Grappling with the CCSS:Developing PLC Units of Study

Hesperia Unified School DistrictDavid F. Cain, Secondary Curriculum Coach david.cain@hesperiausd.org

Robert McCollum, Director of Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment

Jodi Consten, Coordinator, Staff Development and Induction

The need of teachers

“[Common Core] implementation must include time for teachers to adjust and collaborate with colleagues”

NEA President, Dennis Van Roekel, October 2012

“It was the best collaboration time we have had. When we were done we realized that we had six weeks worth of lesson plans.”

Teacher, Mesa Grande Elementary School, HUSD

Acknowledging the truth• We had a problem

−The old system of benchmark tests, pacing plans, etc., was not meeting the learning needs of students.

−Students were falling by the wayside as the machine trudged on.

−Our highest elementary schools, four between 864 and 904, were matriculating students who, as a cohort, went on to have the greatest decrease in CST performance.

−Our old resources and the new “Common Core Aligned” resources did not attend to the necessary shifts in instruction and developing depth of knowledge.

−Teachers were feeling besieged by the looming CCSS transition.

−If we implemented the CCSS using the same practices and systems that we used with our old standards, we would be repeating past failures and failing to meet the needs of students.

Putting a plan into motion

Putting a plan into motion• Actively engaged with the CCSS, beginning in 2010 and

developed an implementation plan

• Established collaboration Wednesdays across the district

• Develop a CCSS Transition Team of teachers, district coaches, and district administrators

• Utilized our established Calibration Committee (grade and subject representatives from all schools in district)

• Initial CCSS site and parent presentations in 2012

• CART (Site presentations and products—two-hours, five times this year)

Pitfalls in the Process of Transition

Cross-walking is Jaywalking—Phil Daro

Standards are not just lists

Standards are not the curriculum

Don’t look backward: Tabula Rasa

The most significant change is how we teach

Our Target

A Common Destination

Our Primary Purpose• Hesperia Unified School District Mission:

−Preparing todays students for tomorrow’s world

• Validating the professionalism of our teachers−We are our own best resource

• Focusing on Results−A deliberate process…−A deliberate result…

Guiding Principles • Focus on Student Learning that

has impact−Educating the whole child−4 Cs—Critical Thinking, Creativity,

Collaboration, and Communication

ShiftsLanguage Arts• Building knowledge through

content-rich nonfiction and informational texts

• Knowledge and depth across the disciplines—every teacher is a reading and writing teacher

• Reading and writing grounded in evidence from text

• Regular practice with complex text and its academic vocabulary

• Writing from sources

Math• Focus strongly where the

Standards focus

• Coherence: think across grades, and link to major topics within grades

• Rigor: in major topics pursue: − conceptual understanding, − procedural skill and

fluency, and − application *with equal intensity

Balance both breadth and depth in all areas

CCSS as opportunity to emphasize balance

Our Epiphany• CCSS and PLCs—made for each other

• Shaping our focus−What do we want students to learn and be

able to do?−How will we know it?−What will we do if they don’t learn it?−What will we do if they already know it or

learn it quickly?

Collaborative Units of Study

Collaborative Units of Study

Units of Study, PLC, and technology collide

Learning by Doing: Starting with big ideas and essential questions

Collaborative decisions about proficiency and assessment

Developing quality assessments

Anticipating challenges

Questions & Commentshttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1zy04PRRZrtWGpuQe4s0VcvKts2MKdukb4R8z7Lnf6o0/edit?usp=sharing