The letter that parents and guardians received is below.
May 22, 2018
A Message from Chief Academic Officer,
Dr. Maria V. Navarro
Dr. Maria V. Navarro
Dear MCPS Community:
Montgomery County Public Schools has been recognized locally and nationally for the high levels of achievement by many of our students. However, many is not enough. We know that some of our students are not meeting their full potential. It is our responsibility to ensure ALL students have the resources, instruction, opportunity and access they need to succeed in college, career and community. One of the ways we are working toward our goal of all students meeting their potential is through enhancements to curricula and professional development for teachers.
To help us better understand how to reach this goal, MCPS commissioned a review of our curriculum, with a specific focus on Kindergarten through Grade 8, for English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics. The review, which included insight from hundreds of educators, looked at curriculum, classroom practices and student performance and drew several key conclusions:
- While the MCPS curriculum was cutting edge when it was created in 2008-2009, advancement in curriculum developments in recent years provide innovations, such as enhanced digital engagement, more cultural proficiency, and better alignment with state standards.
- Professional learning is fundamental to ensuring successful instruction, especially with the evolution of new standards and curriculum.
- A shift in curricula and professional learning requires a multi-year, multi-pronged effort to ensure a successful transition.
While we anticipated these conclusions, this report confirmed that enhancements to our curricula and professional development are needed in order for us to move closer toward our goal of success for all students.
As you may know, MCPS engaged in a Request for Proposal (RFP) process to select new curricula in April. The selected curricula was scheduled to rollout to a small set of pilot schools in the fall with continued implementation over the next several years. We have decided to postpone this effort to address unanticipated issues in the selection process. The current RFP will be rescinded and a new one will be issued. To ensure full engagement with all stakeholders on this important effort, we intend to resume the selection process at the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year. While we know this delay may cause a disruption for our schools that were to begin implementation next year, we believe this delay will help us ensure transparency and trust in this process. The delay also provides us with the ability to address the feedback we heard from stakeholders about the timeline of this transition.
Though the curriculum acquisition is delayed, we will continue to provide enhanced professional development for staff that will focus on addressing some of the concerns cited in the curriculum review. These focus areas will include developing instructional strategies that support every learner in every classroom; creating high levels of student interaction with rigorous and complex text; and establishing deep levels of mathematical understanding aligned to grade-level standards.
Thank you for your unwavering commitment to ALL our students and schools. We will remain in regular communication with you in the coming weeks and months to provide updates about our continued efforts regarding curricula and professional development for educators.
Sincerely,
Maria V. Navarro, Ed.D.
Chief Academic Officer
Maria V. Navarro, Ed.D.
Chief Academic Officer
Dear Staff:
ReplyDeleteI am writing to provide an update on the curriculum selection process and responses to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) we have heard from school staff. As you know, earlier this week we decided to postpone the curriculum selection in order to address unanticipated issues in the selection process. However, we are moving ahead with plans to evaluate and select new curricula in K–8 English language arts and mathematics at the beginning of the new school year, and transition to full implementation over a multiple year period. During this delay, we will not only ensure transparency and trust in this process, but also address the feedback we have heard from stakeholders thus far. Below, please find responses to FAQs about the updated Request for Proposal (RFP) process, timelines, and plans for implementation.
In addition, although the curriculum acquisition is delayed, professional learning remains a priority in order to ensure the successful transition to new curricula in the years ahead. Regardless of the actual curricular products selected, instructional strategies that meet the needs of every learner, aligned to grade level standards, remain at the core of teaching and learning. As a result, professional learning will continue to focus on these areas and will serve as a foundation for implementation of new curricula. The FAQs below also contain information about professional learning this summer and provides instructions for staff in schools originally selected for implementation.
FAQs for Staff
1. Rather than buy a new curriculum why can’t MCPS write their own?
There were many lessons learned from Montgomery County Public Schools’ (MCPS) writing of Curriculum 2.0. In 2008, when MCPS began the development of Curriculum 2.0, quality curriculum aligned with the Common Core State Standards were not available. Using teachers and central office MCPS wrote Curriculum 2.0. In the intervening years, not only have quality curricular products become available on the market, but MCPS has a deeper understanding of the infrastructure needed to support a curriculum once it is implemented. For example, it takes a tremendous amount of labor to continuously update curriculum and assessments so that the curriculum does not become stale or static. Using teachers as primary developers of curriculum limits the amount of resources MCPS has to update, maintain, and support the curriculum. It also limits teachers having time to work with their peers on perfecting their craft. A purchased curriculum will come with an infrastructure designed primarily to update and support the curriculum, allowing MCPS content specialist and teachers to focus on supporting teachers as they implement the curriculum. However, even with a purchased curriculum, MCPS teachers will still be needed for curriculum and assessment projects, supplemental curriculum development, and designing and co-leading professional learning.
2. When will a new Request for Proposals (RFP) be issued?
A new RFP process will begin in the fall. This will avoid asking for participation from the greater MCPS community during the summer months when many people have set obligations, and vacation plans.
3. If MCPS is delaying the RFP process when will MCPS begin implementing a new curriculum?
DeleteBuilding on the feedback from process participants, MCPS will launch the new process in the fall with initial implementation no later than the 2019–2020 school year.
4. Will currently selected schools be the ones to participate in the initial implementation, or will the entire process restart?
Schools that were selected will be in the first cohort to implement a new curriculum. Additional opportunities may be available for additional schools.
5. What will MCPS do with the community feedback it has already received?
MCPS will use the feedback already received in both crafting a new RFP and in considering any new proposals.
6. Will there still be an opportunity for community input?
Yes, there will continue to be opportunities for the community to provide input.
7. Will it be the exact same RFP?
No. During the initial process, MCPS received great feedback from stakeholders and the review team about the specific criteria contained in the RFP. This feedback and learning will be used to make revisions to and reissue the RFP.
8. What does this mean for summer professional development?
Most teachers in schools originally selected for implementation already had registered for other professional development opportunities in Professional Development Online. In these cases, teachers should remain enrolled in those other training sessions.
9. What if I withdrew from another professional development session and it is now full?
If a school was originally selected for implementation and a teacher withdrew on or after
May 18, every effort will be made to accommodate those who withdrew. In some cases, additional sections will be added. In other cases, if still unable to register, please contact:
o Elementary School: Mrs. Siobhan M. Alexander, director, Elementary Integrated Curriculum Team
o Secondary: Mr. Scott W. Murphy, director, Department of Secondary Curriculum and Districtwide Programs
In addition, in lieu of the training for new curriculum this summer, optional training opportunities in mathematics and literacy will still be offered for selected schools during the original dates identified. Selected schools will be contacted individually.
10. What about other professional development?
All other professional development remains as planned, as listed here:
Elementary School:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/164uzZYsxyB...R2VY/edit?pli=1#gid=2118346457
Middle School:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1O91ar6FyAc...Hwx4I/edit?pli=1#gid=882846325
High School: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rQrDi7idM7...RCHX8/edit?pli=1#gid=882846325
11. If our school was identified as an Enriched Literacy Center, what does that mean?
No change.
We will remain in regular communication with you in the coming weeks and months to provide updates about our continued efforts regarding the RFP process, professional development, and plans for implementation. Updates also will be posted periodically on the following link: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/curriculum-review.aspx.
Thank you for your continued commitment to students and for all you do every day.
Maria V. Navarro, Ed.D.
Chief Academic Officer
Office of the Chief Academic Officer