Committee Case Study

S: YMR stated that she had been living with her mother about one year, has is a newcomer. YMR lived with her maternal grandmother for many years back in her country. YMR stated that when she arrived to the U.S., she found out that her mother was pregnant, She shared that her mother did not want to tell her because she did not know how the client was going to react. YMR stated that she was happy because her mother had had four miscarries before. YMR explained that almost at the same time that she started living with her mother, the mother's partner and father of the child that her mother was going to have moved into her home. YMR stated that her mom used to work from 6am-12pm and the YMR spent a lot of time with her mother's partner. YMR stated that this man has

In many instances, that answer will vary from school district to school district. In my district, the superintendent and curriculum coordinator will pass on their expectations and goals regarding any particular curriculum to each individual principal. During this process, the principal will also have the opportunity to share their goals and expectations for their respective schools. If either the school or district have more than one curriculum in which they’re looking at, the principals will then take those recommendations to their respective schools. There they’ll seek collaboration from the school’s leadership team to determine possibilities and implementation strategies. However, if there is just one curriculum which they’re interested in, the superintendent may choose to skip the last step, as long as everyone is in agreeance. Once all parties are satisfied, the superintendent, along with the curriculum coordinator will then take their recommendations to the school board for approval. With regards to public schools, this type of process seems to be the norm. In a study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, which asked principals who they believed had the most influence in curriculum decisions, they reported that, “about half of these principals also reported themselves, teachers, and school boards to have ‘a great deal’ of influence.” (para.

The purpose of the Comprehensive Curriculum Project (CCP) is to analyze the myriad of issues that have arisen over the last few years revolving around curricula and its use in the classroom, school, and district. With the 2010 state adoption of the Common Core, educators experienced many different transitional issues and developmental issues revolving around the curricula. In order to develop a deeper understanding of these issues it is important to conduct interviews, look at the Teacher Working Conditions survey, and to analyze local organizational models that might affect the transition to the new standards.

Legally, one can argue that the state has jurisdiction, but the Department of Education has a great influence over the decision to adhere to its’ demands. Through funding, “the Department of Education has a significant amount of control over public education” (Underwood, n. d., p. 5). Aside from writing curriculum's using state and district standards, our curriculum's must now incorporate the common core standards. Our curricular, methods of teaching, and resources must be modified to address the common core standards, state standard, and district standards or one risks losing

In theory, this is the same idea that Howard County has for their Social Studies curriculum, but unfortunately the continuity in subject matter mastered is not evident and I fear we could go down the same road with Common Core (CCSS). Therefore, curriculum should support continuity within a school system, but often that does not occur.

I was chosen to sit on the committee due to my many years of service in the education system. I bring 15 years of experience as an educator, coach, mentor and supervisor. This experience in the k-12 setting has allowed me to work with hundreds of teachers and administrators. During my tenor with the school district I have been asked to sit on dozens of committees, from curriculum, book adoption, finance, to diversity just to name a few. I hold two masters degrees in education; which has afforded me the knowledge and wherewithal to prefect my craft.

There are many approaches that can be taken in order to develop a school’s curriculum, or the material that the students will learn. If there were no federal regulation of curriculum, then it would not be possible to compare student achievement across districts or even states. The federal program, Common Core State Standards, assists in equaling education across the nation. The Common Core has reinvented the perception of student learning which, in turn, has caused American education to become a corporate institution. As a result, there has been a threat to states’ rights for education as more rigorous content has been implemented into classrooms by the government, which ultimately changes the role of the teacher.

Schools must decide how to teach the standardized curriculum. Schools must figure out how to mesh a standardized and non-standardized curriculum. Can students guide their own curriculum and perform well on tests?

Changing the method of learning across a nation is an incredibly large undertaking and it must be thought out impeccably to work. The way the Common Core has been enforced in schools has had some issues, causing it to be unsuccessful. One problem with it is that it was not made to adapt to different students, for example some students that might have learning disabilities cannot learn the same ways as students without that disadvantage and the Common Core can’t be adapted for each individual student. In the article “Common Core: An International Failure,” the author says, “Instead of choosing a one-size-fits-all approach to education, education policy makers should turn to the people who actually know their pupils: parents, teachers, and local school districts” (Asbenson 1). Asbenson is saying that teachers must have some say in what and how they teach. The way the Common Core is now, they do not have the luxury of changing the curriculum if they find it necessary. The fact that the Common Core leaves no room to accommodate different students and the ways they learn, makes it difficult to see why it is a better choice than having curriculum differ across the country.

If not every state actively follows Common Core, how can they be certain the lessons are being taught equally? Also, how can they monitor the grades when these are the standards that are supposed to be reached in 90% of all schools in North America? Their standards are intended to be challenging, but not all minds work in the same way. Each student learns differently and has different methods. I feel as though forcing each student to learn the same way is almost more harmful than helpful. Common Core sets a prime example of one of those ideas that seems flawless in theory, but later proves to be almost completely ineffective in

Those with the Federal government that are for the Common Core Standard argue that the Standards are not curriculum. “It is important to understand what the Common Core is not. Most importantly, the Common Core is not a Curriculum… Equally important the Common Core does not prescribe a particular teaching style: effective teachers can have very different styles.” (Schoenfeld)

The Common Core State Standards are a state attempt to create strong educational standards. The standard are created to ensure that students in the country are learning and grasping the information that are given in the classrooms for them to succeed academically. The Common Core plan included governors and education commissioners form forty-eight states and the District of Columbia. They wanted to make sure the standards are relevant, logical and sequential. For content all subjects must have critical-thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills. Some positive aspects of this policy is that it prepares our students for a competitive global jobs. It can provide national connections in education. Designed to shape the best standards so that all states will be taking a step ahead in education. These standards had been created after extensive research by professional educators for excellence in education. The CCS focus on what students expectations of learning, and achievements. Educators do not need to worry that the standards will make their jobs look redundant because they are in charge of creating lessons to teach their students the content and skills that the CCS demands. The teachers do not feel that the standards are one-size-fits-all. Some negative aspects of the policy are that is a program created by solely the government. The CCS is a program put together on idyllic situations in education by individuals who have subsidy and students ahead of the learning

Common Core is needed to stabilize education. Through the implementation of Common Core, every child will learn the same thing at the same time. Education throughout the country would be equal and no child would truly be left behind. The theory of Common Core is good, but the implementation so far has not been. Creating an unified teaching curriculum is a great idea for any child who would be moving across the country, or even to another state, mid-school year; that way the student would be able to effortlessly pick up learning right where they left off.

In this article “Controlling the Work of Teachers” by Michael W. Apple. Apple believes, that teachers are doing more work because of the curriculum and that is not fair. The curriculum is designed by people who are paid and not educators. So, the creators of the curriculum has no idea of what it is like, to be a teacher. Making the designer of the curriculum be someone who has a true interest in education, would help improve the learning environment. Those being in control of the curriculum, that have no interest in education is a form of control, that many may not notice but, some view it as heading towards professionalism.

An advisory committee will be formed consisting of no more than an 8 member sample of the major stakeholders group, parents of currently enrolled high school students, contributors from the local community, and administration from the school district. The following is a breakdown of the members and the roles they will play in the committee: