Published: July 04, 2008 12:44 pm            

Getting on the same page

Athens school district unveils districtwide curriculum at meeting

Thanks to a new districtwide curriculum, Athens parents will now have the ability to follow along with their children’s classes.

“This is one of the things I am most proud of at Athens ISD,” Superintendent Dr. Fred Hayes said during the June school board meeting.

The districtwide curriculum was unveiled by curriculum directors Karen McAtee and Jackie Cunningham. Work on the project began last year when a representative from each grade level and subject met multiple times to look at “vertical alignment.”

Vertical alignment describes efforts to standardize curriculum across grade levels. In other words, it’s an effort to help teachers of different grade levels know what is being taught on other levels so the next level can properly provide lessons.

“We think we’ve got a really good document here,” Cunningham told the school board. “This can make learning very relevant.”

She said the document was created solely by AISD teachers.

Parents can follow along with what their children are learning by looking at the “Scope and Sequence” documents found on AISD’s Web site.

“I would hope parents would print these out and follow along,” Hayes said. “They could really support the school with this.”

Cunningham echoed that sentiment by calling the document a “great parenting skill.”

The district originally looked at buying a curriculum from an education business, but the teachers did not favor that idea.

“Sometimes if you want something specific you have to write it yourself,” Cunningham said.

School district officials also hope the in-depth curriculum will help teachers who will work at a new grade level due to elementary spiraling in grades kindergarten through third.

“You may have a teacher who hasn’t taught kindergarten in many years, and now she has this great document to learn what, when and how to teach that grade level or subject,” she said.

Anyone who is interested in checking out AISD’s districtwide curriculum can find it at www.athensisd.net, and by clicking on the “Teaching and Learning” link.

        

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