At their meeting on May 20, 2024, the Central Public Schools School Board heard updates on the ongoing work happening around curriculum. Curriculum Lead Andrea Kolstad shared a presentation focused on the status of the district with Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) training in compliance with the Read Act, the process used to adopt a new social studies curriculum, and what is up next.
Supporting Learning with District Resources
Since voters approved the operating levy in 2019, there has been a lot of work done in regards to enhancing teaching and learning and modernizing curriculum that was a direct result of those funds. In addition to purchasing and implementing new science and ELA curriculums, Central Public Schools has purchased equipment for new art courses, invested in workshops to implement STEAM, purchased online practice platforms for math and music, and purchased new Physical Education and Health instructional resources. This is all part of the ongoing work to make sure that teachers and students have what they need to not only learn the correct standards, but really engage and connect with their learning.
“Teachers put their own stamp on everything,” said Kolstad. “They put a lot of work in to make sure standards are being taught but that they are giving some choice to students and making sure that there is strong engagement with the material.”
Staying Ahead in the Science of Reading
The district is ahead of the curve when it comes to completing LETRS training as mandated by the Read Act to grow the approach of the science of reading and structured literacy. When the 144-hour training was first offered as an option, all of the K-3 teachers along with many interventionists and specialists jumped at the chance to complete the training. By the time the state changed the requirements to mandate all educators be trained, most of the staff at Central were already done.
“It’s a lot of work but it’s really good for kids so everyone is excited to do it,” said Kolstad. “The teachers who are about to complete the training know it will be hugely beneficial to our students.”
Teachers haven’t wasted any time when it comes to diving into the new elementary reading curriculum and have found ways to connect other activities to it to make it fun for students. A third grade teacher reported that her students shared on a day with early dismissal that they didn’t want to go home, but would rather stay and learn. Fourth grade students were reading about a medieval battle, so they reenacted the battle on the field outside while first grade students worked to create Egyptian headdresses after reading about ancient civilizations.
Social Studies Curriculum Adoption
Recent work has centered around identifying a social studies curriculum that not only meets the standards, also takes into account set priorities set with Central students in mind. The process includes using that local lens to prioritize essential standards, then narrow choices, investigate materials, and make a decision before launch and implementation will take place next year. Staff will receive training and professional development around the chosen programs which were Teachers’ Curriculum Institute (TCI) for elementary and high school, Northern Lights for grade 6 MN History, and Everything You Need programs with supplemental input from teachers for grades 7 and 8.
TCI is an exciting resource that prides itself on the ability to “Bring Learning Alive!” Each unit includes an Inquiry Project where students research a compelling question and use evidence from the reading to write an argument. For the middle school grades, 6th grade really focuses on MN history and has many standards around indigenous peoples history. While the Everything You Need curriculum will include a focus on United States history for grade 7 and world history for grade 8. Teachers will still be able to bring their own knowledge and supplemental activities into the classroom to support engagement.
“As we looked through our local lens and work around standards our committees also wanted the programs to be robust and rigorous, engaging, user friendly, and have the ability to stay current,” said Kolstad. “We have been doing a lot of training with Incubate to Innovate and this will tie directly with that work.”
The Sum of the Parts
The next area that is up for review on the curriculum review cycle is math. The district is focusing efforts on training for 2024-2025 with plans to purchase curriculum for the 2025-2026 school year per recommendation from MDE and Minnesota Council of Teachers of Mathematics (MCTM). Training will consist of understanding the standards, research on best practices, and “Building Thinking Classrooms” for engagement and collaboration.
“Several teachers have signed up for summer training and there is a lot of excitement around this after our math teachers attended the MCTM conference in April in Duluth,” said Kolstad.
Another new step being taken is tied to the Comprehensive Arts Planning Partnership with a focus on being more intentional about visual arts in the elementary school. The process will involve a member of each K-5 grade level team to attend general education arts cohort 1-3 days during the 2024-25 school year. At the middle school level, there will be a shift from STEM to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) to help expand the use of art.
“I have been at Central for 12 years and I’ve always had a strong interest in learning about best practices in instruction,” said Kolstad. I love being able to look at the data, identify the specific needs of our students. and collaborate with others to pursue resources that meet those needs!"