ASD New Core Curriculum Implementation

In the summer of 2010, the Utah State Board of Education voted to adopt the Common Core State Standards developed through the Governor’s Association as the New Utah Core. The Standards were written by a consortium of teachers and state leaders who recognized the need for consistent and rigorous standards among states. These standards have currently been adopted voluntarily by 45 states.

The implementation timeline in Alpine School District is primarily driven by projected operational assessments in the 2014-2015 school year. Although several districts across the state began implementation in the 2011-2012 school year, Alpine School District has chosen to begin implementation in the 2012-2013 school year. This allows teachers and administrators an extra year of training and study to prepare to teach the New Utah Core while still preparing students to be on track to take the end-or-year assessments in 2015.

Secondary English Language Art Implementation and Support Plan

Secondary English Language Arts Core Academy – June 4-6, 2012

The Secondary English Language Arts Core Academy will follow a workshop model that includes explicit instruction and modeling followed by collaboration time.  The three areas of most concern to teachers– increasing text complexity and rigor, teaching informational texts, and teaching argument writing—will receive the greatest amount of time.  Inquiry- or project-based instruction will provide a foundation for the unit planning. 

Essential Question:  How do we engage and challenge all students in a rigorous curriculum so they are prepared for school, college, career, and life success?

Goals of the Core Academy: 

• To reflect on practice in order to deepen understanding of the instructional strategies necessary for all students to be career and college ready.
• To create a connected learning community that unites the strengths of PLC’s and individual teachers by working collaboratively with grade level peers from all schools.

 2012-2013: Sharpening the Focus

Continued study in the areas designated by teachers as areas of greatest concern:  differentiation, teaching argument, integrating technology, text complexity, rigor, vertical alignment, and performance assessment. 

Helpful websites:

Core Standards: http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards/english-language-arts-standards

FAQs: http://www.corestandards.org/frequently-asked-questions

(Source: http://alpineschools.org/news/asd-new-core-curriculum-implementation)