A.+HOME

I am applying for the Secondary Curriculum Coordinator positon in USD 500. This wiki page was created in order to give you insight into my work with USD 500 and provide you with the reasons that I believe I am the best person for this important role.

All students can learn and when we give them the tools necessary to access information we give them advantages. Content is critical yet as leaders we must be able to give our students the strategies and approaches necessary to comprehend that content. As a curriculum coordinator, my goal will be not only to ensure that our students are given equal access to content but also that they are provided the skills necessary to understand that content. It is my belief that literacy is the ability to understand information, whether it be text, computer programs, mathematical equations, data analysis, art work, or foreign language. Literacy must be the ultimate goal in our curriculums. The ability to read, write, and communicate is the key to the free world. When we teach kids these essential skills then they become the world. These skills are essential to school improvement. When students are able to read information and have meaningful conversation beyond the literal interpretation then we have created learners.

As a coordinator of curriculum, I believe it would be my goal to empower teachers to become leaders in this endeavor. Leadership is not about the leader's ideas. It is about inspiring others to create the opportunities that they feel are the best for students. This process is not easy and can many times be cumbersome. Yet, through this process the system builds capacity not only for sustainability, but also for future leaders. It has been my experience that the philosphy behind Professional Learning Communities(PLCs) is the greatest way to ensure the reliabilty and validity in our curriculum These PLCs must permeate our system where study of instruction and assessment guided by research based strategies and approaches guides our learning. The use of data from multiple sources including formal, informal, classroom based, district based, and authentic based assessments must be used. We must become smarter about the data that we have to modify our instruction to make sure that all of our students are college and career ready. It has been said that our students are "over tested" and I would agree, but I would interject that our students are under assessed. We must become smarter about the data that we obtain to "assess" where they are and make quality decisons regarding instruction.

Education can sometimes become fragmented into the different fields of study but strategy instruction is the sure way to ensure that all contents are connected. It is our job not only to give students content but also that we provide them the tools necessary to understand that content independent of our mentorship.