Curricula in the North Hills School District is one of its strongest components. Curriculum development is a continual and dynamic process making an effective academic program of studies available to our students. Various content areas are at different levels of the design, implementation and evaluation stages of curriculum development. Curriculum development operates on a six-year cycle as described below.

Curriculum Council is a committee made up of teachers and administrators that assists in providing centralized oversight of a coordinated curriculum that supports the North Hills School District’s mission and vision.

Functions

• Serves as a system-wide coordinating agency to seek solutions for educational challenges with district resources
• Facilitates communication among all staff
• Establishes priorities for approved projects which require financial support
• Provides school district staff with the ability to collaborate to assess, select and adopt instructional media for use
• Assesses educational needs in terms of established goals and supports district educational programs
• Assesses needs such as planning professional development programs, and suggests necessary financial support

Curriculum Council meets at least three times per year: in November to identify course needs or changes for the following year, in December to review news assessments and curriculum proposals and in March to make final determinations.

A curriculum cycle is a systematic schedule or calendar for addressing the design, delivery and review of curriculum in all content areas. North Hills uses a six-year cycle as the development of an effective curriculum is a multi-step, ongoing and cyclical process.

1. Needs Assessment
During this school year, teachers will gather research, examine student performance data, visit schools with quality programs, attend conferences, conduct surveys where appropriate, review pilot materials, review the current curriculum guides, share this information at grade level and departmental meetings and set the direction for the curriculum for the next five years.

2. Present Proposal/ Write Curricula
During this school year, teachers will pilot different programs, strategies and materials they are considering for implementation, review and propose textbooks for adoption and write the revised curriculum using the EdInsight curriculum management software. The curriculum (curriculum map, scope & sequence, course description/content, etc.) will be written.

The curriculum will be developed by unit and will include: appropriate grade level(s), length of course, vocabulary, textbooks and supplemental materials, the Standards/goals/anchors being addressed, understandings, essential questions, objectives, assessments and instructional strategies/procedures.

A budget proposal will be presented to the curriculum council and the school board for curriculum writing, materials, assessments, software/hardware and professional development to effectively implement the curriculum.

All purchase orders will be sent out by June 25th, unless special circumstances preclude meeting this deadline.

3. Curriculum Development and Implementation
During this school year, teachers will implement the new curriculum, noting pros and cons of the curriculum and/or materials throughout the year. Discussions will be recorded in team minutes surrounding the advantages and disadvantages of the new curriculum. These minutes will be submitted to the building Principals and Director of Curriculum and Assessment.

4. Curriculum Implementation 2
During this phase, teachers will implement modifications that they observed as problems with the initial plan that were discussed within the curriculum committee meetings and approved by the committee. Curriculum leaders will make these changes within the Edinsight curriculum software and monitor the results.

5. Monitor and Evaluation 1
During this phase, the monitoring shifts to articulation. Departments should meet k-12 to identify any areas that may be hindering articulation of the curriculum K-12, as well as any other shortcomings of the planned instruction. Changes should be approved by the curriculum committee, made within the curriculum software/documents, and implemented.

6. Monitor and Evaluation 2
During this phase, teachers will evaluate the impact of their curriculum on student achievement, examining standardized test scores, AP/SAT data and common/local assessments in preparation for the beginning of their curriculum cycle the following year.