When the Kentucky Department of Education adopted its new core content standards for all Kentucky schools in 2010, there was some apprehension on the part of many educators across the state.
The new standards, which began with the 2011-2012 school year, were designed to provide fewer but more in-depth standards that were aligned from elementary to high school and post secondary education to ensure students graduated prepared to succeed in college or careers.
While some school officials adopted a wait and see attitude about the new core curriculum, Clark County Superintendent Elaine Farris was an outspoken proponent of the new standards from day one.
So it should be no surprise that midway through the first year using the new core curriculum, George Rogers Clark High School is at the forefront in its adoption of the new standards.
The first phase of the new state system included English II, U.S. history, algebra and biology classes, but because of their confidence in the system, GRC officials also included English I in the school’s core curriculum.
And halfway through the first year, GRC principal David Bolen said the new curriculum is everything he thought it would be and more.
“There’s no comparison. It’s like daylight and dark,” Bolen said. “I feel very confident that there is more teaching going on now than there probably ever has been. They see the connection now to the ACT test and they know that what they are teaching is going to make a difference for these kids.”
Initially, there was a little apprehension by some teachers about the new standards, Bolen said, but after going through some training on the new standards, that quickly went away.
“Initially some were a little leery, but after the ACT people came and we had a couple of work days, the more they got into it the more they liked it,” Bolen said. “But what really put us over the hump was when the teachers we sent to Ashland for some followup training in the fall came back really pumped up and on fire about it, everybody really dived into it head first.”
Under the new standards, all sections of a course are taught the same way, using the same assignments and assessments, which guarantees that all students receive the same instruction, which Bolen said, has led to much more collaboration between teachers within those departments.
Bolen said one of biggest assets of the new standards is that unlike previous years, students are tested in subjects every year instead of every two or three years as was the case in some subjects. The test results are available within days, which allows teachers to evaluate areas students need more help in.
“Now when we give a test, it’s scanned and analyzed question-by-question so the teachers can go back and look and see which questions the students had trouble on, so they can tie it to the standards and go back and review those with the students,” Bolen said. “It puts some accountability on the kids as well as holding the teachers accountable. I think that has been the missing piece all along.”
Bolen said he also likes the fact that the new standards provide more in-depth teaching and require students to more fully learn concepts and apply them instead of just memorizing data to be regurgitated on an exam.
In the past, one of the biggest complaints of Kentucky’s educational system was its dependence on writing portfolios. While the new standards don’t include the hated writing portfolios, Bolen said it didn’t mean there wasn’t still as strong emphasis on writing at GRC.
“Writing has not gone away, it’s still a big part of the new standards. It’s just not having that set portfolio now,” Bolen said. “The writing they are doing now is not just to meet the portfolio, it’s more actual real life stuff. And I’ll be honest with you. They are probably writing more now than they ever have before, it’s just that it has been made more relevant and the kids see that now.”
Looking back over the first half of the school year, Bolen said there were a few bumps along the way, and they’ve identified some areas that need to be worked on, but he’s happy with the results thus far, and he thinks the standards will help all his students.
“We are pushing the envelope as far as the new standards go and with that comes some hiccups along the way because there is nobody doing what we are doing, but I’m very happy with where we’re going with this,” Bolen said. “This is not just for high achieving kids, the new standards will raise the level of all students. I think in three years you will see GRC’s ACT scores right up there in the top of the state.”
Bolen said he talked with administrators from several other districts and found that most have not been as aggressive as Clark County in implementing the new standards.
“I’ve had conversations with several districts and some of them are dragging their feet. They are looking to us because we are there in the trenches doing it and leading the pack, and that’s where I think we should be,” Bolen said. “When you are out there in the forefront, there is nobody there to draw upon and that has been tough,” Bolen said.
“But I would rather be the lead dog and take the problems that go with it than to be in the back of the pack, because I really believe this is going to make a huge difference for our students and we should be aggressive with it.”
Contact Bob Flynn at bflynn@winchestersun.com.
