City's Common Core rollout ramps up today with teacher training

When it comes to new “common core” standards, theoretical language is giving way to hands-on practice.

The curriculum standards, accepted by 48 states, are being rolled out citywide this year after being piloted in 100 schools last year. Today, every teacher in the city is expected to get training on them.

Chancellor Dennis Walcott sat in on a training session this morning at Brooklyn’s PS 124, which took part in the pilot last year. But at many schools, today is likely to be the first time that teachers learn just how the common core standards are poised to change their jobs.

Some principals put together their own plans for today, but they can also draw on four 90-minute lessons the city devised. One session asks teachers to evaluate student work from their own school to see if it meets the new standards. In another, they will practice assessing teachers according to a new evaluation rubric. A third lesson focuses on connecting two overarching citywide goals: strengthening student work and teacher practice. And a fourth lesson asks teachers to examine student work from a school that adopted the new standards last year. The lessons are part of the Department of Education’s online “Common Core Library” of resources.

In a letter to principals last week announcing the lesson plans, Walcott laid out a timeline for schools’ common core-related accomplishments. This fall, he wrote, teams of teachers at each school should identify students’ shortcomings. In the winter, teachers should ask all students to complete two common core-aligned “tasks,” one in reading and one in math. Through it all, principals should be giving teachers frequent feedback based on classroom observations, Walcott wrote.

Walcott’s letter to principals is below:

Dear Colleagues, As we begin the new school year, I am excited to continue our conversation around increasing the rigor of student work and strengthening teacher practice. In partnership with the CSA and UFT, we’ve designated Tuesday, September 7, for you to engage with your staff in an additional day of professional learning and planning around this exciting work. To support you in preparing for this day and for implementing the 2011-12 citywide instructional expectations, we have posted resources and facilitation materials on the Common Core Library. The posted activities will provide you and your staff members with an opportunity to identify gaps in knowledge, familiarize yourselves with Danielson’s Framework for Teaching, and examine Common Core-aligned tasks and corresponding student work. At our conference in June, I was energized by your eagerness to lead this instructional work in our schools and I continue to be inspired by your commitment to ensure that our students are engaged in cognitively-demanding tasks that will prepare them to succeed later in life. This year, we need to take the next step toward college and career readiness for all our students. As you know, we’ve asked all schools to:

  • This fall, in teacher teams, review samples of student work and identify the gaps between what students currently know and are able to do and the demands of the Common Core. This analysis will help schools develop next steps for helping their students reach the level of the Common Core.
  • This winter, engage all students in at least one literacy task and one math task aligned to strategically-selected Common Core standards and embedded in Common Core-aligned curricula. Schools should include multiple entry points for all learners, including students with disabilities and English Language Learners.

To support this work in classrooms, we’ve asked you to:

  • Use sections of Charlotte Danielson’s Framework for Teaching, or continue to use a research-based teaching framework that is already in place, to articulate clear expectations for teacher practice and serve as the focus for teacher development.
  • Engage in short, frequent cycles of classroom observation, collaborative examination of student work, and timely, specific, evidence-based feedback teachers can act on to increase the rigor and effectiveness of their instruction. Teachers should receive feedback on student work on Common Core-aligned tasks and on successes and challenges related to reaching all students, including students with disabilities and English Language Learners.
  • Strengthen your own capacity to provide high-quality feedback to teachers through professional development and support from network teams.

Please work with your network if you have questions. I hope that September 7 is a robust learning experience for you and your staff. Sincerely, Dennis M. Walcott Chancellor