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District outlines curriculum review, expanded PD and bilingual programming
Summary
The division for curriculum, instruction and professional development presented a five‑year curriculum review (K–12 ELA and CTE upcoming), a large March PD day, a shift to cohort mentoring for new teachers, pilot use of Desmos graphing tools, and a phase‑1 bilingual program for ninth grade.
The Albany City School District's curriculum division presented a multi‑year plan to review and update curriculum, expand professional development, and pilot classroom tools and bilingual pathways.
The division lead described a five‑year curriculum review cycle and said elementary schools will adopt ARC Core while grade 6 will use ARC Fusion; the full secondary rollouts will follow the review cycle. "This summer, coming to a board meeting near you, is the curriculum review for K–12 ELA and K–12 CTE," the director said.
Staff highlighted a large March PD day with more than 1,200 survey responses and praised staff‑led sessions: "We had over 1,200 responses to the survey for March 20, with very high ratings across the day," the presenter said. The district is shifting its mentoring model from one‑to‑one matches to cohort mentoring for new teachers to provide collaborative, ongoing support.
The division also discussed pilots and instructional tools. At the elementary level, ELA and math core work continues, and the district piloted the Desmos online graphing calculator; leaders said the pilot showed modest gains for students who used it. The district is also expanding bilingual offerings with a budget‑neutral phase 1 for ninth grade, inviting about 43 eligible eighth graders to participate next year.
Student accomplishments were emphasized: the district reported growth in seals of biliteracy and civic readiness and invited two students who earned seals to speak; student Asma thanked staff and families for supporting bilingual learning opportunities.
Board members asked about timing for curriculum rollouts, PD input from staff, and scaling of pilots; leaders said adoption timelines vary by subject and that staff surveys and requests for proposals informed the March PD schedule.
The presentation signaled multiple near‑term actions: summer curriculum reviews, continued PD planning, mentoring program changes, and decisions about scaling successful pilots.
