Getting Ready for Common Core: An Updated Playbook for K-12 School Districts

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Getting Ready for

Common CoreA Playbook for K-12 School Districts

Getting Ready for Common Core 2

Five Steps Every School District Should FollowReady or not, Common Core is coming. The national educational standards for K-12 students will officially debut in the 2014-15 school year. Current state tests will be replaced by assessments that gauge whether students have acquired deeper language arts and math skills, of which Common Core aims to cultivate. But, it’s not as simple as switching to a new test. Common Core is a new way of teaching and learning.

Education experts, administrators and teachers across the country are doing a lot of work to prepare for the shifts that will take place in the next school year.

Here’s how your school district can move forward with an action-based strategy for Common Core.


Step 1. Don’t start with a clean slate.


Common Core is a different approach to education with different measurements of success. But that doesn’t mean your school district has to start from scratch. Many teachers already teach the 21st century skills at the heart of Common Core.

Praise best practicesSchool districts need teachers to be on board with Common Core, and that’s why it is essential to highlight ways in which they already are meeting the standards, says Stan Silverman, director of Technology Based Learning Systems at the New York Institute of Technology, one of the longest-running K-12 professional education networks in the country.

“A key first step is to look at good practices of the past, and juxtapose those against Common Core,” Silverman advises. “Don’t demean work that teachers have been doing well for years.” Demonstrating that Common Core is fundamentally about strong teaching that promotes deep learning will encourage teacher buy-in, he says, and make the whole process seem less daunting.


Don’t reinvent the content wheelAnother big part of getting ready is compiling course materials that meet the standards. Some can be brought in. Textbook publishers have been working toward Common Core for a few years, and educational resource providers like Khan Academy offer a wealth of materials and lesson plan ideas that meet the standards.

Teachers are encouraged to share their resources—and the ones they create— by using Blackboard tools. By taking advantage of great ideas that are already out there, teachers not only save precious time but also better ensure they are rebuilding courses in line with standards. In addition, encourage teachers to use online collaboration tools to share the workload of producing materials specific to your district.


Step 2. Train with efficiency.


Teachers are extraordinarily busy. On top of teaching classes, planning lessons, grading papers, and tutoring kids, they also need to get trained on the new standards. According to a recent study done by YouGov, 72% of math and/or English language arts teachers feel that quality professional development is necessary in order to successfully implement Common Core State Standards in their classrooms.

Equipping teachers for Common Core is a must at Cobb County.In fact, this district in Georgia has spent several years getting teachers ready for Common Core. “We are currently using Blackboard’s learning management system to store training resources and materials for teachers,” says Joe Crawford a supervisor of professional learning at Cobb County School District. We’ve also built out “laboratory” classrooms that model instruction around the Common Core standards. “Teachers visit these locations and observe the teachers to learn more about Common Core.”


Understand training trendsThat’s in line with what the newest generation of teachers will want, according to a 2013 survey by Blackboard and Project Tomorrow, a nonprofit educational research group. Nearly 50%of students studying to be teachers use online podcasts and videos and turn to social networking sites to train for future teaching assignments.

Silverman says technology-enhanced training offers cost-cutting convenience and also enables ongoing collaboration. For example, third grade teachers from across an entire district can regularly come together online to create materials and share best practices. Such collaboration gets the work done efficiently, and it also builds a network of continuous support, Silverman notes. In the high stakes environment of preparing for Common Core standards, he says, giving teachers a way to consistently connect with peers helps them feel less isolated.


Step 3. Keep parents informed.


School districts know that parents are an important part of the Common Core process. Two moms in Indiana have shown the power of pushback: They’ve led a campaign to derail implementation of Common Core.

Districts must communicate regularly with parents and other members of the community who will see changes in how children are learning, Silverman says. “Let them know what’s happening, when changes will take place, and where to go with questions,” he advises. “And warn them that individualized learning, where students are completing different tasks simultaneously, may appear chaotic.”

Deploy digital communicationsOnline and mobile tools are clearly the way to keep stakeholders informed, he says. Websites, social media, texts, and emails are essential for keeping in touch with working parents, and communication management tools ease the logistics.


School principals agree. More than 80% want any new teachers they hire to use digital tools to connect with students and their parents, according to the Blackboard and Project Tomorrow survey.

And parents want a digital connection, too. No matter their child’s grade level, parents want to receive school communications electronically, Project Tomorrow research shows. Most parents prefer the simplicity and mobility of text.

Parents prefer digital school-to-home communications

TEXT MESSAGE

FACEBOOK

MOBILE APP

© SPEAK UP 2013Parents of StudentsGrades 9–12

38%

13%

23%

Parents of StudentsGrades 6–8

39%

14%

24%

Parents of StudentsGrades K–5

36%

17%

25%


Cobb County has a Common Core button on its website homepage that links parents to bilingual information about the standards and the district’s rollout. Some individual schools have conducted Blackboard Collaborate webinars for parents and then posted those sessions for anytime, anywhere access.

Get ready for a barrage of questionsAs students arrived back in school in 2013, many parents and their children heard about the standards for the first time. Yet, 97% of classroom teachers were aware, according to a recent study done by YouGov. Getting online tools in place today ensures smoother communication when children start coming home with new assignments and are graded on new standards. Plus, it starts an on-going conversation with parents about expectations and how to measure their kid’s progress.

Additionally, the 45th Annual Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools indicates that “almost two of three Americans have never heard of the Common Core State Standards, arguably one of the most important education initiatives in decades.” These results show that communication around Common Core needs to increase in order to keep communities and parents informed.


Palm Beach amps up communication to engage parentsPalm Beach County uses Blackboard tools to strengthen the link between administrators, teachers, parents, and students.

Parents and students receive email alerts in addition to having on-demand access to a portal via web or mobile for the latest on everything from standard updates to class schedules, assignments, grades and more.

The secure email notifications foster better and faster communication between teachers and parents. For example, parents find out early if their child is at academic risk so they can get involved right away.

Source: Case Study—Palm

Beach County School District:

Accountability in Schools Takes Hold

with Web-Based Communication


Step 4. Dive.


Creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, collaboration, and information literacy are all important 21st century skills that schools have been working to develop. These same skills are crucial to the successful implementation of the Common Core State Standards. According to the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers, “the standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers.”

Atlanta Public Schools supports pedagogical change by training teachers online.With this mission in mind, Aleigha Henderson-Rosser, the Director of Instructional Technology at Atlanta Public Schools, suggests “Dive right into technology! Technology enhances the teaching and learning of the standard!”


To help teachers get started, Atlanta Public Schools identified teacher leaders and launched demonstration classrooms to provide job-embedded learning opportunities for teachers on effective Common Core instructional practices. This peer instruction model empowers teachers to own the instructional process around the Common Core standards. Doryiane Gunter, Program Manager for Atlanta Public Schools, advises teachers to,

“Take something they are already doing and convert it, using technology, it makes life a little bit easier in the long run!”


Easily align assessments to Common Core.To make life even easier in the long run, Atlanta has plans to align content and curriculum to Common Core State Standards within Blackboard. One of the primary reasons they selected Blackboard as a partner was so they could document coverage of the Common Core State Standards and analyze class and student performance against the standards. As the departments work together to help teachers integrate technology into the learning process, the rewards of those efforts will yield even greater value as teachers leverage Common Core performance data to drive instruction.


Step 5. Have the right tools in place early on.


The right technology tools will ease the transition to new standards for all stakeholders—from administrators and teachers to students and parents. And those same tools can increase your district’s chances of success once Common Core is in place.

Gear up for teacher successFor teachers, the right learning management system and online collaboration tools can enable cost-effective and convenient training on the new standards today. And they can help your district create a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration that will yield excellence in the Common Core classroom.

In addition, by conducting professional development via educational tech tools, teachers learn—and learn to embrace—the same technologies that their students will use for the digital learning strategies Common Core requires. It’s part of the transformational shift promised by Common Core: changing the way teachers teach starts with changing the way teachers learn.


Finally, the right technology tools can help teachers meet the daily requirements of the Common Core classroom to include:

• Creating a personalized learning path for each student

• Aligning content pieces and assessments to the new standards

• Reporting on student progress against the standards

• Assessing and assisting at-risk students with accuracy and speed


Boost student achievementCommon Core’s digital learning requirements are designed to enable student success in the classroom and beyond. To achieve that success, students need tools that help them learn more—and learn more efficiently; prepare them for new assessment techniques; and allow them to track their own progress.

Under the new standards, most summative assessments will be conducted online. So students need to understand tech tools before they log in for their first test. Online formative assessments will help students get comfortable with online test taking, as well as enable them to continuously evaluate their mastery of the material before the end-of-year test.

In addition, Common Core’s individualized learning components will require students to be more accountable for their academic performance. Online learning tools can help them stay organized and connected to helpful resources, as well as allow them to track their own progress through always-available assessment data, including targeted and multimedia feedback from their teachers. Students will always know what’s required, what’s due next, and where they stand.


ConclusionCommon Core is a new way of teaching and learning. And its success will be measured differently, too.

New metrics will gauge whether students are acquiring the 21st century language arts and math skills that Common Core emphasizes. It’s a major educational shift, and school districts have a lot of work to do before the new standards officially debut in 2014-15. They can get ready with an action-based plan that leverages existing strengths and uses technology to gain efficiency and effectiveness. With the right strategy and tools, districts can capitalize on what they know, train to fill any gaps, and keep all stakeholders informed as they move along the path to Common Core success.


About BlackboardBlackboard Inc. is a global leader in enterprise technology and innovative solutions that improve the experience of millions of students and learners around the world every day. Blackboard’s solutions allow thousands of higher education, K-12, professional, corporate, and government organizations to extend teaching and learning online, facilitate campus commerce and security, and communicate more effectively with their communities. Founded in 1997, Blackboard is headquartered in Washington DC, with offices in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.


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Getting Ready for Common Core: An Updated Playbook for K-12 School Districts

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