NORTH COLONIE CENTRAL SCHOOLS

LATHAM, NEW YORK

MEMO TO: Mrs. Randy Ehrenberg, Superintendent

FROM: Joseph Corr, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction

DATE: January 11, 2010

SUBJECT: Report to the Board of Education on Summer Curriculum Workshops

Following is a brief summary for each curriculum development workshop held this past summer. Included is the
name of the chairperson, number of teachers who attended, number of days of the workshop, objectives, and
accomplishments.

AP ART HISTORY
Chairperson: Anne Manzella
No. of Teachers: 1
No. of Days: 2
Objectives: A large collection of digital images was purchased and these images need to be
uploaded, stored and ultimately incorporated into a variety of PowerPoint
presentations. Use of the images in a digital format has replaced the use of
antiquated slides and slide projectors for the delivery of instruction and time is
required to fine tune the large quantity of slide shows for each unit of instruction.
Accomplishments: Approved time was spent creating digital presentations for instruction of unit
lessons, in which the digital art history images acquired by the department were
imbedded. Previously created slide presentations were refined. Review
presentations for pre and post instruction were prepared, inclusive of digital images
and recommended essay construction strategies, consistent with AP scoring rubrics.

ASC 1 ART
Chairpersons: Anne Manzella and Virginia McQuade
No. of Teachers: 2 (supervisors)
No. of Days: 2
Objectives: Brainstorm and develop the concept and outline for an art course co-taught by both a
special education and general art education teacher that would provide meaningful
exposure to various art media on an instructional level appropriate to a multiply-
handicapped ASC1 population.
Accomplishments: Research, discussion and planning occurred regarding the potential for a one
semester course co-taught by special education and art department faculty which
would explore art making opportunities using a range of materials including
drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture, print making and mixed media. Analysis of
the design, implementation, and assessment of such a course was conducted and
outlined. Impact on scheduling of ASC and non ASC student populations was also
considered.

BUSINESS EDUCATION – PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING

Chairperson: Dave Arnone
No. of Teachers: 1
No. of Days: 2
Objectives: Development of new course materials for the new Principles of Marketing course
offering. This course will be offered as part of the College in the High School
articulation with HVCC and the workshop will be used to adapt the college materials
and assessments within the high school class period and calendar.
Accomplishments: A draft curriculum map laying out the course content, skills for student achievement
and assessments to be used was created. In addition, a course policies handout was
prepared for students and parents, which outlines the course requirements and the
topics which will be covered. Mrs. Wendt worked on the first unit to be covered

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 including a review of the textbook, workbook, and potential in-class activities. She
familiarized herself with the publisher's website and explored the use of EZ Test-
Online to create assessments.

BUSINESS FUNDAMENTALS 9-12

Chairperson: Dave Arnone
No. of Teachers: 1
No. of Days: 2
Objectives: Development of course materials for the new Business Fundamentals course
offering. The workshop will be used to develop instructional materials and
assessment tools.
Accomplishments: The course curriculum was finalized. In addition, Mrs. Eldredge created guided
activity sheets to open a g-mail account, a unit of handouts for a job search including
employment rules (where can I work, how old do I have to be to get a job, what
hours can I work, and what forms do I need to start working), materials for an
interest and ability survey, discussion sheet of career clusters and appropriate jobs,
job applications, and interviewing. By the end of the workshop Mrs. Eldredge had 3
units nearly completed, including: Cyber Safety, Obtaining a Job, and Introduction to
Keyboarding. A fourth unit, On the Job Interpersonal Skills, was nearly finished.

CHEMISTRY CORE
Chairperson: Keith Bogert
No. of Teachers: 5
No. of Days: 4
Objectives: The purpose of this workshop is to develop a new chemistry program which will
address the needs of our lower performing Regents students. Participants will design
and create new curriculum, based on the NYS Chemistry Core that includes a lab
component and leads to the NYS Regents exam in Chemistry.
Accomplishments: The purpose of this workshop was to develop a new course that could address the
needs of our underperforming students in Regents Chemistry. These students
generally do not meet the prerequisites for the course based on their Biology and
Earth Science grades, however it is to their advantage to be successful in another lab
based program before college entry. The department crafted a new program, called
Chemistry Center, which follows an AIS type of format. Students who do not meet
the prerequisites for Regents Chemistry but still wish to enroll, must also enroll in
Chemistry Center. These students would meet a certified chemistry teacher on a
quarter time basis opposite their laboratory instruction. This model would provide
an additional 45 classes (approximate depending on school year) for students
(averaging about 3 extra classes per unit). Teachers developed all units for the
Chemistry Center and the program is ready to be implemented for the 2010-11
school year. The program can accommodate up to 65 students. It should be noted
that the program will require a .2FTE of additional staff. Supply needs can be met
with the current science supply budget.

CHEMISTRY LAB
Chairperson: Keith Bogert
No. of Teachers: 6
No. of Days: 4
Objectives: Continue with the 4-year plan to implement a realignment of the Regents science
laboratory programs. This year teachers will address chemistry and evaluate
assessments.
Accomplishments: The purpose of this workshop was to modify the grading procedures in chemistry lab
as well as improve the current lab content. Previously, students who did not
complete labs automatically received a maximum of a 60 in the course for each
incomplete quarter. This meant that the laboratory counted as 20% of the course
grade for complete students, but 40% of the grade for incomplete students. Teachers
adopted our new grading procedure in which laboratory counts as a straight 20% of
the course grade. Students who do not complete respective quarter labs by the end of
the quarter receive zeros on the lab(s) and, if they are not complete by the end of the
year, are debarred from the Regents Exam. Students are no longer penalized with a
60 for a single incomplete lab. Teachers also made numerous improvements to
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 existing laboratories as well as wrote brand new laboratories for implementation in
the 2009-10 school year.

CINEMATOGRAPHY & ADVANCED CINEMA

Chairperson: Anne Manzella
No. of Teachers: 2
No. of Days: 1
Objectives: Update the existing course curriculum so it accurately represents the technology
advancements in hardware and software used to deliver instruction.
Accomplishments: Essential content areas and recommended acquired skills for a half year experience
in Cinematography were discussed and analyzed. The semester course outline was
rewritten reflecting access to new lab, software, and equipment available to the
enrolled students. Consistency and objectivity of unit and semester assessments
were discussed and outlined.

COMPUTER GRAPHICS 2
Chairperson: Anne Manzella
No. of Teachers: 2
No. of Days: 1
Objectives: Review the recently revised Computer Graphics 2 course curriculum now that the
use of digital photography is part of the instruction in this elective.
Accomplishments: The existing course curriculum was revised to better address access to lab, software,
and camera equipment available to enrolled students. Essential content areas and
acquired skills were analyzed and determined. The course outline for the semester
was developed to reflect the content this elective builds on from Computer Graphics
1, and the integration of digital camera techniques and compositional approaches.

DISTRICT ELEMENTARY FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Chairperson: Galina Kats
No. of Teachers: 2
No. of Days: 2
Objectives: To develop a curriculum for the Elementary Foreign Language Program for each of
the four languages – French, German, Russian, and Spanish.
Accomplishments: The participants of the workshop reviewed the curriculum guides for each of the
languages. Student packets for French, German, Russian, and Spanish were revised
to include new authentic materials and learning activities. In addition, materials for
international conferencing were developed and a wide variety of teacher and student
materials were created and placed on the departmental FLEX web site.

ELEMENTARY ART
Chairperson: Anne Manzella
No. of Teachers: 3
No. of Days: 2
Objectives: Given the new technology available for use in school labs and art classrooms, lesson
plans will be developed for primary and intermediate levels.
Accomplishments: Elementary art teachers shared approaches to infusion of technology in their art
lessons. New lessons were researched and developed using Adobe Photoshop
software, now available district wide. Lesson plans were documented in a digital
lesson plan template and examples were prepared and stored on the instructional
server.

ENGLISH 7-8
Chairperson: Dawn Savery
No. of Teachers: 8
No. of Days: 2
Objectives: Each grade level will develop a writing unit.
Accomplishments: The 7th grade curriculum focused on the English 7G course. Teachers developed
writing goals and quarterly outlines and assignments. The progression of

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 assignments will allow students to develop proficiency at one level, enabling them to
move to higher-level skills. Quarterly objectives and activities address parts of
speech, sentences, figurative language, paragraph writing, short response writing,
punctuation, writing tasks related to graphic novels, dialogue skills, literary essay
writing, and writing tasks related to the book Matilda.

The 8th grade curriculum focused on poetry. The unit was designed to address the
needs of varied learners and incorporated a variety of leveled activities, poems of
varied difficulty, and culminating activities to enable students from all three course
levels (enriched, regular, and general) to demonstrate their understanding of poetic
structures, figurative language, and poetic devices. Additionally, culminating
projects were designed to encourage students to use what they learned from the study
of these structures and devices to become writers of good poetry themselves.

ENGLISH 9B
Chairperson: Kathleen Skeals
No. of Teachers: 2
No. of Days: 3
Objectives: To review and revise the existing curriculum to delineate goals focused on literacy
skills and design instructional practices which will enable students to achieve those
goals.
Accomplishments: Teachers began with a discussion of the philosophy guiding the choices being made
in the English 9B program. It immediately became clear that there were not enough
high-interest, contemporary texts to complement the classic texts being studied.
Teachers designed two interactive unit plans focusing on pre-reading, reading, and
post-reading activities for the novels Miracle’s Boys by Jacqueline Woodson,
Forged by Fire by Sharon Draper, and Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE GRADE 7

Chairperson: Galina Kats
No. of Teachers: 8
No. of Days: 3
Objectives: To revise the curriculum guide for grade 7 foreign language courses to ensure
articulation between the elementary and the junior high school programs.
Accomplishments: After familiarizing themselves with the Atlas Curriculum Mapping software, the
participants of the workshop created new curriculum maps for the content areas of
French, German, Russian, & Spanish for grade 7. Curriculum mapping allowed the
teachers to reflect on and explore enduring understandings and essential questions in
the targeted content units. The program also provided the format to connect content,
assessments and activities to the individual unit goals and Languages Other Than
English (LOTE) Standards. The process facilitated the incorporation of teachers’
individual materials and resources and provided teachers an opportunity to
collaborate on the new curriculum to ensure consistency.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE GRADES 7-8

Chairperson: Galina Kats
No. of Teachers: 4
No. of Days: 1
Objectives: To revise the curriculum descriptions for the junior high foreign language courses to
ensure articulation between the elementary and the junior high school programs.
Accomplishments: To address changes brought by the implementation of the new district-wide
elementary foreign language program, a new curriculum outline for the junior high
school language program was developed during this workshop. The new outline
emphasized vertical articulation among elementary, junior high, and high school
programs. It also clearly identified performance indicators for grades 7 and 8 in each
of the languages, French, German, Russian, and Spanish.

FRENCH 1R
Chairperson: Galina Kats
No. of Teachers: 2
No. of Days: 2
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 Objectives: To rewrite the curriculum guide to reflect the new textbook adoption; to further align
the curriculum guide with NYS Learning Standards for Languages Other than
English; and to plan and develop new units of study with performance based
assessment projects and rubrics.
Accomplishments: The summer workshop focused on developing a curriculum map for the French 1R to
reflect the new textbook adoption. The curriculum was framed around the creation
of essential questions. The unit content and activities were designed to answer the
essential questions while yielding content mastery. In addition, a variety of student
activities and authentic assessments were added to the collaborative curriculum map.
These assessments included projects and various technology based presentations.
The workshop provided teachers an excellent opportunity to collaborate on the new
curriculum to ensure consistency.

FRENCH 4 & 5 (UHS)

Chairperson: Galina Kats
No. of Teachers: 2
No. of Days: 1
Objectives: To rewrite the curriculum guide to reflect the new textbook adoption; to align the
curriculum outline with Learning Standards for Languages Other than English and
with SUNY curriculum; and to plan and develop units of study with performance
based assessment projects and rubrics.
Accomplishments: The curriculum maps for French 4 and 5 courses, which were created last year, were
revised to further improve the University in the High School program and ensure
vertical articulation between our Regents and post-Regents programs. In addition,
the workshop participants developed a variety of student activities and authentic
assessments and began to create links to documents, websites, etc in order to further
complete the curriculum maps.

HEALTH K-6
Chairperson: Mary Beth Steffen
No. of Teachers: 1
No. of Days: 2
Objectives: To continue to develop and/or modify classroom activities which are skills based for
achieving the NYS Standards in health education.
Accomplishments: Skills based lessons which were created and integrated into the elementary health
education curriculum include: decision making activities for HIV lessons and for the
child abuse prevention lessons and goal setting and effective parent communication
activities for the fifth grade adolescent growth and development lessons. New
activities which were developed include the use of the computer lab, the Elmo and
Smartboard.

HEALTH 7-8
Chairperson: Mary Beth Steffen
No. of Teachers: 2
No. of Days: 2
Objectives: To continue to develop and/or modify classroom activities which are skills based for
achieving the NYS Standards in health education.
Accomplishments: Skills based lessons which were created and integrated into the seventh and eighth
grade health education curriculum include: goal setting and decision making
activities for the seventh grade substance abuse unit and goal setting and decision
making activities for the eighth grade self management unit.

HEALTH GRADE 10
Chairperson: Mary Beth Steffen
No. of Teachers: 2
No. of Days: 2
Objectives: To continue to develop and/or modify classroom activities which are skills based for
achieving the NYS Standards in health education.
Accomplishments: The final assessment advocacy project was revised for students to demonstrate the
ability to apply advocacy strategies and skills to enhance personal, family and

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 community health. New activities which were developed include the use of the
computer lab, the Elmo and Smartboard.

IRP 3 MATH AND IRP 4 MATH

Chairperson: Nicholas Verdile
No. of Teachers: 4
No. of Days: 2
Objectives: As a result of ongoing discussions with HVCC, the curriculum of IRP 4 (Business
and FACS) may change to a more mathematically rigorous college course.
Therefore the IRP 3 math courses will need to be revised to provide a strong
foundation for the math concepts to be taught in IRP 4.
Accomplishments: This school year, the curriculum of IRP 4 (Business, FACS) will change from HVCC
Math Structures 130 and 131 to HVCC Math 150, Algebra/Trigonometry. The
decision was made after several discussions with HVCC faculty regarding the rigor
of the former Math courses. The Math 150 is a more mathematically rigorous
college course and the IRP 3 curriculum was adjusted and revised to provide a strong
foundation for the math concepts to be taught in IRP 4. A curriculum guide was
developed for the new IRP 4 course based on the HVCC Math 150 course outline.
Assessments, activities, and lessons were created for the course.

IRP 3 TECH
Chairperson: David Arnone
No. of Teachers: 3
No. of Days: 1
Objectives: Due to the modification of the IRP 3 team, this day will allow the new team to
review the curriculum developed last summer and plan for the upcoming school year.
Accomplishments: The IRP 3 Technology team worked for one day on a review and revision of the
activities implemented in the 2008-2009 school year. In addition to revision of the
interdisciplinary content, the team began coordination with a new technology
instructor who contributed a new content activity focused on technical problem
solving.

KINDERGARTEN INTERVENTION PROGRAM (K.I.P.)

Chairperson: Candace Lobdell
No. of Teachers: 4
No. of Days: 1.5
Objectives: The KIP curriculum is in need of revision, having been developed in 1999 with no
revisions since.
Accomplishments: The revision process for the KIP curriculum was started during this curriculum
workshop. A monthly scope and sequence for the introduction and reinforcement of
literacy skills was developed. All work completed was aligned with NYS English
Language Arts Learning Standards, North Colonie Reading Curriculum and North
Colonie Kindergarten Curriculum.

MATH 10R
Chairperson: Nicholas Verdile
No. of Teachers: 4
No. of Days: 1
Objectives: Evaluate the results of the Geometry regents and make any necessary changes to our
current curriculum to improve instruction. Revise and review the syllabus, write
lesson plans, assessments and timeframe to reflect changes needed after the first year
of administering the NYS Geometry curriculum.
Accomplishments: This one day workshop gave teachers the opportunity to analyze the Regents results
of the first implementation of the Geometry curriculum during the 2008-2009 school
year. Teachers adjusted unit timeframes and revised lesson activities to enhance
instruction in the classroom. Assignment sheets were improved to correlate with the
new textbook that was adopted. In addition, warm-up and lesson starters were
prepared for use with instructional technology (Mimio and Smartboard) and hands-
on activities were developed to enhance instruction. Many discussions took place
around sharing ideas in technology and expanding topics to further student
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 understanding and appreciation of mathematics. Teachers revised the visualization
of Geometry unit and created many visual activities aimed at assisting students with
understanding the underlying concepts of Geometry.

MATH 11R/11A/11H
Chairperson: Nicholas Verdile
No. of Teachers: 8
No. of Days: 4
Objectives: Prepare for September 2009 implementation of the new Algebra 2/Trigonometry
state curriculum culminating with the June 2010 Regents examination. Revise
syllabus, lesson plans, assessments, and timeframe.
Accomplishments: This workshop was the culmination of two years of discussion and preparations
leading up to the implementation of the new NYS Algebra 2/Trigonometry
curriculum for the 2009-2010 school year. Teachers used both the NYS curriculum
and the Core Curriculum strands to organize and write specific course curricula,
associated timeframe, and departmental assessments (unit tests, mid-term exam, and
related review sheets) for Math 11R, Math 11A, and Math 11H all ending with the
first implementation of the June 2010 Algebra 2/Trigonometry Regents exam.
Assignment sheets were written to correlate with the new textbook that was adopted.
In addition, warm-up and lesson starters were prepared for use with instructional
technology (Mimio and Smartboard) and hands-on activities were developed to
enhance instruction. Many discussions took place around sharing ideas in
technology and expanding topics to further student understanding and appreciation
of mathematics.

MUSIC IN OUR LIVES 1 & 2

Chairperson: Deborah Keough
No. of Teachers: 2
No. of Days: 3
Objectives: To create a curriculum framework (the course currently has no curriculum
document); integrate technology in the SHS general music program; evaluate the
pedagogical approaches in general music at the junior high level to reduce
redundancy, increase relevancy and provide more cohesive ties within music
instruction in grades 7-12; integrate components of world music and popular culture
so as to better address the global range of experiences with music and keep the
content relevant to the students of SHS; and make necessary revisions to periodic
assessments and final exams and to develop methods of assessing the effectiveness
of the curriculum changes over the 2009-10 school year.
Accomplishments: Shaker High School has never had a curriculum for Music in Our Lives 1 and 2. The
July 2009 summer curriculum project involved Erin Kaplan and Erin Radez, both of
whom have taught Music in Our Lives, and the District Music Supervisor, to develop
a curriculum framework for the two semester-long courses. A curriculum map was
created, including eight units in Music in Our Lives 1 and six units in Music in Our
Lives 2. The SJHS 7-8 general music curriculum was referenced to eliminate
redundancy and provide cohesive connections and transfer. The committee
integrated technology into the course curricula, using notation, sequencing and
composition software to meet the NYS Standards. World and popular music were
integrated into the curricula in order to better address the global range of human
experience with music and to keep the content relevant to the students of SHS.
Periodic assessments and final exams were discussed in terms of content. An
evaluation sheet was created for the teacher to review each unit at its completion to
assess strengths and weaknesses, with recommendations for any changes.
Students currently enrolled in Music in Our Lives 1 are already achieving at a greater
success rate than last year, which we believe is due in large part to the curriculum
work that took place over the summer. The music department is grateful for the
support received to undertake this project and confident that the students of Shaker
High School will have a more cohesive, successful and rewarding learning
experience in the course.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Chairperson: Ed Dopp
No. of Teachers: 5
No. of Days: 2.5
Objectives: Plan and implement the new testing and tracking system; establish, develop and
revamp fitness assessment.
Accomplishments: The summer curriculum work completed by the physical education department
resulted in our North Colonie School District Physical Fitness Testing components
and standards. We have identified six components which will be testing in order to
determine our students overall fitness level, those six components include: cardio-
vascular fitness, core abdominal strength, speed/agility, upper body strength,
flexibility and lower body strength/power. After identifying the components a great
deal of time went into establishing the criteria and standards we will use to assess
these components. The newly revised fitness testing will result in an overall fitness
level rating for each of our 4th – 12th grade students. The newly revised assessment
will also incorporate a technology component which will allow us to track student
progress throughout their school years. We will also be able to provide both students
and parents with a report on the individual student’s fitness level and suggestions to
improve areas in need of improvement. The standards and the components are all
set, we are continuing to work on the instructional technology piece throughout the
2009-10 school year.

PHYSICS AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Chairperson: Keith Bogert
No. of Teachers: 4
No. of Days: 2
Objectives: The purpose of this workshop is to adopt a new textbook in the Physics R and
Environmental Science program. Teachers will modify assignments, laboratories,
quizzes and tests as appropriate so that usage with the new textbook is incorporated
efficiently and effectively.
Accomplishments: The purpose of this workshop was to integrate a new textbook into our Physics R and
regular Environmental Science programs. In both cases, the textbooks are entirely
new, not just a newer version of the same book from the same author. Therefore, the
course materials needed a full “conversion” in order to transition the students most
efficiently. Teachers used the time to design new lessons, develop new assessments,
and rewrite homework assignments for implementation during the 2009-10 school
year.

PRE-ENGINEERING/TECHNOLOGY
Chairperson: David Arnone
No. of Teachers: 2
No. of Days: 2
Objectives: Development of course materials for the new Engineering Capstone course offering.
The workshop will be used to develop instructional materials and establish mentor
contacts in the field and prepare resources for the first group of Capstone students.
Accomplishments: Mr. Smith worked on the development of the Shaker Engineering Capstone course.
He formalized the course outline and began creating instructional materials to be
used. The course is designed to allow students to explore research and develop
solutions to an engineering problem. Students define a potential engineering problem
they wish to address and are then partnered with local professionals in the field to
help determine a possible solution. Students will utilize laboratory facilities to design
and prototype technical solutions to develop their idea. Students will document their
research and present and defend their designs to a panel of instructors and
engineering experts at the end of the course.

Mr. Ashline created a web site that will be used to deliver all major projects to
students in a Web-Quest format. This allowed for the format of most project work
and assignments to become digital. The new webpage facilitates the students’
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 creation of a Google Account, PBWiki Page, and Blogster account. Using these
tools allows the instructor and students to communicate outside of class time and
groups are able to interact with one another outside of school. Students will develop
technical journals and give presentations after every project. Two new lab activities
were created. This project exposes students to key concepts such as mechanics,
tolerances, terminals and connections (fastening), and technical communication; both
written and drawn.

SCIENCE 7/8 – DEVELOPING INTERACTIVE LESSONS

Chairperson: Michael Mitchell
No. of Teachers: 4
No. of Days: 2
Objectives: Develop interactive science lessons for grades 7 and 8 and integrate technology
using and applying the Mimio.
Accomplishments: The 7th and 8th grade science staff found the workshop to be very beneficial, efficient,
and productive. The teachers analyzed our current curriculum and developed areas
to help students who are particularly weak in science vocabulary. An audio pod cast
of vocabulary words was developed with review and discussion materials attached.
The teachers paid particular attention to students that had special needs and the ESL
population. A PowerPoint presentation was created and laminated flashcards were
also developed. A lot of this information was made available on ITunes for students
to access for free. Teachers reviewed and discussed the PBS video Eggs 101 and
discussed how to integrate technology and applied science in the classroom using
multi-media tools. We utilized the Mimio and discussed possible applications.
Teachers learned how to record multi-media presentations using the Mimio. They
also learned how to record pod casts. Teachers are continuing to use PowerPoint and
IPOD software to create vocabulary and textbook resources.

SCIENCE 8
Chairperson: Michael Mitchell
No. of Teachers: 3
No. of Days: 2
Objectives: With the addition of a new Physical Science book, 8th grade teachers will create new
exams and laboratory activities as well as realign topics to fit the 8th grade
curriculum.
Accomplishments: Teachers determined what chapters in the new textbook will need to be covered to
administer current mid-term exams successfully. They identified laboratory
activities that can be done at home by students with little supervision. They also
discussed demonstration activities that can be used in the classroom. They also
researched other laboratory activities that students can do on line that are relevant to
the physical science topics. Teachers discussed and reviewed software that can be
installed and reviewed on their home PC’s. They also reviewed new activities in the
text and discussed which ones would be useful and practical in the class. Teachers
also shared activities that can be used in the second half of the year. Teachers
explored use of the GIZMO and how to enhance the curriculum and aid in the review
for the science State test. Teachers then printed GIZMO activities that would be
useful for all science classes. They built a useful index to organize activities and all
these activities were organized into binders for all 8th grade science teachers.

SCIENCE GRADES 5 & 6

Chairperson: Annette Trapini
No. of Teachers: 7
No. of Days: 2
Objectives: Create consistency between the fifth and sixth grade science curriculums from
Maplewood with the other six elementary schools; determine which topics will be
taught at each grade level; and, align units and objectives within each topic and
identify resources.
Accomplishments: Jerry Steele, Annette Trapini, and a team of fifth and sixth grade teachers from
throughout the district met with Laura Lehtonen, the Science and Math Program
Manager from Capital Region BOCES. We began with the essential questions,
“What does an ideal science student look like at the end of sixth grade?” Throughout
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 our four half-days, the team developed a list of behaviors, skills, and attitudes that
answer this essential question. We discussed and agreed that hands-on, project-
based learning opportunities, imbedded with 21st century skills, were the most
appropriate means to get students to this vision. The group examined the NYS
performance indicators for Intermediate Level Science and identified which grade
levels presented the content. We determined that there were redundancies in our
grades 5 – 8 science programs. As next steps, we identified the need to reexamine
and map content in grades 5 – 8, then develop more hands-on, project-based learning
experiences for students in grades five and six.

SCIENCE IN OUR LIVES 1

Chairperson: Keith Bogert
No. of Teachers: 3
No. of Days: 4
Objectives: Update the Science in Our Lives I program to better meet the needs of the students in
the program; develop new assessments and activities to enhance instruction.
Accomplishments: This was a workshop intended to reassess and modify the new Science in Our Lives I
curriculum which was developed four years ago. Teachers used the time to enhance
their PowerPoint presentations, reorder topics for better content flow and
consistency, modify handouts and improve assessments. Additionally, teachers
incorporated more technology into the curriculum with additional web links,
embedded movie clips and more concept animations. Finally, laboratories and major
assessments were modified to reflect the instructional changes on a unit by unit
basis.

SOCIAL STUDIES GRADES 4-6

Chairperson: Kerry Flynn
No. of Teachers: 10
No. of Days: 4.5
Objectives: Continue to implement a format and process informed by Understanding by Design
curriculum design principles and curriculum mapping that will provide greater
articulation across grade levels.
Accomplishments: A total of ten teachers worked over four and one half days this summer to make
revisions to the social studies curriculum at grades 4-6. This work included
becoming familiar with the principals of curriculum mapping, Rubicon Atlas
mapping software and unit design using the backward design framework developed
by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe. The teachers worked in grade level teams to
develop a consensus curriculum map for their respective grade level. The curriculum
revisions were minor in some instances and significant for some units and grades.
All of the maps developed were shared with district teachers (grade 3-6) at the start
of the school year. The revised curricula are more thoughtfully aligned to the NYS
standards, include links to resources and include a realistic time-line for addressing
curriculum objectives. Teachers can access the curriculum maps from any computer
with internet access.

SOCIAL STUDIES GRADE 5 RESEARCH PROJECT

Chairperson: Joy Horsman
No. of Teachers: 7
No. of Days: 2
Objectives: The project focuses on skills of authentic research, including data gathering,
analysis, synthesis, evaluation and critical thinking. Assessment/performance is
determined by a rubric developed for the project.
Accomplishments: Five 5th grade teachers and two library-media specialists met for four half-days to
develop a social studies-based research project to replace the one used for several
years. Using Leadership as a theme and given a list of pairs of leaders from Canada,
United States and Mexico (grade 5 curriculum) students are to select one to research
events during that leader’s tenure, choose three leadership qualities from a given list
and form a substantiated conclusion about the level of effectiveness based on the
impact of the leader’s decisions. To allow for differentiation teacher options were to
have a student choose both leaders in the pair and compare effectiveness with a
substantiated conclusion. The most challenging option is to have a student do all of
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 the research to substantiate an opinion as to whether the leader’s qualities impacted
the outcome of the event(s) or the event(s) caused the leadership qualities to emerge.
Social Studies, Language Arts and Library skills objectives were developed to be
shared with students. Two rubrics identify performance expectations. Students will
complete note cards, a Research Project Report, a bibliography and plan a
presentation.

SPANISH 1R
Chairperson: Galina Kats
No. of Teachers: 2
No. of Days: 2
Objectives: To rewrite the curriculum guide to reflect the new textbook adoption; to further align
the curriculum guide with NYS Learning Standards for Languages Other than
English; and to plan and develop new units of study with performance based
assessment projects and rubrics.
Accomplishments: The summer workshop focused on developing a collaborative curriculum map for the
Spanish 1R to reflect the new textbook adoption. The curriculum was framed around
the creation of essential questions and assessments directly related to these essential
questions. The coursework included nine separate units that covered a variety of
Checkpoint A topics and various grammar points including the present and preterite
tenses. In addition, student activities, authentic assessments, projects, and various
technology based presentations were created and added to the collaborative
curriculum map.

SPANISH 2R
Chairperson: Galina Kats
No. of Teachers: 3
No. of Days: 2
Objectives: To rewrite the curriculum guide to reflect the new textbook adoption; to further align
the curriculum guide with NYS Learning Standards for Languages Other than
English; and to plan and develop new units of study with performance based
assessment projects and rubrics.
Accomplishments: After acquainting themselves with the new Atlas Curriculum Mapping software, the
participants of the workshop worked on creating a curriculum map to align with the
newly adopted textbook series, Buen Viaje and the New York State Standards for
Languages Other Than English (LOTE). Enduring understandings and skills to be
mastered were identified and essential questions were created for each unit. In
addition, learning activities and assessments were developed for each unit and later
attached to the curriculum map in order to allow all teachers in the foreign language
department access to these materials.

SPANISH 3R
Chairperson: Galina Kats
No. of Teachers: 3
No. of Days: 2
Objectives: To rewrite the curriculum guide to reflect the new textbook adoption; to further align
the curriculum guide with NYS Learning Standards for Languages Other than
English; and to plan and develop units of study with performance based assessment
projects and rubrics.
Accomplishments: The summer workshop resulted in creating a curriculum map for the Spanish 3
course. The participants of the workshop first acquainted themselves with the new
Atlas Curriculum Mapping software. The teachers then worked on creating a
curriculum map to align with the newly adopted textbook series, Buen Viaje and the
New York State Standards for Languages Other Than English (LOTE). The
participants of the workshop identified enduring understandings and skills and
created essential questions for each unit. In addition, learning activities and student
assessments were developed and later attached to the curriculum map in order to
allow all teachers in the foreign language department access to these materials.

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SPANISH 4 & 5 (UHS)
Chairperson: Galina Kats
No. of Teachers: 3
No. of Days: 1
Objectives: To revise the curriculum guide to reflect the new textbook adoption; to align the
curriculum outline with NYS Learning Standards for Languages Other than English
and with SUNY curriculum; and to plan and develop units of study with performance
based assessment projects and rubrics.
Accomplishments: The curriculum maps for Spanish 4 and 5 courses, which were created last year, were
revised to further improve the University in the High School program and ensure
vertical articulation between our Regents and post-Regents programs. In addition,
the workshop participants developed a variety of student activities and authentic
assessments and began to create links to documents, websites, etc in order to further
complete the curriculum maps.

SPECIAL EDUCATION HEALTH GRADES 9-12

Chairpersons: Mary Beth Steffen and Virginia McQuade
No. of Teachers: 3
No. of Days: 2
Objectives: Develop a health curriculum at a level that is appropriate for students with
disabilities that deals with adolescent growth and development and health issues.
Accomplishments: Two Special Education ASC I teachers, an elementary Health teacher and both the
Supervisor of Special Education and Supervisor of Health Education and Health
Services worked to develop a curriculum at a level that is appropriate for students
with multiple disabilities that deals with adolescent growth and development and
health issues. Units developed included Hygiene, Nutrition, First Aid, Disabilities,
Families, Self-Esteem, either and Choices/Consequences. Each unit provides either
online resources and/or literature titles to support the unit.

SPECIAL EDUCATION COMMUNITY VOCATIONAL EXPERIENCE

Chairperson: Virginia McQuade
No. of Teachers: 6
No. of Days: 4
Objectives: Coordinate job coaches and schedules; establish job coach training; contact old and
new businesses for placement through visitations and phone calls; match students to
appropriate job site; and, continue development of Vocational Education in-class
curriculum.
Accomplishments: The two new ASC I teachers at the high school collaborated with Mrs. Elizabeth
Jarosz, former ASC I teacher, Mr. Rodriguez, an ASC II teacher whose students
attend job sites, and two teacher assistants within the programs to coordinate job site
placements that align to each student’s individual interests and needs, coordinate job
coaches and scheduling, and network within the community to contact both old and
possible new businesses for placements. Additionally, they continued to refine and
expand upon the units dealing with soft skills for employment covered in the
Vocational Education class.

SPELLING K-2
Chairpersons: Candace Lobdell and Jerri Lynne Dedrick
No. of Teachers: 16
No. of Days: 2.5
Objectives: Develop a new spelling curriculum and program for grades K-2. The new
curriculum will be piloted during the 2009-2010 school year.
Accomplishments: A spelling pilot was developed for grades one and two. The following were included
in the pilot programs: Introductory unit to establish routines and expectations for the
spelling program; differentiated approach to the teaching of spelling; focus on
understanding of how words are spelled and formed according to word families,

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 sounds, blends, etc.; and building and understanding of how words are spelled and
formed verses rote memorization of word spellings.

STUDIO ART
Chairperson: Anne Manzella
No. of Teachers: 3
No. of Days: 3
Objectives: Update the existing Studio Art foundation course curriculum by further developing
the pool of questions for the final exam, clarifying the unit on color theory,
incorporating more sample lesson plans, and creating units that correspond to other
department electives. Update the reference packet used to administer the midterm
and final exams.
Accomplishments: A mapping approach to outlining the full year foundation course was discussed and
implemented. Essential content areas and assignment of acquired skills in each unit
were better defined and sequenced for each semester. The unit of color theory was
clarified. An introductory resource packet of essential content information was
designed and shared with all instructors. Revisions to the midterm and final exam
assessments will follow, to reflect the sequence of instruction. Art images were
researched for inclusion in the reference packet, used in implementation of the
semester assessments. Further revision of this document will continue.

SUMMER SCHOOL ENGLISH

Chairperson: David Arnone
No. of Teachers: 2
No. of Days: 1
Objectives: Prepare for the addition of grade 12 courses being offered in summer school.
Accomplishments: As English 12 is not a course offered throughout the school year, teachers met in
order to combine elements of other senior English elective offerings. A full course
of study, including midterm exam and final exam was created, incorporating
elements of College Composition, Public Speaking, Creative Writing, and Readers’
Workshop.

SUMMER SCHOOL ECONOMICS

Chairperson: David Arnone
No. of Teachers: 1
No. of Days: 1
Objectives: Prepare for the addition of grade 12 courses being offered in summer school.

Accomplishments: This teacher worked on writing curriculum to coincide with a six-week summer
school schedule. A curriculum map was written to align each unit to a week time
frame; a method for homework dissemination and collection was devised; and the
final and mid term assessments were modified to align to the curricula. The
textbooks utilized are the same as used during the school year.

SUMMER SCHOOL PARTICIPATION IN GOVERNMENT

Chairperson: David Arnone
No. of Teachers: 1
No. of Days: 1
Objectives: Prepare for the addition of grade 12 courses being offered in summer school.

Accomplishments: This teacher worked on writing curriculum to coincide with a six-week summer
school schedule. A curriculum map was written to align each unit to a week time
frame; a method for homework dissemination and collection was devised; and the
final and mid term assessments were modified to align to the curricula. The
textbooks utilized are the same as used during the school year.

TECHNOLOGY K-6
Chairpersons: Elizabeth McNamara and Gary Cimorelli
No. of Teachers: 15
No. of Days: 3
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 Objectives: Deepen the understanding of how the current software tool kit for the elementary
school labs and classrooms can be used to support student projects that foster critical
thinking skills. Teachers will create a unit of study that incorporates active use of
technology to support analysis, evaluation of ideas, and/or creative production of
project materials that demonstrate learning.
Accomplishments: Teachers created units of study for students which incorporated technology resources
to support the learning process. This workshop was intended for teachers who have
a solid knowledge of technology integration, and wanted to use that knowledge to
build lengthier units and projects. Teachers had to complete a pre-requisite online
course about a set of software tools prior to enrolling the course.

During the workshop time, teachers focused on the current software tool kit that is
available in both computer labs and classrooms, and on the transitions between
classroom and computer lab for extended projects. Teachers contributed the outlines
of the units of study to a database of best practice lesson plans. This work can be
found at https://summer2009elem.pbworks.com, including the link to the database
itself, and a download area that incorporates many of the project activities.
Examples include a social studies unit for sixth grade that incorporates Google Earth
technology to support geography; a fourth grade unit that uses a variety of tools to
support local geography knowledge; and, a first grade project on shapes and
visualization. The project-based work will continue with a follow up workshop on
January 22, 2010 for teachers to continue to build the lesson database, and to plan for
a new unit of study for the spring semester.

WORLD HISTORY GRADES 9 & 10

Chairperson: Robert Pollaro
No. of Teachers: 8
No. of Days: 5
Objectives: Based on the introduction of a new textbook, review and revise curriculum,
instruction and assessment; review and expand textbook specific resources; and align
curriculum and assessment to new textbook.
Accomplishments: A curriculum map was developed in which teachers worked with Atlas mapping
software for the first time. The teachers aligned curriculum to the new textbook and
new, level-specific mid year and final exams for both 9th and 10th grade Global
History and Geography were created.

WORLD LANGUAGES IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Chairperson: Galina Kats
No. of Teachers: 1
No. of Days: 1
Objectives: To create the curriculum description for Teaching World Languages in the
Elementary Schools program; to include performance indicators and suggested
activities in the curriculum guides; and to plan and develop units of study for the
methodology component of the course.
Accomplishments: A curriculum outline for the new course was developed as a result of this workshop.
This outline included a curriculum guide for the methods part of the course and
various assessment instruments to evaluate students’ teaching experiences. In
addition, a variety of forms and letters were created to facilitate communication
among participants of the course (students, parents, elementary teachers, etc.).
WRITING - ELEMENTARY
Chairpersons: Candace Lobdell and Jerri Lynne Dedrick
No. of Teachers: 25
No. of Days: 2.5
Objectives: Familiarize ourselves with and investigate potential inclusion of the Writer’s
Workshop model in ELA curriculum and instruction.
Accomplishments: This intensive workshop focused on the components of Writer’s Workshop
including: The Writerly Life unit – An introductory unit of instruction to establish
the routines and expectations for Writer’s Workshop; mini-lessons; Writer’s
Notebook; conferring; and sharing.

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WRITING 9-12
Chairperson: Kathleen Skeals
No. of Teachers: 5
No. of Days: 5
Objectives: To expose teachers to the ideals of the National Writing Project. To allow teachers
to participate as “students” in activities endorsed by the National Writing Project.
To encourage participants to act as unofficial turnkey trainers to bring the vision of
the National Writing Project to the classroom.
Accomplishments: Teachers participated in a sharing of best practices in writing instruction. Each
morning, an individual teacher taught a writing lesson to his or her colleagues, who
acted as students. The lesson was then critiqued and shared in the fall with the full
department. In the afternoons, teachers worked together on the development of
supplementary writing activities and planned for the National Day on Writing.

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