TLSS: Curriculum review

I should point out here that the giant binders you may have seen before each committee member are the backup on this item (and will be added to going forward). So far as I know, it is not yet available online.
Also note that this will be a more-or-less standing item at all TLSS items going forward.
Mulqueen notes the introduction to this at last week's School Committee meeting and Saturday's community meeting on the Common Core.

suggest a month-by-month map of presentations, tied to work as it happens
"needs to be the focus of much of our attention...without our work on curriculum, the students won't learn what they need to as we need them to"
Tammy Boyle is project manager:
"collecting stakeholder teams..what areas of expertise we need to do this work...ensure that we have a very diverse group of people who are charged with this work"
"what our kids here in Worcester need to know and need to do"
mission/vision
looking at current curriculum
habits of stamina, metacognition...etc
what does that look like in various curricular areas?
"so kids aren't learning in little boxes"
Mulqueen: "not engaging in book wars"
Will eventually come to which tools are the best to use in the classroom
question if parents are involved: are there other meetings for parents to know what is going and being involved?
what to know what next year is going to bring?
"I don't want to come into it...after you guys have already laid down the foundations"
O'Connell: is there still a point where others who want to be involved it in can do so?
"how can we invite in a very organic way...or how can we communicate out...when parents hear about it...some parents just want the formal meetings...some would like to be involved in listening as the committee does its work"
community member: "vision of what you did in school...time has changed, rules have changed, technology has changed...how can I market this to the parents, and involve them in the process...sometime...parents don't understand what's going on in educators' world...so when homework goes home, parents can say 'here's what you need to be doing'"
contrast of knowledge basis of parents and of teachers: "put it together, gel it together...some may be at different levels of understanding..."

Monfredo asks what we're doing across the system to teach our primary grades writing as a process
now an attempt to systematize what we are doing now (this from Mulqueen)

community question regarding writing compared to the internet
"they go on the computer and that corrects everything for them"

Biancheria asks if we have a schedule of the professional development for our staff
Mulqueen reviews the various "levels" of professional development: coaches, schoolwide, districtwide, which might include compliance issues
currently doing piloting of benchmark training..question of bringing it to scale over time (some question of doing this for FY13?)
will come in the budget cycle not just this year but every year
Biancheria expressing concern about only getting funding requirements during budget time
there's some back and forth here around tracking professional development to ensure every teacher gets what that teacher needs to make sure each kid gets what he needs
 Also expressing concern around turnover in principals and what that has to do with choices on professional development and curriculum and things continuing.