Planning for an upcoming school year is a bit like planning to embark on an oceanic voyage.
You may be facing a headwind with regards to your school’s curriculum process. Perhaps your curriculum seems more like flotsam and jetsam at sea, as teachers assemble resources and lessons from a variety of different places (or fish for them on the internet) with little oversight or accountability. It’s hard for anyone to know just what’s being taught where, and when, and how! You may have even received a shot across the bow from your school’s accreditation body, informing you that you’ll need to come about and regain your bearings in your curriculum process.
Don’t worry. There are many other schools in the same boat, and Atlas is here to help! This year, if you’re ready to run a tighter ship with regards to curriculum, here are some suggestions on how to begin that voyage.
1. Set a Course
Many schools have identified a need to stem the tide of a disorderly curriculum, and take the helm of the curriculum process to provide some clarity and direction. For example, you may feel the need to:
- Gather disperse curriculum materials in one place
- Document the scope & sequence of instruction
- Ensure alignment to standards
- Identify gaps & redundancies
- Highlight opportunities for interdisciplinary teaching and learning
- Provide professional development to your faculty
All of these are worthwhile goals, and each can be supported by Atlas. But a ship is not built in a day, and instilling a new curriculum process at your school takes time. Don’t go overboard with your goals, especially if there’s already a lot of change happening at your school and you might be at loggerheads with your faculty by introducing another initiative. To get underway, simply identify 1 (or 2) specific goals to be the mainstay of your curriculum process for the year.
For help with your curriculum vision, see our blog: Begin Your Curriculum Process by Setting Curriculum Goals
2. Assemble a Crew
In order to keep your goals from floundering, you’ll need a first mate, a quartermaster, and a boatswain – a stalwart crew to champion the curriculum vision, and speak clearly to the goals you’ve laid out. Begin by meeting with other school leaders to Craft Your Message to Faculty. This will help you anticipate questions and concerns from teachers who might be inclined to rock the boat, and speak with a shared understanding of your vision and overarching curriculum goals for the year.
Be sure to share your curriculum vision with teachers as early as possible. Surprises can be fun, but surprises at work can make unnecessary waves!
What the overarching curriculum vision for your school means for each grade & department may differ, and teachers may be more willing to get on board with new tasks and processes when they are reinforced by their peers. Enlist a core team of teachers from different areas who are ready to embrace the vision and can help guide their colleagues. Get them involved early and often in your curriculum meetings. Offer this core team professional development in Atlas and curriculum writing, and empower them to become experts in your school’s curriculum development process.
3. Get Atlas Shipshape and Bristol Fashion
With your curriculum vision and team in place, it’s time to take a look at your Atlas system to make any needed changes for the upcoming year. The following items are often good places to start:
- Update users & course assignments
- Add or remove curriculum standards
- Adjust unit planner templates
- Edit your list of assessment methods
- Add lesson planning templates
You can begin updating users, course assignments, unit templates, and other features using our guide Atlas: Preparing for an Upcoming Year.
For support, reach out to your School Experience Manager or [email protected] to schedule a review of your Atlas system. Discuss with us your vision & goals. We can help you trim the sails and tie up any loose rigging. We can also recommend adjustments, additional features, and training to support you in achieving your goals.
4. Help Your Teachers Learn the Ropes
If you’re asking teachers to tow the line for this curriculum initiative, don’t let them sink or swim. Welcome them aboard the new process with quality support and training. Atlas Navigation training may be required for some new teachers who need to learn the ropes. Others may need help with Curriculum Development skills. Your core team and school leadership may benefit from a survey of Atlas Reports that support curriculum review conversations. For all these options and more, reach out to your School Experience Manager and create a training plan that supports your specific curriculum goals. Or see our Professional Development offerings to get started.
5. Keep your Eye on the Horizon
Keeping your curriculum development ship on an even keel is a team effort. Don’t think you can be the sole captain and it will sail itself when you’re away. If you’ve followed the steps above and used a team approach from the start, you’ll be more likely to have smooth sailing for years to come.
Throughout the year, challenge your team to enact regular protocols for curriculum development and review. Here are some examples:
- Schedule curriculum review meetings each semester
- Use Atlas reports in department and grade level meetings, to identify gaps or redundancies in the curriculum.
- Identify skills or concepts of special interest, and determine where & how they are being taught and assessed.
- Talk about what we learned and improved in broader faculty meetings.
When ready, have us build you an Atlas Public Site to give parents a spyglass into the curriculum as well. Or deploy our PD team to help you build an ongoing curriculum review process.
As always, we’re here to encourage and support your process and ensure everything is hunky-dory. Let’s not be like ships that pass in the night; please contact us for any help or guidance you need.
