District unveils online curriculum blueprint to increase transparency

Gettysburg Area School District administrators demonstrated a new online curriculum blueprint designed to make curriculum materials more transparent to teachers, parents and the public.

Ann Bohm, who led the presentation, walked the board through the district website and the Eduplanet21-based blueprint, showing how users can navigate by subject and grade to view unit overviews, standards alignment and the district's identified long-term transfer goals under the Understanding by Design (UbD) framework. Bohm said the blueprint was added to the website about a week before the meeting and emphasized that the district can publish completed units while continuing to revise others behind the scenes.

"We are here to share the curriculum blueprint," Bohm said, describing how the platform displays subject tiles, grade-level views and unit-level details that link to standards and assessments. The presentation noted the district's work to move from static PDFs to a living online system that can publish units as they meet quality criteria.

Board members praised the accessibility of the platform. One board member said the display made it easier for parents and community members to understand what students are learning.

Administrators said the district is using a curriculum cycle so not all content will be viewable at once; units that reach the published stage will be accessible publicly while others remain in development. The presentation highlighted instructional coaches and department leads as key supports in the ongoing development and review process.

The demonstration closed with an invitation for board members and the public to review the blueprint on the district website and ask questions as units are republished.