The Chalkboard Curriculum Update

Across our nation, there has been an increased emphasis on standards. In our State, this has been reflected in the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards. These were adopted by the New Jersey State Board of Education in May 1996. These standards define what all students are expected to achieve in seven content areas, including Reading, Writing, Math, and Science at grades 4, 8, and 12. These standards were developed by a team of educators working with parents, business leaders and other interested citizens. These standards discuss how students learn as well as what they learn. In order to help your children reach the standards, we, here in the Plumsted Township School District, have been working on changing what takes place in our classrooms. When you ask your children about their schoolwork and when you visit them in their classrooms , you should find, more and more, that the following are happening:

Your children are learning the same essential skills in each classroom at each grade level. Teachers have worked over the summers to write a set of essential goals for each content area. These goals are written to be in line with the Core Content Standards.

Your children have access to the same materials in each classroom at each grade level. Teachers have worked to select the best in prepared texts and learning materials. You might have already seen this in the purchase of the Write Source grammar books for grades 2-8, or the FOSS Science Kits for grades K-5, or the new Glencoe Social Studies Series in Grades 5-9.

Your children are using calculators and computers, as well as paper and pencil, as important tools of learning. Visitors can readily see this in our computer labs or connected classrooms. Besides our classroom computers, our students go to our Computer Labs on a regularly scheduled basis to learn specific computer skills which range from keyboarding to designing their own Power Point presentations.

Your children are expected to achieve at a high level. The new standards are high but we would shortchange our children if we expected any less. We believe that when teachers, parents, children share these high expectations, more children will actually achieve them.

Your children's work is being evaluated in a variety of ways. In addition to the many ways that we assess progress in the classroom, the State has developed a series of State assessments at the 4th (the ESPAs), 8th (the GEPA) and 11th (the HSPA) grades. These tests are used to measure your children's achievements. These ask children to share what they know in a more difficult way; focusing on open-ended problems and higher level thinking skills.

Our teachers through our Department of Curriculum and Instruction are committed to providing your children with the most rigorous and current curriculum possible. We know that, for our children to be successful in today's changing world, they must have advanced skills in core subjects like English, Math and Science, as well as the ability to use computers, solve problems, think critically, and work together in teams. We do know that our children WANT to learn more and to work hard. We can see that they are curious and motivated when we challenge them in school. Now its our challenge to educate them to meet the high academic standards and high expectations of both our community and our state. We encourage you to work together with us as we undertake this exciting adventure.