Director of curriculum outlines standards-revision cycle, teacher-written curriculum, and AI training plans
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Summary
Mary Belbo, director of curriculum, instruction and professional learning, briefed the board on the district’s strategic-plan Priority 1 work: a multi-year standards revision cycle, teacher-written curriculum development, professional learning offerings, and proposed new career-technical and library curricula.
Mary Belbo, identified in the meeting as director of curriculum, instruction and professional learning, presented a strategic-plan update focused on curriculum and professional learning and described how the district is responding to the Nebraska Department of Education standards-revision timeline.
Belbo said the state typically revises standards on a 7–8 year cycle, and the district aligns curriculum and professional learning to that timeline. She said teacher committees — sometimes 50–60 participants for a content area such as science — write and revise curriculum so materials align to new state standards and can be adjusted by teachers over time. "When teachers write their curriculum...they're very cognizant of what the expectations are," Belbo said.
She walked the board through recent activity: K–6 science revisions were completed; secondary work continues; 44 courses have been completed since last spring and about 83 more are in process. Professional learning offerings included full-day summer launches, mid-year workshops and coaching sessions; the district also is offering training on AI tools and uses for high-school writing instruction. Belbo said the district uses national librarian standards for a new K–12 library curriculum because Nebraska does not provide state librarian standards.
Belbo also described proposed curricular additions in career and technical education, including new technical-math offerings and AP-level adjustments, and summarized resource and budget considerations for equipment and program costs.
The board asked about teacher compensation for curriculum work; Belbo said teachers are released during the day with subs provided. She added that the district collects regular feedback through Google forms and surveys to guide revisions and professional learning.
The presentation provided the board with a framework for planning and budgeting for upcoming state-driven revisions to social studies and fine arts and the district’s approach to sustaining teacher-led curricular ownership.
Next steps: continue implementation cycles, collect teacher feedback during and after year-one implementation, and prepare budget estimates for equipment and program needs related to new career-technical education pathways.