THEFUTUREOFGEORGETOWNINDEPENDENTSCHOOLDISTRICT

TheFutureofGeorgetownIndependentSchoolDistrict
AshleyJones
KansasStateUniversity

AuthorNote
AshleyJones,CurriculumandInstructionDigitalTeachingandLearning,KansasState
University
AshleyJonesisnowteaching3rdand4thgradeMathandScienceclassesatHamilton
ParkPacesetterMagnetSchoolintheRichardsonIndependentSchoolDistrict
CorrespondenceconcerningthispapershouldbeaddressedtoAshleyJones,955W.
GeorgeBushHwy#2301,Richardson,TX75080
Contact:ashleylynnjones@ksu.edu

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Abstract
IconductedmyConversationwithaCurriculumWorkerwithaformercoworkernamedTara
Travis.Ms.Travisisa3rdyear,5thgradeteacherwhosapartofourmathcurriculumwriting
teamforthedistrict.OurdistricthastakenonanewtitlecalledDistrictofInnovationso
revampingcurriculuminallcoreareaswasessential.Curriculumdevelopmentteamsmet
throughoutthispastschoolyearandcamewithideasfromdistrictstafffromgradesK6thatthe
elementarylevel.Everyonewasofferedtheopportunitytojoinateamiftheywantedto.Here
arethequestionsIaskedMs.Travistoreflecton:
Whataretheweaknessesinourcurrentcurriculum?
Whatmadeyouwanttojoinacurriculumdevelopmentteam?
Whichofthefollowingcurriculumdesignsdoesourcurrentplanfollow?
Whichdoyoualignwith?
Howandwhydochangesincurriculumoccur?
Werethereasetofguidelinesallideashadtomeet?
Areteachersusingthecurriculumtoguidedecisionsaboutinstructionandassessment?
Istheretheopportunitytoprovideongoingfeedbackoraforumregardingtheschool
districtscurriculumandimplementation?
HowdoesGeorgetowndefinecurriculum?
WhataretheexpectationsGeorgetownhasforeachteacherwhenitcomestopresenting
curriculum?Istherefreedomforcreativityandexpression?
AftertalkingwithMs.Travis,Irealizedthatthereisawealthmoreofinformationandideasthat
goesintocurriculumandinstructionplanningthanIthought.Itis,andshouldbe,anongoing

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processcontinuallychangingwiththetimesandGeorgetownIndependentSchoolDistrictis
takingaprogressivesteptomakethenecessarychangestogrowandadaptbasedonstudent
needsandnotbydoingwhathasbeendoneinthepast.
Keywords:
curriculum,writing,DistrictofInnovation

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TheFutureofGeorgetownIndependentSchoolDistrict
Itsamazinghowmuchtheteachingcareerhastrulymorphedoverthepastfewdecades.
Teacherswereoncesimplythat...teachers.Theystoodatthefrontofaclassroom,intheirneatly
pressedclothesandfanciestSundaybest,andrecitedknowledgeandinformationjustinthesame
manneraswhentheywereschoolagedchildren.Studentslistenedandregurgitatedthe
informationwithoutmuchthought,creativityorvoicebeyondthepresentedmaterial.Theway
curriculumwasdistributedwasareflectionofthetypeofindustrialbasedsocietywewere
thrivingonandtheneedtodeviatefromthewornpathwasnonexistent.Buttheproblemweare
findingtoday,aseducators,isgonearethedaysoftextbooksandtimedfactrecitingquizzesand
papers.Replacingthemarecreativeprojectsoozingwithfreedomofexpressionandcritical
thinkingforcingstudentstoactuallyrationalizeandreasoninattemptstoprepareyoungminds
morefor21stcenturyskills,livingandthecurrentworkforcementality.Iwasfortunateenough
tonotonlyworkwithateacheronthecuttingedgeofcurriculumandinstruction,butwhowas
alsoapartofthepastschoolyearsCurriculumandInstructionWritingTeamforGeorgetown
IndependentSchoolDistrict.WhatIfound,aftertalkingwithher,wasthatchangingcurriculum
andinstructionisntassimpleasfindingadifferentworksheetorexperimenttotry,butitsan
entireprogramoverhaul,notonlyresourcewise,butmentallyaswell.Whatshefoundwasthat
thereissuchanabundanceofadifferentgenerationofteacherswhofindgreatdifficultyin
adaptingtotheneedsofanewtypeofstudent.
ChangeCanBeAGoodThing
FranklinBobbittsaiditbestwhenheconcludedAstheworldpresseseagerlyforward
towardtheaccomplishmentofnewthings,educationalsomustadvancenolessswiftly.Itmust

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providetheintelligenceandtheaspirationsnecessaryfortheadvanceandforstabilityand
consistencyinholdingthegains.Educationmusttakeapaceset,notbyitself,butbysocial
progress(Bobbit,1998).WhenIfirstapproachedMs.Travisaboutbeingapartofmyfinal
CurriculumandInstructionproject,shejumpedatthechancetoshareherexperiencewithus.
Beingapartofacurriculumandinstructionteam,Iwasabletohaveavoiceinexpressingthe
thingsIlikedanddidntlikeaboutthewayGeorgetownoperatesandthatmademefeel
important,Tarastartedourconversationbysharing.Youcouldtellthat,asa2ndyearteacher,
shefeltlikeherageandherlackofexperiencedidnthinderherinanyway,butmadeher
thoughtsandideasmoremarketablefortodaysmainstreamwayofteaching.Sadly,Iwasone
oftheyoungestteachersonmyWritingCurriculumTeam,butIfeltlikeIhadthemosttosay
andtheotherteacherswerereallyreceptivetoalternativewaysofthinking.Itoldthemthat
changecanbeagoodthing,shecontinued.
CurriculumModelandType.
WhenIaskedherwhatmodelofcurriculumand
instructioncurrentlyoperatedunderandwhichdidtheirnewcurriculumreflect,shesaidshedid
notrealizethatthereweredifferenttypesandthatwhenplanningandthattheywerenotbuilding
theirmodelfromanypreviousmodeltoherknowledge.WhenIaskedhowtheygottheir
informationtostartpiecingtogether,shetoldmethattheyuseteacherknowledge,realworld
experiences,studentneedsandinterestsandflexibility.Studentswantlessonsthattheycanfind
meaningin,wheretheycanthinkforthemselvesandtheycanfindapurpose,Travissaid.
Whatwefoundoutwasthatstudentsinourdistrictreallyhadnovoiceandthatitwasthe
teacherwhohadeverysayinhowtheirclassroomlearnedandoperated.Whowouldfeel
connectedtothat?Weneededachange.WhenItoldheritsoundedliketheTylermodel

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approach,sheagainmentionedthatnosortofstyleortypecameup,butwasexcitedtoknowthat
theydidendupfollowingamodelthatsprovedtobeeffective.
ForwardThinking.
Shebelievedthatthereasonforthemajorcurriculumoverhaulwas
theadditionofournew,forwardthinking,youngerSuperintendentwhodemandedsuccessand
excellence,butinwaysthatcapturedkidsheartsandmadethemfeelspecial,lovedandmettheir
needswheretheyreatandbeyond.Dr.Brentsawourdistrictwasgreat,butthatwecoulddo
thingsbettertoadapttowhatstudentsneedandnotjustwhatwearecomfortablewith,Travis
mentioned.Everyonefromthedistrictwasgiventheopportunitytofilloutasurveywiththeir
thoughtsandideasandwhichcorecurriculumtheydliketoseechangehappento.Fromthere,
candidateswereinterviewedwithavarietyofquestionsfromthestyleofteachingtheycurrently
employtothestrengthsandweaknessestheythoughtourdistricthad.Ourdistrictwasa
thrivingdistrict.Wemadethegradesonstandardizedtestingwhenitcounted,butwefoundthat
ourstudentslackedthecriticalthinkingskillsandtheabilitytoproblemsolveoncetheyleftour
nest,Travissaid.Wewerechurningoutrobots,notstudentsarmedwiththeabilitiesand
knowledgetocompetesuccessfullyandworkcooperativelyagainstandwithothersinthe
workplace.Weneededachange.
TakingAction.
Ms.TraviswasspecificallyapartoftheK4thWritingCurriculum
DevelopmentTeam.Shesaidafterallthefinalcandidateswerechosen,theyendedupwithten
differentGeorgetownISDteacherswithonebeingfromeachgradelevelandonehavingzeroto
fouryearsexperienceandtheotherwithfiveplusyearsexperience.Shesaidhavingtwo
teachersrepresentedforeachgradelevelandwithdifferentteachinglengthsaddedtwodifferent
viewpointsfortheteamtodevelopfrom.Twocommunityinvolvedparentsandthree

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communityvolunteerswerealsochosentobeapartofthewritingcurriculumdevelopmentto
sharetheirideasfromanevenmoredifferentviewpointthanthoseinsidetheclassroomwalls.
Havingcommunitymembersandparentsinvolvedhelpedustoseeifwhatwewereteaching
studentstranslatedintheworkplaceandathomeorifwewereunclear.Italsohelpedusseeif
wewereontrack,whereconfusionmayhavebeenandwhatthingsthosenotinvolvedinthe
educationsystemwouldliketoseestudentssuccessfulatdoingafterhighschool,Travis
continued.
CommunityInvolvement.
Anyinheritedsystem,goodforitstime,whenheldtoafter
itsday,hamperssocialprogress(Bobbitt,1998).Shesaidherspecificcommitteestarted
meetingatthebeginningofNovember2015,everyotherTuesday,andstartedtheirmeetingsat
oneoftheGeorgetownCityHallmeetingspaces.Withtheamountofmeetingsthegroupended
uphaving,shesaidthattheyagreedandfoundotherplacestomeetlikelocalrestaurantsand
coffeeshopsinsteadofisolatingthemselvestoonesecretroom.Ultimately,wewantedtobe
seeninthepublic.Werealizedthatbyhidinginaroom,thechangeswewerewantingtosee
wouldnotreallybeknownbyothersimmediately,Tarasaid.Bybeingpublicandallowingthe
communitytobeevenmoreapartoftheprocessthroughawarenessorcasualconversation,it
startedmakingcommunitymembersfeelliketheyactuallyhadhandinhowtheircommunity
kidswerebeingtaughtandhowtheirinfluencecouldpositivelyimpactfutureoutcomes.
Weaknesses.
BeforeTaraandIarrivedbackin2013,GeorgetownwasstuckinaGood
OleBoy,smalltown,backwardsmentalitythatgreatgrandparentsandgrandchildrenshouldall
betaughtthesameway,sharethesamestoriesandhavetheexactsameresults.Theyfelt
bonded,powerfulandsafewiththatmodel.Infact,someoftheactivities,worksheets,testsand

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projectscouldbethoughtofasaconnectionpointinthatforgenerations,theyalldidtheexact
samething...somewiththeexactsameteacher.TheirSuperintendentatthetimewasopposedto
changeofanykindandranhisdistrictintheAlwaysBeenDoneway.Theoldeducation,except
asitconferredthetoolsofknowledge,wasmainlydevotedtofillingthememorywithfacts
(Bobbitt,1998).Ourstudentswereperforming,butjusttotaketests.Theyhadnosay,real
creativeoutletorabilitytoproblemsolve.Weweredoingitallforthem.Wefoundoutthatit
washamperingtheirabilitytofindsuccessintheworkplacebeyondhighschool.Studentsdid
nothavetheskillsnecessarytograduatetoday.Theyhadthetoolsandknowledgetofind
successbackin1995andthatwasahugeproblem,Travisinsisted.
FindingNewStrengths.
Educationisnowtodevelopatypeofwisdomthatcangrow
onlyoutofparticipationinthelivingexperiencesofmen,andneveroutofmerememorizationof
verbalstatementsoffacts(Bobbitt,1998).Astheydevelopedtheirnewwritingcurriculumplan,
Travisandherteamrealizedthatmanystudentsnowdonotcomewithbackgroundknowledge,
storiesorexperiencesthataideinthewritingprocess.Wefoundthatstudentstoday,while
havingtheworldattheirfingertips,donothavetheactual,reallife,tangibleexperiencestohold
ontoandkeepintheirmemorybank,shesaid.Studentsnowlivemoreinvirtualworldsand
worldsthatarefastpacedwithoutmuchslowdownforeseenonthehorizon.Shesaidthather
teamfoundwaysthroughYouTubevideos,FaceTimelivevideochatsandmorehandson,
tangibleexperiencesishowmanyoftodaysstudentscouldbuildtheirmentalfilevault.Ifwe
canshowstudentslivestreamingcamerasofTimesSquareinNewYork,completewiththe
sightsandsounds,theydhaveabetterideawhatitmeantwhenastorytalkedabouta
bustling
city.Ifwecanfindwaystolivevideochatwithexplorers,scientistsandotherimportantfigures,

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itmakesthetextbookpagescometolife.Ifwecanfindwaystobringatravelingmuseumtous
oruseresourceslikeNationalParksandServicestosendusmaterials,wevegottobemore
proactiveattheabundanceofresourceswehaveallaroundus,Travissaid.Shesaidthatthe
moreteacherswereabletofilltheirmindswithexperiences,livestreamingvideos,tangible
materialslikefeelingsandbetweentheirtoesorexperimentinghowdifferenttypesofbirdseat
usingjarsandtongs,wouldtranslateintodeeperconnectionsintheirownlives.Theresult
wouldbemoredetailedwritingexperiencesandeverythingfromtypesofsentencestopartsofa
sentencetopartsofspeechcouldallbetaughtthroughtheexperiencesastheyrefeelingand
participatinginthem...notthroughtheworksheetstheyfilloutlikerobots.
WhosGuidingThisShip?
Ms.Travissaidthattheywerenotgivenanylimitations,
parametersorguidelinestogobywhentheteamfirststartedmeeting.Allmemberswere
instructedtogivethoughtsandideasaboutwaystheycouldteachiftheyhadnolimitations,if
moneywasnoobjectandtheyhadnostandardstoteachby.Traviswentontoexplainthe
excitementandenergyfeltintheroomwascontagiouswhentheyfirststartedbrainstorming.It
wasamazingtoseeeveryoneseyeslightupandtheideasthatcameoutofeveryonesmouths.
Everyonefeltfreeandtheabsenceofnegativereaction.Itwasntuntilamonthin,andafterthe
ideashadallbeenthrownaroundthatdistrictspecialiststhensteppedinandgaveeachgrade
leveltheirTexasEssentialKnowledgeandSkills(orstatestandardscalledTEKS).Fromthere,
teachersandcommunitymembersofthegroupweretoldtofindwaystomakealltheideasthey
hadfittheTEKSinsteadoftheotherwayaround.Withthebackwardsapproachandhaving
creativeideasfirst,wedidntfeellimitationsanymore.WedothingsliketeachusingtheHeads
Upappgamewhereyouactoutsillywordsoranimalsandtheotherstudentshavetoguess.

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10

Fromthere,itdpropelyouintoalessononverbsornounsorevenpropernouns.Students
wouldthenhaveanexperiencetonotonlyconnectwith,butlearnnewvocabularyaswell.Sure
wecouldhaveusedstandardflashcards,butbyusingappsandmakingstudentsapartofthe
experience,weremakingit21stcenturyagain,Travisexplained.Asthegroupcontinuedto
meet,theyrealizedthatalltheideastheyhadalwayshadstoredawayactuallycouldbeusedto
teachtherigorousandformerlyincrediblyboringstatestandardsprovidedbythehigherupswho
overseestatestandards27milesawayfromourcampusdowninAustin,Texas.Theworksheets
andboringonesentencewritingpromptscouldbetaughtinotherwaysnotandnotinawayin
whichstandardsmoldtheteacher,butinawaythattheteachermoldsthestandards.
ImplementingChange.
Whilenotmuchisknowntothepublic,aswellasotherdistrict
officials,administratorsandeducators,rightnowabouttheimplementationofthenewstandards
isstillverymuchasecrettothosewhowerentdirectlyinvolved.Wewereabletotakemany
oftheideaswehadfromourspecificcurriculumwritingteamandimplementthemintoourown
curriculumthroughoutthispastschoolyear,Travissaid.Fromeachlessonorideathatwetook
totheclassroom,wewereabletosharewhatworked,whatdidntandwhatneededtostaythe
sameortweakedforcampuswidedistribution.Forexample,onewritinglessonagroupof4th
gradestudentswereaskedwhattheywoulddoiftheycouldmakechangesintheirschoollunch
roomandwhatwouldtheybe.Onanormalday,thepromptquestionaloudwouldbefollowed
byateacherhandingoutapieceofpaperwiththepromptneatlytypedandprintedatthetop.
Instead,Ms.Travistookherclasstothecafeteriaandaskedthem,astheyrelookingatthefood
andtheirsurroundings,whattheywouldchange,howandwhy.Whenshecomparedherresults
tothoseofherteammatedoingtheexactsamepromptinanormalpencilpaperclassroom

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11

format,theresultsweredrasticallydifferent.Travisfoundthatherstudentswritingsamples
includedmoredetails,descriptionsandreasonswhyasopposedtohercounterpartwhojustread
thequestionandhadherstudentsanswer.Ithinkthereasonmystudentsproducedapaper
morerichindetailandexplanationwasbecauseItookthemtotheareatheyweregoingtobe
writingabout.Ihadthemtellmewhytheywouldchangesomethingandtheywereabletolook
atwhatwasinfrontofthemandgivedetailsabouthowitwouldchange.Havingeverything
rightinfrontoftheireyesreallymadethepromptcometolife.Itmust,therefore,trainthought
andjudgmentinconnectionwithactuallifesituations,ataskdistinctlydifferentfromthe
cloistralactivitiesofthepast(Bobbitt,1998).
ConclusionandFutureStudy
AccordingtoTravis,thatswhattheentirerevampingofthewritingprocesswas
about...makingconnectionsandusingtheworldaroundthestudentstoteachratherthankeeping
theworldoutandteachingwithinthewalls.Iheardaquotebackduringmyearlydaysof
teachingthatsaidthatschoolwallswereonlymeanttokeepbugsout,notstudentcreativity
insideandtheworldout.IapplaudGeorgetownIndependentSchooldistrictinrecognizingthat
notonlywillstudentsnotbesuccessfulatthecurrentmodel,butthatittakestheideasandthe
abilitiesoftheteachersitemploystohelpmakeeveryoneworktogetherasonecohesiveunit
withpeoplewhoaremadetofeelasimportantastheytrulyare.Throughoutyearlong
collaborations,discussionboardsandinpersonforumsduring20162017schoolyear,teachers,
communitymembersandstudentswillallhavetheabilitytopresenttheirthoughts,nomatter
hownegativeorpositivetheymaybe,aboutthenewestcurriculumdevelopments.Everyvoice
willmatter.Everylessontriedwillbeembraced.Everyfailurewillonlyleadtomore

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adaptationsforsuccess,Travisendedbysaying.Travissaidsheknowsmanyoftheforward
thinking,lessformalpromptpaperwritingideasandlessonspresentedatstaffdevelopments
comethisAugustwillbemetwithquestionsandconfusions,buthopesthatoverallteacherssee
theyaregoingtobegiventhefreedoms,toolsandtrainingstohelpfindsuccessusinganew,
moreinclusive,visual/auditory/tactilemethodofgrowingbackgroundknowledgewhichwill,in
turn,leadtogreaterandmorepowerfulpiecesofworkwithconnectionsinthefuture.

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References
Bobbitt,Franklin(1998).TheCurriculumStudiesReader.
ScientificMethodin
CurriculumMaking
,1,1118.