Coventry School Committee moves to post director of curriculum position after funding reclassification

The Coventry School Committee discussed reinstating a director of curriculum position to provide consistent oversight of K–12 written curriculum and coaching support.

Superintendent Cowart reviewed the district’s multi-year curriculum work that began in 2016 and emphasized that written curriculum templates and implementation require centralized oversight. Amy, who previously served as director of curriculum and now is assistant superintendent, summarized the RIDE requirement since 2019 for high-quality K–12 ELA and math materials and the district’s multi-year piloting and implementation work.

District staff reported that attrition among elementary coaches has left the district without dedicated coaching roles and that Title II grant funds previously used for coaches could be reclassified to help fund a director position. Cowart said the job description has been updated with only minor language changes and that, with funding identified, staff would like to post the position and return the job description and updated organizational chart for committee vote at the next meeting.

Committee members asked questions about RIDE’s role (RIDE provides guidance and lists of high-quality materials but districts select and implement curriculum), the district’s responsibility for purchasing materials and providing professional development, and the process of posting and approving the job description. Cowart said posting could begin now but the job description and org chart would be on the next meeting’s agenda as a discussion-and-vote item.

Next steps: staff will post the vacancy and bring the finalized job description and the org chart to the next meeting for formal approval.