East Stroudsburg Area School District leaders presented a new secondary course‑plan template and a set of 71 course guides designed to give teachers a consistent unit‑level document for instruction, assessment and long‑range planning.

Curriculum staff said the template centers on unit rationale and essential questions so administrators and new teachers can see the purpose behind daily lessons. Department chairs across science, world language, math, business and family/consumer sciences adopted the format; the presenter said many teachers asked to use the same template after seeing early drafts. The guides vary by course but were described in the meeting as typically 40–50 pages of unit plans, assessments and scope‑and‑sequence materials.

Trustees repeatedly praised the work as a tool for teacher onboarding and for maintaining instructional continuity when substitutes or long‑term changes occur. The board discussed the distinction between board‑approved curricular standards and locally maintained course guides: staff said standards, objectives and approved texts remain a board‑level decision, while course guides will be maintained by curriculum staff and teachers under the district’s revised process and shared language.

Staff outlined a multi‑step timeline for the upcoming year focused on English curriculum revision as a pilot. Key milestones presented:
• September: Department chairs meet with curriculum leadership to align on the final product and receive the curriculum handbook and timeline;
• October–December: Department chairs and teachers complete operational‑curriculum inventories and attend training workshops on curriculum writing and assessment selection;
• January: Use Keystone Days for cross‑building department reviews to achieve joint North/South consensus on banded standards (for example, grades 9–10 writing expectations);
• February: First board preview of the English curriculum draft;
• March: Second board preview;
• April: District purchase of curricular materials and training on writing course guides;
• May: Final reviews during Keystone Days; goal is to present a completed English K‑12 curriculum for board consideration by late spring.

Staff said the template and handbook will be available on the district website and linked from the Program of Studies so parents and incoming teachers can view course outcomes, unit rationales and expected assessments. Trustees emphasized intentionality — aligning department values, timelines and assessment anchors so new hires and substitutes can maintain consistent instruction across buildings.

Why it matters: the course‑plan template and the timeline aim to reduce variation between buildings, make onboarding for new teachers easier and create a sustainable curriculum‑review cycle so the district does not return to ad‑hoc revisions.