Core Curriculum

     The Michigan State Board of Education established a Model for Core Curriculum Outcomes in 1990.  The attempt was to provide curriculum guidelines to ensure that all schools offer courses which meet the needs of a child, no matter what district that child attends.  Western School District has complied with the Core Curriculum alignment in all curricular areas (math, science, social studies, language arts, foreign language, unified arts, fine arts, business and technology, and physical education).  While many districts have chosen to align only math, science, social studies and language arts, Western School District’s philosophy is that all facets of a child’s education are essential and therefore, attention should be focused on every aspect of the curriculum.

We continue to meet or exceed the Michigan Core Curriculum “benchmarks” or standards in every area of curriculum.    In March, 2004, the State of Michigan released new Grade Level Content Expectations for grades K-8 in ELA (English/Language Arts) and math.  Western School District teachers worked for two days in June of 2004 upgrading our curriculum to meet these new expectations.  Students were tested on the MEAP for the first time in the fall of 2005 on those new objectives and scores gave us a starting point to determine what areas of our math and ELA curriculum need the most attention.  A regular schedule is followed for the review and revision of curriculum with constant and on-going monitoring of the education program.  This yearly plan has allowed the district to be aware of new curriculum standards and benchmarks and to be responsive to new pedagogical insights into the education of our children.    All changes in curriculum are developed by committees comprised of teachers, administrators, community members, and the curriculum director and subsequently approved by the board of education.

The curricular area reviewed in 2005-2006 was our K-12 mathematics program.  New textbooks have been ordered and will be used for the 2006-2007 school year.  Parents are always welcome on our review committees.  This past year, over 60 parents and community members served on the various curricular review committees.  During 2006-2007, our focus will be on the curricular areas of English and writing.  If you are interested in participating on one of these review committees, please contact Craig Raehtz, our new curriculum director.  Your input can and will make a difference!

     Board of Education Goals
 

Each year the Board of Education of the Western School District establishes both short and long term goals for the improvement of its schools.  The Board of Education reviews progress toward completion of these goals at regular public board meetings throughout the school year.  The reviews take place in November, February, and May.

These goals were established for 2005-2006:

*  Curriculum – The buildings will continue to work on year three of our NCA school improvement plan with specific emphasis being focused on improving writing across the curriculum.  Rubrics following the MEAP format have been developed at all three levels to ensure consistency in scoring.
*  The district will focus professional development activities around “6 Traits Writing” instruction.

   *  Continued emphasis will be placed on formative assessment in all curricular areas.

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* Curriculum – The district will begin a K-12 math study with recommendations regarding textbook adoptions and program direction to be presented to the Board of Education in the spring of 2006.

    *  The Board of Education will continue to participate in local community activities throughout the year.

*  Communication – The district will continue to enhance communication among students, staff, and community.

    *  The Board of Education will continue to meet with individual building staff.

    *  The Board president and superintendent will meet with all booster and PTA organizations at the beginning of the school year.

*  Gifted and Talented - The district will begin to investigate the implementation of a Gifted and Talented curriculum that will address the needs of ALL of our gifted and talented students.