HIGHTSTOWN: Curriculum changes upcoming for K-12 schools

By Amy Batisa, Special Writer
   HIGHTSTOWN — The Board of Education started off its first meeting of the school year earlier this month by unanimously approving revisions to the district curriculum as part of its transition into the Common Core State Standards Initiative.
   It is a state-led initiative that aims to establish basic, uniform education requirements across the country, according to Michael Dzwonar, assistant superintendent of curriculum and assessment.
   ”It’s gonna be a lot of work but we do believe it is going to pay off,” Mr. Dzwonar said.
   Mr. Dzwonar and his colleagues presented the board with a PowerPoint presentation “Transitioning to the Common Core” on Sept. 10.
   According to Mr. Dzwonar, the goal of the Common Core State Standards is to provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students, are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that young people need to for success in college and careers.
   ”In 1996, the National Governors Association organized the Council of Chief State School Officers because they said they were going to do something about the gap between college readiness as well as career readiness and high school graduates,” Mr. Dzwonar said.
   Mr. Dzwonar said that there are only five states that are “not on board” with the Common Core Standards. New Jersey adopted a resolution on June 16, 2010, calling for New Jersey’s curriculum standards to be aligned with the national Common Core Standards in math and language arts literacy.
   ”President (Barack) Obama and Arne Duncan (the secretary of education) announced Race to the Top. We had to adopt Common Core Standards or create another set of standards with equal amount of rigor,” Mr. Dzwonar said.
   The district was eligible for the Race to the Top grant and applied in February.
   ”We think our version of what they are already asking for, we are already there,” Mr. Dzwonar said. “We think our curriculum already measures up locally to what the expectations are.”
   ”One of the things that is important to know is in the past was it let’s teach a mile wide and everything and let’s go an inch deep and we may be able to get some type of an understanding,” said Sandy Small of the district’s Office of Curriculum and Assessment. “What the Common Core is doing now is let’s just go in an inch wide and a mile deep and that’s what they are looking to do.”
   ”We have curriculum junkies that really get into this stuff and we used outside consultants,” Mr. Dzwonar said when it came to looking at the district’s curriculum over the summer. It has been an going task of more than a year.
   During board members comments on Sept. 10, individuals expressed support and thanked Mr. Dzwonar.
   ”I wanted to thank our curriculum junkies,” said Board member Christine Harrington. “I’m so excited to have curriculum junkies and always delighted with your hard work and obviously the curriculum is the heart of what we do here so it is very much appreciated.”
   ”As a curriculum junkie myself, I was thoroughly impressed with all of your efforts with trying to fill in all the gaps, especially the math curriculum and I see we are doing everything where it needs to be done,” said Board member Lisa Abel.
   ”The teachers of the East Windsor Regional School District have already begun being trained in teaching with Common Core Standards, and are quite familiar with it,” said Ellen Ogintz, president of the East Windsor Education Association (EWEA), on Sept. 14.
   ”Training started last year and many teachers came in for additional training over the summer. EWEA members have always been flexible and welcomed any changes that were in the best interest of the students. The increased rigor of the Common Core Standards is necessary so that our students are prepared to compete in today’s world,” Ms. Ogintz.
   As at the Sept. 10 meeting, Superintendent Edward Forsthoffer III and the Board President Robert Laverty welcomed 52 new certificated staff members for the 2012-13 school year..
   Mr. Forsthoffer told the Herald earlier this month that the district employs 451 teachers with an average salary of approximately $71,000.
   ”We do have a few new initiatives in place and I am anxious to see how they improve student achievement in the district,” said Mr. Forsthoffer on Sept. 18.
   ”We are implementing a new literacy program in grades K-5; moving all of our curriculum toward the Common Core; and selecting a new evaluation instrument for all of our certified staff,” Mr. Forsthoffer said.
   According to Mr. Forsthoffer, the district has close to 5,100 students enrolled and they will be attending 180 days of school this academic term, which is the same amount as last year.
   The Common Core will replace the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards (NJCCCS).
   As for the district’s new curriculum, Mr. Forsthoffer said, “The move toward the Common Core is a nationwide initiative where approximately 45 states have agreed to move to these common standards. The future state assessments — tentatively beginning in 2014 — will be aligned to the Common Core.”
   Mr. Forsthoffer went on to further discuss the assessments.
   ”The assessments will begin in 2014,” Mr. Forsthoffer said. “However, there will some holdover with the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) remaining until there is a movement toward end of course, subject specific tests. Since some students have been taught using the NJCCCS and now will be taught using the Common Core, it is anticipated that next year’s third-graders will be the first class to be evaluated using just the Common Core.”
   Further, “The state is responsible for the assessment piece and the district has been budgeting for the change in curriculum,” Mr. Forsthoffer said. “We have been working on this for about two years and will complete the transition by the end of this year.”
   As for music and the arts, “This district continues to place a strong emphasis on the arts,” Mr. Forsthoffer said. “Our high school band and vocal departments have won major awards in numerous competitions. We have new staff working with our high school marching band as they prepare for their fall competitive season.”
   In terms of the school elections this fall, there are three seats up in East Windsor and one Hightstown seat that was vacated by Susan Lloyd earlier this year, the superintendent said.
   There will be no district-related referendum on the Nov. 6, Mr. Forsthoffer noted.
   ”We had a terrific opening this year and it is my expectation is that this will continue,” Mr. Forsthoffer said.