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Kennett Consolidated SD committee previews multi‑step curriculum pilot policy and five‑year review cycle
Summary
District leaders presented an eight‑step pilot policy to vet curriculum and instructional changes — from defining problems and researching best practices to piloting, evaluating and scaling — and discussed aligning the process with state standards and textbook adoption timelines.
At the curriculum committee meeting on Oct. 28, district leaders presented a multi‑step pilot policy intended to create a transparent, research‑based process for adopting curriculum, instructional strategies and programs across the Kennett Consolidated School District.
Dr. Rizzo Saunders, introduced at the meeting, said a formal policy is needed so curricular changes "shouldn't depend who sits in the chair" and to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent on approaches with high expected returns. He asked for a process that reliably identifies problems, tests solutions and reports findings to stakeholders.
Dr. Heather Collins and colleagues walked the committee through the proposed steps: (1) define the problem and guiding questions; (2) review peer‑reviewed research and case studies; (3) create a standard template to summarize methodology and findings; (4) present results to working groups of teachers and specialists; (5) gather feedback from a broadly representative committee including parents and students; (6) develop an action plan and pilot criteria; (7) implement pilots with formative and summative measures and professional development for teachers; and (8) evaluate results and scale successful approaches in phased steps. The plan also proposes a five‑year curriculum cycle with formal reviews every five years.
Board members asked how the policy would interact with existing textbook‑adoption procedures and state standards. Presenters said standards inform the curriculum and research on instruction should guide material selection; principals and the administrative council will decide how to engage department chairs and staff before any policy returns to the board. Several board members recommended clear timelines to balance the rigor of the review process with teachers' need for timely materials.
No vote was taken. Presenters said a draft policy will be developed for review with the expectation it will return to the board prior to the end of the calendar year, and the committee scheduled a November meeting focused on Keystone and ACCESS data and an example of longitudinal student cohorts.
