INNISFAIL - Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools (RDCRS) is continuing work on implementing the new province-wide curriculum, says superintendent Kathleen Finnigan.
In her monthly report to trustees presented at the recent board meeting, Finnigan outlined the measures the division is taking to implement the new curriculum, which includes mathematics for grades 4-6, English for grades 4-6, science for grades K-3, and French Immersion Language Art and Literature for grades K-3.
“The division continues to implement a measured approach to curriculum implementation that considers the demands placed on, and the needs of, teachers and students as our division moves forward with implementation,” Finnigan said.
“RDCRS also roots out an approach in collective leadership recognizing that teachers are experts in curriculum implementation and valuing their professional autonomy in alignment with the division education plan.”
Headquartered at Montford Centre in Red Deer, RDCRS includes schools in Olds and Innisfail.
The implementation requires “alternate paths for those who need to take more time to move from current to new practices. We, too, must make efforts to model the varied pace of learning in our professional development just as teachers will support the varied pace of students’ learning.”
Numerous meetings led by the associate superintendent of curriculum have been held with school administrators in recent months to help provide support in planning the collective processes for implementation in the schools, she said.
“All impacted schools developed strong launch events to introduce the new curriculum and establish safe risk-taking environments for collaborating and examining instructional practices through collaborative planning led by the associate superintendent of curriculum,” she said.
An anonymous division survey was recently directed to teachers in K-3 to gauge how the new curriculum implementation is proceeding, she said.
The associate superintendent of curriculum also met with the Teacher Welfare Committee chair and received feedback from the Council of School Representatives.
“This, coupled with ongoing feedback from our school administrators, provided input into shaping our next steps,” she said. “An additional survey was conducted at the end of April to gather further data to help identify additional areas of support.”
Going forward, the division’s senior administration team will continue to meet bi-weekly to collaborate on implementation strategies, she said.
“In addition, based on teacher feedback, we are exploring additional ways to promote teacher-led collaboration and remove any barriers to this for staff,” she said.
Trustees accepted Finnigan’s report as information.
