When the state of New York adopted Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy and Mathematics in 2011, Syracuse City School District (SCSD) sought to develop a long-term plan for Common Core implementation.
The district viewed the shift to Common Core State Standards as a timely, strong platform for professional development—an opportunity with the potential to dramatically improve student achievement. SCSD knew that the success of educational change efforts hinges on a careful balance between supportive training and new practice demands.
As early ideas about Common Core implementation began to coalesce into a plan, the district envisioned an educator effectiveness system that would be based on thoughtful, constructive use of tools, and that would keep stakeholder voices top-of-mind.
At the same time, the district was committed to crafting a reform plan that aligned support and evaluation systems to the demands of Common Core standards.
A road map was needed to help the district focus their efforts on key strategies and practices that would increase instructional rigor and the complexity of unit and lesson content.
- Participating in the framework development process deepened educator practice knowledge and achieved stakeholder investment in the evaluation tool.
- Establishing observation rating norms and conducting periodic re-certification ensured principals consistently used commonly understood expectations.
In 2012, Syracuse City School District partnered with Insight Education Group to lead the development and implementation of custom-built instructional frameworks that support the college-ready teaching practices required by Common Core standards.
SCSD and Insight drew up a plan that would enable the district to obtain meaningful feedback from instructional leaders and teachers, build confidence in the validity of the tools, and clearly mark a path to professional development that would support the new Common Core practices.
Frameworks Aligned to Common Core
Teachers
As a first step in the plan to produce a rigorous, research-based instructional framework, Insight Education Group guided the steering committee in a broad-based review of relevant research and existing instructional effectiveness documents.
