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District updates: MTSS progress, text‑dependent analysis PD, design thinking and Portrait of a Graduate rollout
Summary
The Office for Teaching and Learning briefed the committee on Multitiered Systems of Support (MTSS) self‑assessments, text‑dependent analysis professional development and curriculum revisions for grades 3–8, design‑thinking vertical alignment in elementary grades, and a districtwide Portrait of the Graduate rollout scheduled next year.
District curriculum and instruction staff gave a multipart update to the education committee on April 7 covering MTSS, text‑dependent analysis (TDA) professional development and curriculum changes, an elementary design‑thinking (computational thinking) program, and the Portrait of the Graduate initiative.
MTSS: Doctor Alexa Carter said principals are completing self‑assessments with the Intermediate Unit TAC and revising building action plans. The district uses intervention tracking (Intervention Manager through LinkIt) and holds district MTSS leadership meetings and subgroups (interventions, PBIS, school counselors) to examine which interventions are working. Carter said parent engagement sessions aligned to MTSS work are underway.
Text‑dependent analysis and curriculum work: The district ran two professional development sessions for grades 3–5 ELA (January and March). Presenters Mr. Farley and Mrs. Kramer said teachers immediately applied PD strategies in classrooms; the district is modifying 3–5 ELA units (for example, grade‑4 Hatchet unit) to scaffold analysis and better align to state assessments. Next steps include a May session on informational text, in‑classroom coaching by Dr. Gerri Thompson, and development of a 6–8 reading course supported by Thompson.
Design thinking (computational thinking): Doctor Clymer reported on vertical alignment work to make lessons grade‑level distinct from K through 5 and reuse equipment across buildings. Coding work progresses from directional coding in kindergarten to block/word‑block coding and more sophisticated design tasks by fifth grade.
Portrait of the Graduate: Doctor Zakin described a district‑developed Portrait of the Graduate that identifies five key skills and will be rolled out more formally next year with posters, stickers and one‑page guides for teachers. The district plans curriculum mapping in Atlas to show where Portrait skills are taught and to add walk‑through indicators to highlight exemplars.
Why it matters: These initiatives affect classroom instruction, teacher coaching and how student needs are identified and met across K–12. The committee heard the work is ongoing, with coaching, data review and external research partners contributing to evaluation.
Next steps: Continued PD, classroom coaching, longitudinal surveys for RIASEC implementation and a formal Portrait of the Graduate rollout next school year.
