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Thursday, April 25, 2013

Seattle Schools Community Forum: New Definitions

Seattle Schools Community Forum: New Definitions:


New Definitions

Today at the Management Oversight work session for Teaching and Learning we learned of some new definitions, or, more precisely, the re-definition of some terms.

Early Education now refers to Pre-K through grade 5. Cashel Toner will be responsible for all of that. Previously, early education referred only to Birth to Kindergarten. Now it includes all of elementary education as well.

The definition of Academic Assurances has been narrowed. It now refers only to the academic opportunity that the district is required by law to provide students. It had previously meant the baseline minimum that each Seattle School would offer or which every student would have access to. Under the old definition it included access to advanced learning, access to AP or IB classes for high school, access to music and arts instruction. No more. It is now only what the law requires.

Curriculum now refers only to the set of knowledge and skills that students are expected to acquire as defined by the Common Core State Standards. This is what we used to call "content". Curriculum has been through a number of re-definitions, far too many to count. The last one was that curriculum was an umbrella term that