Kennett schools outline K'12 curriculum-mapping plan, pilot Atlas platform and public-facing timelines

Kennett Consolidated School District leaders laid out a multi-year plan to build a guaranteed, viable K'12 curriculum, telling the curriculum committee on Sept. 29 that teachers will write consensus maps in phases, the district will use the Atlas curriculum platform to store and compare maps, and the first wave of maps will be presented to the board in March and May 2026.

The district said the goal is a common, equitable curriculum that guarantees consistent access to essential learning across schools and grade levels. Superintendent Kimberly Russo Saunders and members of the teaching-and-learning team described a process that began with a Portrait of a KCSD Graduate and an instructional-focus framework; it now moves into facilitated curriculum-writing groups, Atlas training and staged board reviews.

Key points and timeline - Facilitators and teacher teams: The district trained roughly 40 facilitators over the summer; teachers are organized into approximately 41 curriculum groups involving about 300 staff members. Facilitators will guide teams through deconstructing standards, identifying enduring understandings, and distinguishing essential standards from supporting standards. - Platform and templates: Teachers will write maps using an Atlas template the district created. The district will provide on-demand video training followed by facilitator-led, in-person sessions and ongoing support. - Phase timeline: Phase 1 and a first set of course/grade-level maps are planned for board review in March 2026; Phase 2 maps will follow in May 2026. Maps not ready by those dates will continue through the process until complete. - Public access: The long-term goal is to publish parts of the curriculum publicly to show unit overviews, enduring understandings and standards; the district said assessments and specific instructional resources would remain internal to protect academic integrity. Administrators said they preferred releasing a substantial set of maps at once rather than publishing them piecemeal.

Why it matters: Committee members said a clear, district-authored curriculum will make instruction more equitable across elementary, middle and high schools, reduce unintended duplication, and make expectations consistent for students and families. The work also connects directly to the district's strategic priority to ensure access to a guaranteed and viable curriculum.

What teachers will do: The process centers on backwards design. Teams will identify desired results (enduring understandings and essential standards), design assessments, and then plan instructional activities and vocabulary. Teachers are expected to label tiered vocabulary (Tier 1 mandatory terms, Tier 2/3 supplementary terms), estimate unit pacing, and attach core and supplemental resources in Atlas. The district will review unit drafts and provide feedback before moving courses forward for board review.

Cornerstone experiences and diary mapping: The teaching-and-learning team is developing K'12 "cornerstone" experiences to anchor the curriculum across grades (examples include community-linked projects and cross-curricular milestones). Administrators also described "diary mapping": teachers will note what they actually taught (how long a unit took, adjustments made) so maps remain living documents.

Training and supports: The district will provide video tutorials, in-person facilitation and additional coaching; administrators emphasized the work is collaborative and that maps are being written by Kennett teachers so the curriculum reflects local needs, not a vendor's program. The presentation reiterated that curriculum should be program-agnostic (programs like i-Ready should support the curriculum rather than dictate it).

Questions from committee members focused on timing and communication. Board members asked how the public-facing page would be rolled out and whether parents and PTOs would receive presentations; administrators said they plan to wait until a meaningful body of maps is complete and will engage PTOs and parent groups with summaries and compacts. Committee members asked for guidance on how to evaluate maps; administrators said they will walk the board through the first submitted maps and give evaluative criteria before widespread board consideration.

Next steps: The district's immediate actions include using October 2 professional development to continue map-writing, collecting scope-and-sequence drafts for teaching-and-learning review, training teachers on Atlas, and preparing the first batch of maps for the March 2026 board packet. Administrators indicated a public-facing curriculum portal is expected only after maps meet internal quality checks and sufficient breadth is available for display.

The curriculum committee scheduled its next meeting for Oct. 27, when staff will present updates on MTSS, Title funding and staffing; the committee adjourned after the presentation.

Direct quote examples from the meeting include: "When we map curriculum, what we're doing is looking at specific subject areas, as well as cross-curricular connections to make sure that we are creating an environment...that is consistent K to 12," said Kimberly Russo Saunders, superintendent. Assistant curriculum staff described Atlas as a tool that lets the district "spot gaps and overlaps" and "use that information to refine our instruction," according to the presentation.