Proposal for Adoption Part I The “What” & “Why” of Curriculum 2 Richmond Public Schools | May 18, 2020
K-8 Math and ELA LA Curricula: Proposal for Adoption What exactly is a curriculum? A curriculum goes beyond standards or even textbooks. It is a comprehensive set of resources that frees teachers to focus on teaching, not content creation. We do not currently have this at RPS. A high-quality curriculum provides: • A scope and sequence that articulates a roadmap for the year, often made explicit in the form of a pacing guide; • Units of instruction that group instructional tasks and experiences that culminate in not only the acquisition of knowledge and skills but the application and authentic use of them; • Daily lessons that give a range of tools and strategies to support student learning; • Assessments that align to grade-level standards and check for student learning; • Instructional resources that include texts, media, and other tools; and • Professional development that is tailored to the content being taught and that helps teachers support all learners, especially English learners and students with IEPs. 3 Richmond Public Schools | May 18, 2020
K-8 Math and ELA LA Curricula: Proposal for Adoption Why is a high-quality curriculum critical for students ? Our primary responsibility as a school system is to prepare all children for success in college and career, and equip them with the knowledge, skills, and mindsets they need to pursue their fullest potential. A high-quality curriculum is essential for this. • A high-quality curriculum sets the foundation for what students should master at each grade level, preparing them for each subsequent stage of their education journey. Put another way: what happens in 2nd grade affects what happens in 6th grade, and so on. • A high-quality curriculum is written by master teachers and curriculum experts who deeply understand the progression of learning. Following this progression is critical if students are to develop lifelong understanding, not fleeting mastery. • A high-quality curriculum sets high expectations and provides meaningful learning experiences for students that intellectually engage their minds and truly prepare them for college and career. • As the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy noted in a 2017 paper: “The research base is unequivocal: a strong curriculum boosts student learning and a weak one can actually cause students to lose ground.” (See data on next slide.) 4 Richmond Public Schools | May 18, 2020
K-8 Math and ELA LA Curricula: Proposal for Adoption Why is a high-quality curriculum critical for students ? Source: The Opportunity Myth (2018) 5 Richmond Public Schools | May 18, 2020
K-8 Math and ELA LA Curricula: Proposal for Adoption Why is a high-quality curriculum critical for teachers ? Respecting teachers means – at a minimum – giving them the tools they need to do their jobs effectively. One of the most essential tools is a high-quality curriculum. • A great curriculum means a teacher doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel. Instead, she has a coherent, comprehensive, and research-based set of resources to guide her work. This frees time to focus on adapting – rather than designing – resources for her particular students. • Turning again to the 2017 Johns Hopkins paper: “When a school division fails to adopt and consistently support a high-quality curriculum, teachers lose the essential foundation from which they design and deliver instruction. At best, teachers are left to their own devices to figure this out…and at worst, what students learn day to day, classroom by classroom, year to year, is highly variable.” 6 Richmond Public Schools | May 18, 2020
K-8 Math and ELA LA Curricula: Proposal for Adoption Why is a high-quality curriculum critical for teachers ? 7 Richmond Public Schools | May 18, 2020
K-8 Math and ELA LA Curricula: Proposal for Adoption Why is a high-quality curriculum critical for equity ? If we’re truly going to pursue equity, we must ensure that EVERY RPS student in EVERY classroom has access to the same high-quality curriculum. • The Education Trust, a nonprofit whose mission is to close opportunity gaps that disproportionately affect students of color and students from low-income families, found in a 2018 study that, absent a high-quality curriculum, school districts struggle to ensure that all students have access to high-quality instructional materials. This negative consequence disproportionately affects children from low-income families and children of color. • Another recent study called The Opportunity Myth showed that students of color and students living in poverty experience significant differences in what they are exposed to academically. They found that students in mostly white classrooms were three times as likely to be exposed to academic assignments that met grade-level expectations than students in classrooms composed primarily of students of color – despite the fact that the two groups tend to perform similarly on such assignments. (See data on next two slides.) 8 Richmond Public Schools | May 18, 2020
K-8 Math and ELA LA Curricula: Proposal for Adoption Why is a high-quality curriculum critical for equity ? Source: The Opportunity Myth (2018) 9 Richmond Public Schools | May 18, 2020
K-8 Math and ELA LA Curricula: Proposal for Adoption Why is a high-quality curriculum critical for equity ? Source: The Opportunity Myth (2018) 10 Richmond Public Schools | May 18, 2020
K-8 Math and ELA LA Curricula: Proposal for Adoption Part II The Curriculum Adoption Process 11 Richmond Public Schools | May 18, 2020
K-8 Math and ELA LA Curricula: Proposal for Adoption Review and Feedback Curriculum Committee RFP Evaluation Committee Community Feedback • Comprised of teachers, school- • Comprised of teachers, school- • Held four community meetings for based coaches, principals, parents, based coaches, principals, parents, teacher and family feedback and division instructional staff and division instructional staff • At each of the meetings, the • Developed the criteria for the RFP • Evaluated all proposals against the finalists presented key features of scoring rubric scoring rubric their curriculum, showed samples, and responded to questions • Reviewed finalists and provided • Selected finalists • Meeting participants were feedback to the Evaluation • Reviewed and considered input Committee encouraged to submit feedback from the Curriculum Committee, via online survey the Community Conversations, and the Curriculum Website 12 Richmond Public Schools | May 18, 2020
K-8 Math and ELA LA Curricula: Proposal for Adoption What the Curriculum Committee Prioritized (General) The Curriculum Committee prioritized curriculum that: • Is based on rigorous, grade-level content; • Includes instructional strategies that address the 5 C’s (collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, communication, and citizenship); • Shows alignment to the Virginia Standards of Learning; • Has lessons that include suggestions for scaffolding and enrichment; • Embeds assessments to monitor formative and summative student progress; • Provides opportunities to assess students’ mastery of content through standards-aligned performance tasks; • Includes digital availability, with ease of downloading and editing, including the ability to make pacing/sequencing adjustments and connections to standards; and • Provides an analysis detailing the strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum in terms of instructional planning and support. 13 Richmond Public Schools | May 18, 2020
K-8 Math and ELA LA Curricula: Proposal for Adoption What the Curriculum Committee Prioritized (Content-Specific) Mathematics English Language Arts • Includes concrete, representation, and abstract math • Spends majority of whole group instruction on reading, strategies; writing, and speaking about text; • Incorporates the explicit use of mathematics • Includes complex texts written on or above grade level vocabulary; to build comprehension, develop conceptual knowledge, and build academic vocabulary; • Builds student’s computational fluency, conceptual mastery, critical thinking, and mathematical reasoning; • Teaches literacy standards through a meaningful connection to science, social science, and literature; • Provides for gradual release while promoting independent thinking and learning; and • Has a balance between fiction and non-fiction texts; • Is vertically-aligned to enable readiness for Algebra 1 • Represents authors of diverse backgrounds; by the 8th grade. • Enables students to critically analyze texts; and • Includes systematic phonics approach for K-2. 14 Richmond Public Schools | May 18, 2020
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