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Rye City School District highlights 'Rye Commitment' instructional priorities; IB and AP Capstone added
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Byrne told the Board on Jan. 14 that the district will expand sustained authentic projects districtwide and introduce the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program and AP Capstone at Rye High School, and that professional development will focus on social-emotional learning and artificial intelligence.
At the Jan. 14, 2025 meeting of the Rye City School District Board of Education, Superintendent Dr. Byrne presented an update on the district’s “Rye Commitment,” outlining ongoing work to embed critical thinking, collaboration and authentic project-based work across grades and announcing plans to introduce the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme and AP Capstone at Rye High School.
The Rye Commitment, Dr. Byrne said, is the district’s “North Star” for curriculum and instruction and guides course, professional-development and assessment choices. The presentation framed current work on daily critical-thinking tasks and described a next phase that emphasizes sustained, authentic projects for all teachers and students.
Board members were told that every teacher is designing at least one authentic project that includes purpose, choice, investigation, collaboration, multimodal learning and iterative feedback. Examples cited by the administration include a first-grade project on the Long Island Sound, a districtwide fifth-grade capstone, interdisciplinary seventh-grade work on pathogens, and an English 9 project tied to Catcher in the Rye.
The district announced that Rye High School will offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme for 11th and 12th graders and expand AP Capstone work (AP Seminar and AP Research) for 10th–12th graders. Both programs were presented as aligned with the Rye Commitment’s emphasis on writing, research, collaboration and evidence-based argument. Participation will be optional: students may take individual IB or AP Capstone courses or pursue full diploma/capstone recognition.
Professional learning for staff will extend current training (critical thinking and the science of reading) to include social-emotional learning (SEL), authentic project design, and guidance on using artificial intelligence (AI) for instruction. The administration said the district’s tech committee will draft AI guidelines and that an April meeting will present recommended district guidance on instructional uses and student expectations.
Board members asked how authentic projects relate to prior project-based learning efforts; Dr. Byrne said teachers could adapt existing projects to meet the new authentic-project criteria and that the approach seeks to make long-term projects available in every classroom rather than only where a teacher opted in.
Dr. Byrne said the district will show examples of student work at a board meeting in April and will reflect related budget items in the upcoming budget cycle. The presentation closed with an invitation for questions and a note that additional program details will be presented to the board during forthcoming meetings.
The presentation was delivered in public session and no formal action or vote was taken on the items presented.
