Curriculum & Instruction Update

On behalf of the Curriculum and Instruction Office, welcome to the 2011–12 school year!  The Curriculum and Instruction Office is excited about the teaching and learning opportunities that are available to staff and students this school year.  The following articles, provided by each District Instructional Supervisor, shares with you information about the content area(s) they supervise.  I will provide you an overview of several district-wide initiatives that will be implemented during the 2011-2012 school year.

You will notice a math focus across the district.  A report by the district’s Curriculum and Achievement Gap Committee will guide the district’s action plan to address math instruction.  The committee has identified four target areas:  math instruction, teacher professional development, home support of mathematics instruction, and helping all students succeed (achievement gap).

This begins by providing a comprehensive math instructional program in Grades K–12.  We will continue supporting the implementations of the new Investigations math curriculum in Grades K-3 and the Connected math in Grades 6-8.  The Grades 4-5 math classes will implement Investigations in September.  A full year (2 semesters) Algebra I course will be offered to Grade 9 students.  Our teachers participated in several math-related workshops this summer and additional workshops are planned for the school year.  Several grade levels will introduce ongoing benchmark assessments to provide teachers with information about their students’ understanding of math concepts so they may design instruction to meet the needs of all learners.  All students will have access to online resources to reinforce math concepts taught in school.  Developmentally-appropriate interactive websites will be posted on the district website.  The middle school students will continue with the Study Island online practice.  The district will sponsor family math nights to connect parents with the math instruction being provided to their children.  The Curriculum and Achievement Gap Committee PowerPoint presented at the June Board of Education meeting is available on the district’s Curriculum and Instruction website.

Our dedicated teaching staff has participated in nearly 300 “seats” of summer professional development.  We have staff members participating in professional development workshops at Rider University, such as Web 2.0, a four-week intensive National Writing Project workshop, as well as district-sponsored workshops.  The district professional development is focused on math, literacy, science and technology instruction and strategies for effective co-teaching.  The technology workshop will assist with the integration of technology into instruction through podcasting, Google Docs and interactive websites.  Our district staff are developing technology-enriched cross-content projects for K-12 students in the areas of science, social studies and math.

Ewing High School will offer several new courses, including Interior Design and Financial Literacy.  Based on the current student interest, the high school is offering over 10 AP and 15 honors courses.  Through a partnership with the Credit Union of New Jersey (CUNJ), a new senior experience will be available with the opening of a CUNJ location in Ewing High School.  Details about this project will be available in October.

The district will maintain its outstanding music, art and sports program.

The Curriculum and Instruction website will be updated throughout the school year with relevant curriculum, instruction and assessment information.  Currently on the Curriculum and Instruction website are PowerPoint presentations made during Board of Education meetings: the Curriculum and the Achievement Gap Committee and the District Literacy presentation.

As you can see, the 2011–2012 school year is set to be an exciting learning experience for our students.  I look forward to supporting the Ewing staff and students as we move forward this school year.

Dr. Danita Ishibashi