Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment are intricately linked pieces of every educational program. It is impossible to separate them but for the purposes of providing information to our teachers, parents, and community members it is sometimes helpful to look at them as separate pieces of the larger puzzle. Instruction refers to the tools that teachers use to deliver the curriculum. Teachers are always adding tools to their individual toolboxes through the Individual Professional Development Plans that all certified teachers must complete. In addition to the individual plans, the Pelham School District has goals and plans to increase our instructional effectiveness across the district. Some of these are described below. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please contact Sarah Marandos.
The transition to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) requires teachers to not only teach new curricula but it also expects them to teach in a different way. In the past much of what was taught through the New Hampshire State Grade Level Expectations (GLE's) was broad and superficial, we would often refer to our curriculum as "a mile wide and an inch deep." The Common Core Standards are very much the opposite, asking teachers to teach a smaller number of higher-level standards in depth. This is a major shift in how we provide effective instruction to our students. A good example of this is in mathematics. In many ways, the CCSS expects teachers to teach math to students but also to teach them how to be mathematicians, to apply the math content at a higher level than has been expected before. Teachers are working together in their grade level teams and the vertical teams to better understand these expectations in Mathematics and English Language Arts and Literacy.