Madison Schools Ask Parents to Take Curriculum and Mathematics Survey

Shared by the Madison Public Schools:

To Our Madison Parents,

The Madison Public Schools website has a new look and can be visited at the same web address: www.madison.k12.ct.us. Our goal with this new website is to provide our visitors an easier way to navigate and find valuable information. Amongst the new features the site contains communication regarding our recent curriculum adoptions.

This resource can be accessed by clicking on the curriculum button located in the middle of the district homepage. You will discover documents that drive our work as a district, as well as those specific to a discipline. Although still under construction, we are adding links to newly Board Of Education adopted K-12 units in every discipline. Last year, we finished a two year cycle of curriculum writing for both Mathematics and English Language Arts. This year, we are finishing a two year cycle for World Language and Social Studies and expect full implementation in the fall.

Once a curriculum has been adopted, we are interested in seeing the impact that it has in the district. We do this by dedicating time in teams to examine student work, assessments, and study lesson effectiveness. Occasionally, we have individuals or groups study our K-12 program and serve as "critical friends".

As a part of these efforts, and in the spirit of continuous improvement, the school district is a member of a group of high-performing districts encompassing the entire Tri-State region. This group, the Tri-State Consortium, is a dynamic learning organization of public school districts that assists its member districts in using quantitative and qualitative data to enhance student performance. Consortium members apply the standards of the Tri-State model to benchmark member districts' progress in advancing teaching and learning.

This year, we will share our work in Mathematics with colleagues from member districts in the Tri-State Consortium during a three day visit in May. A trained team of educators from member districts in the Consortium will examine the following questions in light of the Tri-State model:

• To what extent does developing mathematical thinking drive the planning of our instructional strategies?
• To what extent are we employing a wide variety of instructional strategies to develop the mathematical thinking of our students?

We would like to hear from our parents about their children's experience in the revised Mathematics curriculum. Please take a few minutes to respond to the survey, which you can find by clicking here.

Sincerely,

Gail Dahling-HenchAssistant Superintendent