Name: Social Studies Curriculum Adoption
Type: Advisory Group

Purpose(s)/Goals:

• Develop a plan for providing instruction in Social Studies in grades K-12 in the Bellingham School District.
• Create an articulated and aligned core curriculum for K-12 Social Studies.

Basis for Establishment:

• Curriculum adoption for Social Studies grades 9-12
• K-12 articulation of Social Studies program

Decision Making Process:

• Consultative to the Superintendent and Board. We will be making recommendations regarding the K-12 Social Studies curriculum offerings and programs.
• Consensus and correlation to Washington State Social Studies Standards will be used for internal decisions during the ongoing work of the Advisory Group.
• Input and feedback from students, parents, staff, and administrators will be formally solicited during the process. Community input will be solicited on the draft recommendations.

Plan of Work:

• Review existing Social Studies opportunities for students K-12, with a focus on grades 9-12.
• Review new Classroom Based Assessment, (CBA), requirements.
• Identify issues and research on current trends in K-12 Social Studies instruction.
• Explore effective programs and practices.
• Explore and choose research-based resources with correlation to resulting written curriculum.
• Review/create curriculum guides and supplementary support materials.
• Timeline for upfront and ongoing staff and administrative development on written curriculum with resource correlations, assessments, and resources.
• Identify budget implications and implementation timelines.
• Placement of written curriculum and assessments for easy teacher access: e.g. SharePoint.
• Create a plan to monitor regular and ongoing assessments of student achievement data.
• Data will be used to make adjustments to scope and sequence, resource alignment, and future staff development.

Members Regular:

• Teachers
o 2008-2009/4 high school, 3 middle school
o 2009-2010/4 high school, 3 middle school, 4 elementary
• Administrators
o 2008-2009/1 high school, 1 middle school
o 2009-2010/1 high school, 1 middle school, 2 elementary
• Facilitator/Chair: Director of Curriculum and Instruction
• 1 Special Education teacher

Members Ex-officio:

• Executive Director of Human Resources
• Director of Federal and Special Programs
• Deputy Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction
• Director of Communications and Community Relations

Responsibilities:

• Attend meetings, actively and appropriately participate in meetings, and review committee materials.
• Abide by group norms for behavior, as described in application/letter of interest.
• Do “homework”, as agreed to by the group.
• Develop and support final recommendations to Superintendent/Board.
• Develop a final report.

Communication Plan:

• Gather input by using a broad-based, comprehensive needs assessment process.
• Communicate progress with all members of the community by posting minutes of meetings on the district web site.
• Communicate progress with administrators by providing updates at Level, Leadership and Central Administration Team meetings.

Timeline:

• 9-12 curriculum review and adoption
• K-12 curriculum articulate
• Recommendation to Superintendent concerning K-12 program April 2011

Budget Implications:

• Budget implications will include instructional resources and professional development. These issues will be reviewed and presented as part of the plan for the multi-year implementation.