HCPS FL Logo Curriculum and Instruction
Action Item
DATE: Tuesday, June 12, 2012
TO: School Board Members
FROM: MaryEllen Elia, Superintendent
SUBJECT / RECOMMENDATIONS
Approve Partnership with The Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin (Curriculum and Instruction Division)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin will partner with Hillsborough County Public Schools to support the district as they work to align curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).  The partnership work will center on putting into practice the necessary changes required to successfully implement the CCSS with fidelity, creating capacity to reach every student in every classroom, and sustaining the instructional changes required to ensure the ultimate goal of student learning and accomplishment.  Professional learning sessions will focus on Studying the Common Core State Standards, analyzing the current state of the district instructional program with an emphasis on the curriculum, gaining a deeper knowledge of the change process and how to plan and lead systemic change, learning the process of assessing concerns of stakeholders involved in school change to provide necessary support and interventions, and engaging in an exploration of a process for collecting, analyzing, reflecting on, and acting on data that informs the successful implementation of the CCSS. 

School and district leadership teams will engage in four two-day sessions led by Dana Center facilitators.  The sessions will be delivered over the course of one year with the first two-day session beginning in summer 2012.  The consistent implementation of the cyclical, reflective, and coherent processes and tools brought to the leadership teams by the Dana Center will create the capacity needed to expand the use of the processes and tools to all Hillsborough County school sites under the guidance of the initial leadership team members. 

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
• Increase promotion rates at all grade levels and the percentage of high school graduates
FINANCIAL IMPACT (Budgeted:  Yes)
Funds of $101,640 are available through the Comprehensive Reading Plan (CRP). 
EVALUATION
Team members will put into place strategies used to increase the capacity of the instructional system required to implement the CCSS at their school sites.  Team members will provide professional development to district and site-based leaders using information and strategies learned during the partnership work.  This information will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the training.
SUBMITTED BY:  Lynn Dougherty-Underwood, Director of Literacy K-12
Wynne A. Tye   Gretchen Saunders
Assistant Superintendent, Curriculum and Instruction
(813) 272-4221
  Chief Business Officer
(813) 272-4270
    A 5.02
Hillsborough County Public Schools (Florida) * Mtg.#20120612_503 (Board Meeting) * Section A Item# 5.02