Lexington 1 adopts curriculum policy, lays out curriculum management plan and KPIs for new hires

The Lexington County School District One Board of Trustees unanimously approved revisions to policy IG, which clarifies the district’s curriculum management responsibilities and formalizes how the superintendent will approve curriculum and oversee the district’s curriculum management plan.

Administration told the board the change reflects recommendations from a recent curriculum-effectiveness audit and explains that statewide timelines for standards and teacher development mean the superintendent must retain authority to approve curriculum for implementation. The curriculum management plan establishes a three-year, cyclical process to plan, develop, implement and evaluate curriculum; defines roles and responsibilities; and promises a public-facing component so families can see grade-level expectations in the future.

Superintendent Keith Price and Chief Academic Officer Mary Gaskins described the district’s "Learn, Grow, Excel playbook," which brings together the graduate profile, the instructional framework and a set of four aligned plans — the curriculum management plan, assessment plan, instructional-technology plan and professional-learning plan. The playbook will be hosted on the district’s internal site for teachers and eventually will inform a public-facing overview for families.

The board also approved a set of initial key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate the impact of positions added during the recent budget: additional assistant principals, elementary math coaches, middle-school academic and behavior interventionists, special-education retention stipends and coaches, and a custodial services specialist. For example, the KPI package for assistant principals includes monthly reports of the number of classroom observations, teacher-survey results, office-discipline referrals, suspension rates, attendance metrics and achievement indicators tied to work-plan goals.

Board members stressed the need to pair quantitative KPIs with frontline testimony from teachers and principals so the board sees both numbers and stories. Administration said it will provide periodic KPI updates on a set schedule (noted in the board packet) and will iterate the measures based on feedback.

Policy IG, the curriculum management plan and the KPI framework were approved at second reading and are effective immediately; administration said it will continue to refine implementation and provide updates to the board during the school year.