CCSC board hears update on curriculum

CLOVERDALE -- The Cloverdale School Board heard a curriculum update from Middle School Vice Principal and Curriculum Director Cathy Ames.

“We’ve kind of set out this year looking at our test scores,” Ames said, “what we’re doing in our classrooms, and re-evaluating that. We’re not just going to rely on the fact that we’ve always taught it this way. We need to make some changes, and we’re going to change accordingly and do what’s best for our school.”

One of these changes is the adoption of new math textbooks for grades K-8. The new books came with a program that teachers can use to help struggling students.

“It’s that consistent program across the board,” Ames said, “the way the students are being taught, the conversations they’re having within the classrooms. It is a more difficult, rigorous program, making our students think not just of addition, but how do we get that? How can we do that differently? That’s the way our students are going to be tested; that’s the way our students need to be thinking, so we’re starting that at a very young age.”

The high school has also received new math textbooks with a matching “diagnositic piece” to monitor student progress.

“We are very data-driven this year,” Ames said. “Even with the new reading test that we’re going to be taking, and some of the interventions we’re going to be using, we’re really driving the instruction by the data that we’re receiving from a lot of these diagnostic pieces.”

The reading test Ames referred to is RAPS360 and MindPlay Virtual Reading Coach, which are designed to show comprehension, fluency and phonemic awareness for grades K-10. Ames also said all language arts teachers will be giving “benchmark tests” three times a year.

“Our reading interventionist will test students whom we have identified as needing some extra interventions every two weeks,” Ames said. “So we will progress monitor, the teachers will go back, the will look at those reports. If we need to we can adjust our classes from that as well.”

She also introduced a new formative assessment test, which is required by the Department of Education, called Inspect, saying that it’s “very predictive according to what the students will be tested over for our state assessments. It’s given three times a year.” The first Inspect test is expected for October.

“So we have a lot of really good, positive things that are happening cirriculum-wise in all three buildings,” Ames said. “Our teachers are utilizing the technology.”

Secretary Vivian Whitaker responded that she is excited about the changes, and Donna Fidler added, “It sounds like great things are going on.”