District outlines multi‑phase curriculum review; teachers lead design teams

St. Louis Park Public Schools officials described a three‑phase curriculum and program review process Dec. 10 that uses small design teams of teachers and larger consulting teams to guide multi‑year changes, Superintendent Doctor Hynes and curriculum director Doctor Duffy said.

The district launched the work in 2018–19 with a racial equity transformation aim, Duffy said, and has used teacher leaders as designers so changes are “student‑centered” and sustainable when staff turnover occurs. The three phases are: (1) “know thyself” (diagnosis and purpose), (2) “look around” (research, piloting and scholar engagement), and (3) “look outward” (build for sustainability with benchmarks and implementation plans).

Duffy told the board that early teams — math, gifted & talented, and world languages — presented recommendations in spring 2022 and the district has already implemented most items from the math review: “Of [the math team’s] recommendations, eight of them we’ve completed, two are in progress, and a couple we can’t yet measure,” Duffy said.

The math team’s racial equity purpose was described as ensuring “all Saint Louis Park students will see themselves as successful in math regardless of race or background,” and Duffy said the team recommended changes across early learning, elementary, middle and high school pathways. Duffy said a new elementary math curriculum has been adopted and the district is building multi‑tiered supports to close opportunity gaps.

For gifted & talented, Duffy said the design team recommended structural changes including FTE adjustments at elementary levels and expanded middle‑ and high‑school acceleration options; much of that work is implemented but some elements are ongoing.

Duffy said the district will present three phase‑1 teams this winter and the phase‑3 teams will present in study sessions as they complete their reviews. He emphasized pacing and capacity: “Sometimes people are saying we’re moving way too fast. Sometimes people are saying this needs to happen right now,” he said, and the district must balance ambition with the system’s capacity to implement change.

Duffy also described recent staff professional development tied to social studies frameworks and said students and staff led training that connected curriculum to identity, community and relevance across content areas.

Board members thanked design‑team teachers and several said they had observed rising student engagement in talent development classes and new middle‑school math work. Duffy said the design‑team structure (teacher leaders plus consulting teams) allows the district to pilot, revise and then scale curriculum changes with built‑in benchmarks for three‑ and five‑year goals.

The board accepted the overview and will hear specific design teams’ reports in upcoming meetings and study sessions.