Terms like curriculum mapping and standards and benchmarks
are buzzwords educators use to define the work they do to ensure educational excellence. Lander~ Grinspoon Academy is no exception. The focus of this Koleinu article is to share with the community our plan to engage in a self-study of what we teach at LGA, and why we do it when we do it.
Schools are fluid places by nature. We are quite lucky to have maintained as consistent a faculty as we have. Our faculty and staff care deeply about building an environment filled with creativity, nurturing exploration, and most importantly, educational excellence. When new faculty are hired, learning the culture of a school can be a steep learning curve. We are fortunate to be guided by the good work of Nili Pearlmutter at the Mandel Center to help us maintain a smooth and easy transfer of educational “power” during the times of faculty transition.
Some areas that will need our collective attention are curriculum mapping and the concept of schoolwide and grade-specific standards and benchmarks throughout subject areas. In 2010-2011, led by Suzanne Atkins, we will be doing much-needed work to outline where we are in terms of our curriculum. It is my vision that there will be a number of small working groups among our faculty who look at specific areas of our curriculum.
How will we get there? Our first, most obvious step will be to look at all of the amazing work being done here at LGA. Looking at every unit in every subject area, and analyzing its educational purpose and appropriateness through a series of questions, we will begin to explore in depth what is working and what needs refinement. From there, we will look at Massachusetts state standards, but even more importantly I will be spending part of my summer researching best curricular practices in the Jewish day and private schools known for educational excellence. We are fortunate to live in a place with a plethora of educational resources, and we will take full advantage of them.
This is a big project, but to my mind it is the most important one that we as a school can undertake to ensure the quality of our educational “product.” It is my idea that this will be a data-driven process as well, and we will be eliciting feedback from our parent body as the process unfolds. Please watch the Koleinu for future updates about this exciting work.
Bil
