Tricia Walker, Watertown School District curriculum director, highlights staff training and staged curriculum adoptions

Tricia Walker, curriculum director for Watertown School District 14-4, described how the district supports teachers and students through customized professional development and staggered curriculum adoptions.

"My role as a curriculum director is to oversee kind of the instruction and how it is supported throughout a student's career through their graduation," Walker said, summarizing responsibilities that include selecting instructional materials, identifying teaching strategies and organizing professional development for staff across grade levels.

Walker said the district emphasizes targeted training for different staff roles. "Starting from when a teacher is or an employee is first hired, we host a new teacher academy. We host a new paraprofessional day...and then at our regular in-services, we try to create those to support emerging needs as they come up," she said, noting the district invested in Vector Solutions to meet paraprofessional training needs.

On curriculum adoption, Walker outlined a staggered, multi-year approach: the district is "finishing or mid" a language-arts adoption this summer, is in year two of math, year one of social studies and year three of science. She framed the cycle as a balance of readiness and support: choosing materials and training so schools are prepared for implementation the following fall.

Walker traced her path from classroom teacher to district leader, saying she spent 16 years teaching second grade before moving into roles as a tech integrationist and instructional-design coordinator. "It became curriculum first with tech to support," she said, describing a philosophy that curriculum should drive instructional decisions while technology is a supportive tool.

Outside the district, Walker leads a local Cavaliers 4‑H club and serves on community boards, activities she said help maintain connections to students and families. She also shared personal anecdotes — including family attendance at Taylor Swift concerts and a post-graduation teaching stint in Australia — as part of a longer conversation about what keeps her invested in local education.

The interview closed with the host and Walker sampling a featured pizza from Marco's and signing off the episode. The segment provided a window into the district’s professional-development priorities and ongoing curriculum work ahead of the next school year.