Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
On Saturday, March 13, the Obama administration released its blueprint for revising the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which would ask states to adopt college- and career-ready standards and reward schools for producing dramatic gains in student achievement. The proposal challenges the nation to embrace educational standards that would put America on a path to global leadership.  Educators may read the Blueprint for Reform: The Reauthorization of the ESEA at Blueprint for Reform.

Common Core State Standards Initiative
As part of theCommon Core State Standards Initiative, the draft K-12 standards are now available for public comment. These draft standards, developed in collaboration with teachers, school administrators, and experts, seek to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce.  The standards are open for public comment until Friday, April 2.  Click here to take the online survey.

Common Core State Standards Initiative FAQs

16 Finalists Announced in Phase 1 of Race to the Top Competition
States competing for Race to the Top funds were asked to document past education reform successes, as well as outline plans to: extend reforms using college and career-ready standards and assessments; build a workforce of highly effective educators; create educational data systems to support student achievement; and turn around their lowest-performing schools.  To learn more about Race to the Top, the sixteen finalists and how they were selected, and the timeline for distributing funds to states visit Race to the Top - Next Steps.

Additional Resources for Educators:

Ten Steps to Equity in Education - Policy Brief
Organisation For Economic Co-Operation and Development

National Education Standards: Getting Beneath the Surface (Free Online)
Education Testing Service (ETS) - 2009
By Paul E. Barton

A Test For Our Nation
The Huffington Post - Nov. 21, 2009
By Linda Darling-Hammond

Benchmarking for Success:
Ensuring U.S. Students Receive a World-Class Education 
(December 2008)

Comments regarding one of more of these documents are welcome.  The best way to play a role in education reform is to become part of the process.  While comments posted on this page will not help with education reform, K-12 Curriculum Development provides a forum for educators to share ideas, resources, and thoughts on issues which impact K-12 education.

Please read the documents listed in this article and make certain to take time to leave your feedback regarding the Common Core State Standards Initiative and the Reauthorization of ESEA.  Education matters and your voice matters as we seek to support all students and their right to a free and appropriate education. 

Curriculum gaps create a barrier for student learning and have a detrimental effect on students' opportunity to learn.  Gaps are created by a lack of communication among educators, varying implementation practices, available resources, and decisions about pacing.  According to English (2000), "Curriculum design and delivery face one fundamental problem in schools.  When the door is shut and nobody else is around, the classroom teacher can select and teach just about any curriculum he or she decides is appropriate" (p. 1).

All students should receive a guaranteed and viable curriculum (Marzano, 2003).  If the received curriculum greatly varies from one class to the next, then it will be difficult for teachers at the next grade level to build on prior knowledge and understandings.  One of the goals of teaching is to ensure close alignment between the intended, taught, assessed, and received curricula. 

Jacbos (1997) wrote, "If there are gaps among teachers within buildings, there are virtual Grand Canyons among buildings in a district (p. 3).
 
One of the tasks of curriculum leadership is to use the right methods to
    bring the written, the taught, the supported, and the tested curriculums
    into closer alignment, so that the learned curriculum is maximized.

                                                 -  Allan Glatthorn, Curriculum Renewal (1987), p. 4

  What strategies does your school or school system use to "Mind the Gap"?

References:

English, F.W. (2000). Deciding what to teach and test: Developing, aligning
       and auditing the curriculum. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Glatthorn, A.A. (1987). Curriculum renewal. Alexandria, VA: Association for
       Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Jacobs, H.H. (1997). Mapping the big picture: Integrating curriculum and
       assessment K-12. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and
       Curriculum Development.

Marzano, R.J. (2003). What works in schools: Translating research into
       action. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum
       Development.

March Madness usually refers to NCAA Basketball, office tournament bracket pools, the race to the Final Four and the highlight film which is called One Shining Moment.  On March 4, the U.S. Department of Education announced that 15 states and the District of Columbia will advance as finalists for phase 1 of the Race to the Top competition.

The Sweet Sixteen Includes:
Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Unlike the NCAA Basketball Tournament, states not qualifying for the Sweet Sixteen are eligible to reapply for Race to The Top Funding.  Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education, said "I salute all of the finalists for their hard work. And I encourage non-finalists to reapply for Phase 2 in June—along with the states that did not apply in the first Phase and the finalists who ultimately do not win."

The sixteen finalists are not guaranteed funding, so it is too early to cut the nets and celebrate.  While every college basketball coach creates a game plan for the next round of the tournament, the sixteen finalists will spend the upcoming weeks preparing for a team presentation in Washington, D.C.  The finalists will be invited to DC in mid-March to present their proposals to the panel that reviewed their applications in depth during the initial stage, and to engage in Q&A discussions with the reviewers.

The purpose of the finalist stage is to allow reviewers to ensure that each state has the understanding, knowledge, capacity, and the will to truly deliver on what is proposed. The presentations will be videotaped and posted for viewing on the Department's website at the end of Phase 1.

Winners for phase 1 will be chosen from among the 16 finalists and announced in April.  Applications for phase 2 will be due on June 1 of this year, with finalists announced in August and winners in September. The only states prohibited from applying in phase 2 are those that receive awards in phase 1.

Click here to view Arne Duncan's official announcement of the Race to the Top Finalists (Sweet Sixteen).  (Length: 48 seconds)

Through Race to the Top, the U.S. Department of Education is asking States to advance reforms around four specific areas:

• Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy;
• Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction;
• Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most; and
• Turning around our lowest-achieving schools.
  
  Race to the Top Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
  This document will provide readers with additional background information on the Race to the Top notics of final priorities requirements, definitions, and selection criteria (NFP). 

Social networking is the new buzzword.  According to a recent online article titled, 20+ mind-blowing social media statistics revisited:

Facebook currently has in excess of 350 million active users on a global basis.

Six months ago, there were 250 million active users....meaning around a 40% increase of users in less than half a year.


At the current rate, Twitter will process almost 10 billion tweets in a single year!

LinkedIn has over 50 million members worldwide.  This means an increase of around one million members per month since August 2009.

There are more than 3.5 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, etc.) shared each week on Facebook.

What Does This Mean for K-12 Educators?
The statistics are staggering.  There is a good chance that you recently created a blog, updated your Facebook account in the last 24 hours, or sent a photo to a friend or relative using your phone or computer.  Ten years ago, it was difficult to share information with teachers in the same school.  Web 2.0 and online discussion boards are making it possible for a middle school science teacher in Colorado to connect with a middle school science teacher in Canada, Florida, Puerto Rico, and Ohio without attending a state or national conference.  Ongoing professional conversations can improve teaching and learning and teachers can impact students well beyond the walls of their classroom.

What Social Network Sites Are Available for K-12 Educators?
This is a short list of resources and online communities that educators can navigate and join.  When blogs started appearing on the Internet, they were typically one-way communication or message boards.  The sites below allow you to be a full participant and you can even steer the direction of the conversation.  You can post questions, share your teaching strategies, and connect with other professionals.

http://englishcompanion.ning.com/
English Companion Ning by Jim Burke
Nings have borrowed the tools of Facebook and MySpace—the ability to post a personal profile, upload media, and have multiple asynchronous and synchronous conversations—while allowing for the customization around a particular subject. 

http://www.classroom20.com/
Classroom 2.0 Ning

http://ncssnetwork.ning.com/
National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Ning

http://ascdedge.ascd.org/
ASCD EDge

http://www.allthingsplc.info/
Professional Learning Communities 

Social Networking and Learning Communities
Social Networking enables teachers to accelerate their professional development and to connect with their friends and colleagues more frequently than the annual conference.  While there are obvious benefits from attending state and national conferences, social networking allows educators to stay connected.  What Social Networking sites do you recommend for K-12 educators?  Please share your thoughts regarding Social Networking for educators and your thoughts on participating in these virtual learning communities.

About This Site:
K-12 Curriculum Development was designed to encourage teachers, administrators, curriculum coordinators and others to share ideas, discuss recent books about curriculum, share tools for supporting the work of teachers and administrators, and foster an online professional learning community.