If you drove past the Bladen County Board of Education recently, you may have noticed a larger than usual number of vehicles vying for limited parking space. A greater premium was on space inside the facility where some 50 teachers spanning K-12 and representing every school in the district sacrificed sacred summer days to improve education for their students.
When the 2012/13 school year begins, so too will a new curriculum for all grades as North Carolina implements the Common Core Math and English Language Arts Standards along with new Essential Standards for Social Studies, Science, the Arts, World Languages, Healthful Living, Career and Technical Education, and Guidance.
Throughout the spring, eleven Bladen County district teachers participated in a fourteen-district collaborative effort comprised of Sandhills Regional Education Consortium’s (SREC) Region 4 educators, to write Common Core instructional guides for the state.
Proactively seeking to ensure quality preparation across the curriculum, dozens ofEssential Standards K-12 teachers met on several occasions in recent weeks to create district guides, facilitated by lead teachers with guidance from the Department of Curriculum and Instruction.
Considering the actions to be among the most important this year, department specialist Terry Smith added, “It is exciting to see the level of dedication and collaboration among teachers. Many have come out of their comfort zones with personal sacrifice to assist as needed for the sake of quality education.
The coming year will usher in tremendous change not only with new standards, but new assessments that emphasize problem-solving, use of technology and improved literary skills. The efforts put forth to date on this project are vital in preparing students for success in an increasingly competitive, interconnected world.” Superintendent, Dr. Robert Taylor and Assistant Superintendent, Tanya Head observed many of the teachers during the process.
The Essential Standards instructional guides are expected to be available when the new school year begins, with periodic updates to continue throughout the school year.
