NJPSA is pleased to report that the shared vision of the Connected Action Roadmap strengthening teaching, leading and learning in New Jersey schools is one major step closer to becoming a reality. This vision has been endorsed and supported by the Partnership for Collaborative Professional Learning, a partnership of the major education organizations in New Jersey and the Department of Education. The first step toward this vision was to support all districts in implementing a strategic and collaborative approach to developing a standards-based curriculum that fosters equitable outcomes for all students.
The New Jersey Department of Education is expected to release, in a Broadcast Memo, the new Instructional Units. Teams of educators from across the state worked with the NJDOE Office of Standards and Assessment staff over several months to unpack the ELA and math standards into clear specific learning goals and place them into suggested units of study. We are excited by the potential that districts will have to build capacity to improve teaching and learning by utilizing these new tools.
Included in this Broadcast will be an announcement of a new pilot program (pilot application attached here). This pilot is being offered and funded through a partnership with the New Jersey Department of Education, the Overdeck Family Foundation, and the Foundation for Educational Administration. The purpose of the pilot is to engage districts that are committed to utilizing selected grade levels of the newly released NJDOE Instructional Units in ELA and/or Math within the Connected Action Roadmap (CAR) process.
Numerous schools across the state are already implementing the CAR process and have reported their success in creating a continuous cycle of school improvement that has benefited not only the students, but also, the educators who are engaged in the work. In keeping with Commissioner Repollet’s call for, “Equity in action,” the overarching intent of the pilot is to assist districts in ensuring that every student has access to a viable standards-based curriculum.
The goals of the new three-year pilot will focus on these key areas:
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Maintain a significant and consistent focus on PLC collaboration to improve instruction and student outcomes in professional learning community teams using the ten CAR conversations and the NJDOE Instructional Units.
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Create a collaborative culture marked by a positive climate for learning for both students and adults, shared leadership, and a coherent approach to school improvement.
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Assess the effectiveness of the use of common learning goals and PLC conversations to foster more effective collaborative analysis of formative assessment data that results in changes to instruction and improved student learning outcomes.
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Assess the impact of leadership, both formal and informal, in sustaining the work.
The Partnership for Collaborative Professional Learning will continue to support the CAR vision for strengthening teaching, leading, and learning, and each of our organizations commits to assisting all educators in this effort.
