EAST HARTFORD PUBLIC SCHOOLS’ Post

During the 2023-24 school year, TNTP trained instructional coaches and 8th-grade math teachers at Van Horn Middle School. Thanks to the support from All Points North Foundation, TNTP Senior Manager of Academics Ranmali DeSilva made monthly visits to the campus for in-depth hands-on coaching, allowing us the opportunity to continue sowing seeds for every young person to access pathways to academic, economic, and social mobility. Directors Allison Corrales and Sondra McCoy said those in-person visits provided a sense of accountability for their team: "It's not here's the information, this is what we expect you to do," Corrales said. "It's here's the information. This is what should happen, and I'll be back in a couple of months to follow up on that." As a result, the school saw a difference in the classroom environments. In fact, 100% of teachers across the campus reported having high expectations of their students, up from 40% in the previous year, increasing students' access to rigorous Algebra I coursework and opportunities for advanced math courses in high school! Learn more about the role of instructional coherence in learning acceleration in TNTP’s instructional toolkit: https://ow.ly/lXiS50Qy1pP Learn more about All Points North Foundation: https://bit.ly/3Xf9dZH [2] #StudentsFirst #AllPointsNorthFoundation #Partnership 

Quality instructional materials help teachers know "what" to teach, but ongoing collaboration and professional learning are essential to the "how." We're seeing the power of this now in Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), as educators and leaders work to demystify mathematics through ongoing professional learning tied to the Illustrative Mathematics curriculum. Over the past year, there has been a significant improvement in the effective use of the curriculum, with a majority of teachers reporting increased confidence. Learn how you can make similar moves:  https://hubs.la/Q02lF6Wt0

From article: "The board, which is slated to vote on the new courses Monday night, has been embroiled in controversy over its moves to reshape curriculum. After voting in December to reduce social studies requirements at the high school, the board moved to incorporate the Hillsdale curriculum. The 3,200-page curriculum, available for free online, has been pushed by the college amid conservative opposition to equity efforts and the New York Times’ 1619 Project. But historians have criticized it as ideologically driven; Princeton historian Sean Wilentz told The Inquirer the Hillsdale curriculum “fundamentally distorts modern American history into a crusade of righteous conservative patriots against heretical big-government liberals.” and "Underlying the conflict was disagreement over the Hillsdale curriculum, and to what extent teachers would have to use it. As she presented the social studies courses, Vitale said that while the 1776 Curriculum was listed as a “required” teacher resource, teachers would still have discretion as to how they used it. If that’s the case, asked Jonathan Russell, a board member opposed to Vermilion, why was the curriculum described as required? “You’re using it as a framework,” Blomgren said, adding that if it wasn’t listed as “required,” then “no teacher is even going to look at it.” Almost all of the community members who addressed the board opposed the curriculum changes. Some said they were troubled by what they had read in the Hillsdale curriculum. Hillsdale’s curriculum for third to fifth graders refers to Jamestown’s “original experiment with a form of communism,” which “helped produce a disastrous first year and a half for the fledgling settlement,” noted Stephanie Regina, reading from the curriculum." https://lnkd.in/gHVNwxzA #socialstudies #curriculum #pennsylvania #pennridge

“If my students can be better people at the end of their time with me in some way, shape, or form, then that’s the real goal for me as a teacher. The Decision Education Teacher Fellowship is a community of people who feel like teaching is more than just giving out information, and I appreciate that.” The Decision Education Teacher Fellow Spotlight series continues! For our latest blog post, we spoke with Year 2 fellow Yanique Sears. Give it a read! https://lnkd.in/g7Ssk3DB

Here's how to give your feedback on Texas Education Agency's proposed curriculum for public school

It can be challenging for principals to provide effective feedback to teachers in a school's various content areas and programs. This blog provides guidance on giving actionable feedback to STEM teachers. Link follows: https://lnkd.in/egdZe-t4

Great article from Kathryn Solow of THE GOYEN FOUNDATION INC that showcases the dichotomy of curriculum and teacher voice. The Goyen Foundation's literacy fellowship is doing very important work! Here is one of my favorite lines in the article. "Your implementation will fail if teachers are not included in curriculum related decisions. So: how do you meaningfully include them? It’s going to require time, money, patience, and lots of respectful and responsive conversation, but here are four ideas for districts, schools leaders, and curriculum companies to help support the process. This is not an implementation plan -- but hopefully it’s a way of thinking that will help you as you make one."

From article: "The demand for K-12 curriculum on the lived experiences of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders has grown nationally in the last three years, with at least five states passing legislation requiring such instruction. In Connecticut, a state law passed in May 2022 required that a K-8 AAPI curriculum be taught in public schools by the 2025-26 school year. That fall, Jason Oliver Chang, an associate professor of history and Asian and Asian American studies at the University of Connecticut, put together a curriculum lab with peers, school teachers, and high school students. Members of the curriculum lab developed model lessons and professional development plans that the state department of education can use when building the K-8 curriculum. The materials, delivered to the state agency on Jan. 15, are aligned with state social studies standards revised last fall. This is intended to help teachers incorporate AAPI studies more easily while also meeting state standards. “What we’re hearing from some teachers is that they often struggle with getting students to understand the standards because the materials they’re using, the texts that they’re using, are either abstract, or have a different relevance, and so there’s an added sort of translational work that needs to happen in the classroom to talk about how to get to the standards and learning objectives,” Chang said. Now the curriculum lab is working with local schools to pilot the lessons. “We know that this is going to be a kind of forever project and that we will be continuously working to improve and expand and deepen lessons,” Chang added. Through the model lesson plans, Chang and others in the curriculum lab hope that teachers and students can better connect with local AAPI communities in a culturally relevant way and students can learn skills required by state standards. In the meantime, Chang is also working on certifying high school teachers to teach his introduction to Asian American studies course in high school for dual credit as part of the University of Connecticut’s Early College Experience program." https://lnkd.in/gned8C5i #socialstudies #curriculum #aapicommunity #connecticut

High Schools talk about ensuring students are college and career-ready, but unfortunately, they do not always do what is necessary to make that happen within the constraints of K-12 districts. We need to lobby to make our school boards and district administrators recognize they are not teaching skills that will help these students. There is a disconnect between state/district mandates, political pressure within and outside schools, and helping our students become independent critical thinkers. As a parent, I want my children to come out of High School with the requisite skills to adjust, continually improve and reflect. The math teacher in me wants every student to know every concept that has historically been included in math curriculums, but this is ignorant. I have come to accept and endorse the fact that we often teach antiquated topics that no longer give any value to utilizing STEM in 2023 and beyond. Why is grammar not taught in our school any longer with fidelity? These are two examples of many that we need to discuss with our educational leaders.

Black students in Fort Worth ISD still struggle to read at grade level. Black students in Fort Worth ISD score lower in reading compared with other groups and Black students in Aldine, Dallas and Houston districts. https://lnkd.in/g-it3iTn #fortworthreport #students #lowscore #reading