Reeths-Puffer Schools' Curriculum
The curriculum created here at Reeths-Puffer Schools is the "road map" for every student that walks through our doors. This map starts all the way back in Kindergarten and charts a course toward high school graduation, each year building on the skills previously learned. As a parent of a Reeths-Puffer student it is your right to know what will be expected of your child and the skills they will learn at each stop on their journey toward graduation. It is also important for Reeths-Puffer parents to know how our curriculum has been created.
In 2004 the State of Michigan changed the system they used to mandate the content that schools must teach. The new system the State of Michigan created is called Content Expectations (CE's). After four years CE's in the four main subject areas have been created for all grades, kindergarten through twelfth, and have been used as the foundation for curriculum development here at Reeths-Puffer. As new Content Expectations were released teachers at each grade level performed a Gap Analysis, which identifies the gaps between the new CE's and what was taught in the class. After curriculum gaps were identified in every class adjustments were made to ensure all necessary Content Expectations were covered.
Teachers are now in the process of creating curriculum maps and common assessments for each of their classes. A curriculum map identifies the essential CE's that every student should master in a particular class throughout the school year. The curriculum map also identifies the resources, (text, activities, etc.) and important vocabulary taught to students to ensure mastery of essential Content Expectations. Finished maps are shared across grade levels and subject areas to ensure that students master the same material regardless of school building or teacher and are adequately prepared for state assessments.
Common assessments are tests created by our teachers to evaluate how effectively we have taught the essential Content Expectations and identify any areas in which students may struggle. The common assessments give us the data necessary to adjust our curriculum maps and instruction to ensure that students at Reeths-Puffer Schools receive the best possible education.
A tremendous amount of work and time has been devoted to the creation of Reeths-Puffer's curriculum. Since it is constantly being updated and refined it will continue to change and improve over time. Creating and maintaining curriculum is a never ending process. The process Reeths-Puffer Schools used to create our curriculum is based on the research of many experts in the field of education including, John R. Anderson, Heidi Hayes Jacobs, Eric Jensen, Robert J. Marzano, Spence Rogers, and Mike Schmoker. We will continually strive to ensure that Reeths-Puffer Schools remains a great place for children to Learn, Contribute and Compete.
