Annual Curriculum Cycle

Annual Curriculum Cycle
Developed by James M. Merrins, Superintendent (1983-1995), Fredonia Central School District

The annual curriculum cycle is to capture and bring the best curriculum ideas before the educational decision maker in an orderly, timely manner for planning, budgeting and implementation.

Basic STEPS (fall semester of each school year)

Submission of Preliminary Curriculum Proposals (PCP)

Interdisciplinary Subcommittees review of PCPs

Superintendent and Board review and sorting of PCPs

Development of full Curriculum Proposals (CP) including costing

Educator ranking of CPs

Superintendent endorsement and Board funding consideration

NOTE - This annual curriculum cycle is for a school district of 2,000 students, with an Assistant Superintendent for Instruction (Curriculum), and a large Curriculum Council (administrators and instructional leaders). This cycle can be modified to meet the needs (size, administrator configuration, etc.) of a larger or smaller school district.

Main PLAYERS (possible substitute roles in a small school district)

Board of Education (None)

Superintendent of Schools (None)

Assistant Superintendent for Instruction (Building Principal or the Superintendent)

Interdisciplinary Subcommittee - the building administrator, at least one sponsor of the preliminary proposal, and at least one teacher from an instructional area not directly affected by the preliminary proposal (None)

Curriculum Council - a group composed of all administrators, department chairs, and grade-level representatives that meets monthly to discuss curriculum. (Administrative council or all the teachers)

Impact Team - a group recommended by the Interdisciplinary Subcommittee, and approved by the Superintendent, composed of administrators and teachers impacted by the Curriculum Proposal and charged with overseeing the Curriculum Proposal development (Use the Interdisciplinary Subcommittee, or eliminate this step)

STEP BY STEP

1. Preliminary Curriculum Proposals (PCP)

a. Preliminary Curriculum Proposals for curriculum changes to be implemented in the next school year are due in the office of the Assistant Superintendent by the first Monday in November.

b. Preliminary Curriculum Proposals may be submitted by any teacher, administrator, and/or board member.

c. Preliminary Curriculum Proposals must be submitted on the form provided by the Assistant Superintendent.

d. Prior to preparation of a Preliminary Curriculum Proposal, sponsors should consider the following questions:

1) What is the educational problem to be addressed? Why does this problem exist? Why does it need to be solved?
2) What is the environment in which this problem exists?
          a) What are the facts?
          b) What assumptions have been made?
          c) What criteria should the desired results meet?
3) What alternatives have been considered?
4) What solution is recommended?
5) What plan will be used to implement the solution?

e. Sponsors of PCPs should review both the NYS Standards and the District Goals for supportive correlation to their proposal. Preliminary Curriculum Proposals that support NYS Standards and/or the District Goals are encouraged.

f. Preliminary Curriculum Proposals must include a statement of the educational problem, the changes to be implemented, the student population to be impacted, and the expected educational outcomes on the forms provided

g. Initial narrative development of the Preliminary Curriculum Proposal request may be discussed with the Assistant Superintendent.

h. Sponsors of a Preliminary Curriculum Proposals should discuss its effects on the curriculum with:

1) Staff members affected by the request.
2) Building administrators.
3) Instructional leaders.

i. The Assistant Superintendent will review all Preliminary Curriculum Proposals for completion of the required information and will work with sponsors to help them complete and/or clarify information in the proposal.

j. The Assistant Superintendent will prepare a complete list of the titles of the Preliminary Curriculum Proposals, re-titling if necessary in order to maintain structural parallelism in titles.

2. Interdisciplinary Subcommittees Review

a. At the first November Curriculum Council meeting the Assistant Superintendent will distribute the total list of Preliminary Curriculum Proposals.

b. The Assistant Superintendent will distribute Preliminary Curriculum Proposals and subcommittee recommendation forms to building administrators with copies of their staffs’ preliminary proposals.

c. Each Preliminary Curriculum Proposal will be reviewed by a subcommittee, chaired and assigned by the building principal primarily in charge of the impacted area of the curriculum. Subcommittees will consist of:

1) The building administrator.
2) At least one sponsor of the preliminary proposal.
3) At least one teacher from an instructional area not directly affected by the preliminary proposal.

d. Each subcommittee will:

1) Review the merits of its assigned Preliminary Curriculum Proposal.
2) Discuss and detail those grade levels, departments and/or individuals impacted by the Preliminary Curriculum Proposal.
3) Recommend the composition of the Impact Committee to review the final curriculum proposal prior to its submission to the Board of Education.

e. For each Preliminary Curriculum Proposal the subcommittee will recommend: continued development, delayed development, or cessation of development.

f. Subcommittee recommendations will be completed and returned to the Assistant Superintendent by the first Friday in December.

3. Superintendent and Board of Education Review

a. The Assistant Superintendent will prepare all Preliminary Curriculum Proposals for Superintendent and Board of Education review at the December Board workshop meeting.

b. Based on the Superintendent’s recommendation and Board of Education’s action, sponsors of Preliminary Curriculum Proposals will be asked to do one of the following:

1) Continue development of their proposal.
2) Modify and then continue development.
3) Postpone development of their proposal.

c. The Superintendent and Board’s rationale for its recommendations will be communicated to the sponsors of the preliminary request in a written communication from the Assistant Superintendent.

4. Development of Curriculum Proposals (CP)

Superintendent and Board approved Preliminary Curriculum Proposals shall be developed as full Curriculum Proposals by the Impact Team using the format and forms provided by the Assistant Superintendent.

b. Curriculum Proposals must reflect all budgetary impacts (summer curriculum work,
staffing, major equipment and/or major needs) for the following fiscal year.

c. No later than the second Monday in January, the Impact Committee must submit the
fully developed curriculum proposals to the Assistant Superintendent following
development.

5. Ranking of Curriculum Proposals

a. The Assistant Superintendent will prepare final Curriculum Proposals for Curriculum Council review at its January meeting. Curriculum Proposals will be given to Curriculum Council members one week prior to the meeting.

b. Following final questions of clarification regarding proposals, Curriculum Council members will rank the Curriculum Proposals, ranking the proposal with greatest merit as number one and continuing with the numerical ranking with all proposals.

6. Effects of Curriculum Proposals

a. The Assistant Superintendent will prepare a rank-ordered, budgetary summary of all curriculum proposals, which shall contain the following:

1) Effects of the proposals on staffing.
2) Requests for summer curriculum work.
3) Requests for supplies and Equipment.

b. The Assistant Superintendent will notify all members of Curriculum Council and sponsors of curriculum proposals of the results of the ranking prior to submission of the proposals to the Board of Education.

c. The ranking of the Curriculum Council will be given to the Board at its regular February workshop meeting for consideration of funding in the following fiscal year.

d. Following Board consideration of Curriculum Proposals at its February and March workshop meetings, the Assistant Superintendent will notify members of the Curriculum Council and sponsors of the Curriculum Proposals of the Board’s decisions regarding funding of their proposals.