NPS Elementary Curriculum Corner

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In this monthly newsletter, we will share curriculum news, offer a view into a different grade level and curriculum, and share the many reasons we are grateful for the amazing NPS educators and all of the joy and learning taking place in our schools!

Each month, we will take a closer look at a component of our elementary curriculum.

For the month of November, let's take a look at our Grade 5 Mathematics Curriculum.

In Grade 5 Mathematics, students will learn about:

• The Operations of Multiplication and Division
• The Structure and Volume of 3-D Shapes
• Deepening Student Understanding of Fractions
• Classifying Triangles and Quadrilaterals
• Using Coordinate Graphs, Ordered Pairs, Tables, and Symbolic Notation to Model Real World Mathematical Situations

Each curriculum unit will not only focus on state standards-based learning, but also transfer goals, or the things we want students to be able to do INDEPENDENTLY when they are faced with new challenges, both in and outside school, and beyond the current lessons and units.

Please check out the video below to learn more about elementary mathematics transfer goals in the Northampton Public Schools and how transfer goals support sustainable learning for students throughout their educational and life journey!

*Please note video footage was taken prior to 2020.

While we will take a look each month at a different element of our elementary curriculum, we are pleased to share that our curriculum for each grade level and subject area is always available through our publicly accessible curriculum maps.

Please access the district curriculum here: NPS District Curriculum

A little information about curriculum maps:

• A curriculum map is a tool for organizing expectations for what students should know and be able to do in each subject, each year.
• Curriculum maps are outlines for learning and may not capture the rich, multi-dimensional curricula we teach daily in our classrooms.

In the video below, we walk through the Northampton Public Schools Grade 5 Mathematics Curriculum:

Curriculum is also a very important part of the NPS District Improvement Plan.

Here are some exciting ways we plan to share and expand our curriculum during the 2021-2022 School Year:

• Increase student engagement and learning using rubrics
• Provide professional development focused on culturally-responsive and anti-racist teaching and practices for all district employees
• Implement standards based grading for more equitable learning and reporting
• Use the 7 Forms of bias protocol to review and revise ALL curriculum (please see the 7 Forms of Bias section below!).

BlackPrint Education Consulting supports districts, schools, and partner organizations to develop and execute the competencies, policies, practices, and structures necessary to produce educational equity and excellence for historically marginalized student populations, especially those of African or indigenous descent.

In August 2021, NPS staff were trained by BlackPrint in how to use the 7 Forms of Bias Protocol to review curriculum materials. Use of the protocol is an ongoing process in all curriculum areas and focuses on examining curriculum for the following forms of bias:

• Invisibility
• Stereotyping
• Imbalance and Selectivity
• Unreality
• Fragmentation and Isolation
• Linguistic Bias
• Cosmetic Bias

All NPS departments continued reviewing our curriculum using the 7 Forms of Bias Protocol on our November 2nd Professional Development day and as part of our process for any new curriculum adoptions.

Materials have a direct influence on student learning! Northampton Public Schools is participating in the Selecting High Quality Instructional Materials Network to support the use and selection of evidence-based curriculum.

A theory of action our network has shared for strengthening curriculum:

If schools and districts have the information and support they need to provide teachers with access to high-quality, standards-aligned curricular materials… and if sustainable and collaborative professional learning structures help teachers use those materials to orchestrate student learning experiences skillfully…then teacher and student experiences, and ultimately student outcomes, will improve.

As part of a multi-year process report card review process, grades K-5 are working hard to review report card language (keeping the same format) and ensure alignment to state standards. With a focus on caregiver accessibility and encouragement of individual student progress, report cards will continue to offer meaningful feedback on student progression.

The new report cards will be used for the first term and additional information will be sent by the second week of November.

Website: https://northamptonschools.org/project/nps-district-curriculum/