Introduction

This evaluation plan provides a description concerning how the curriculum committee will collaborate to achieve an improved language arts curriculum for grades 6 through 8 at Haddonfield Middle School (hereinafter alternatively “Haddonfield” or “the school”), a public school located in Haddonfield, New Jersey.The Middletown Township Public Schools recognize the need for ongoing curricular evaluation. Based on its stated mission (described below), Haddonfield’s educators are committed to providing the highest quality curricular offerings possible that help young learners prepare for life in the 21 century. Therefore, a revision of the English/Language Arts (ELA) curriculum is needed. To this end, a curriculum committee will be organized to achieve the following objectives: (a) the committee will ensure that the curriculum continues to align with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), (b) effectively prepares the students for the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) standardized testing as aligned with the school district’s educational missions. In addition, a survey of Survey of stakeholder needs, an analysis of student performance data with NJCCCS/CP Indicators, and a description of curricular, cross content, co-curricular, and extracurricular content is followed by a discussion of procedures for curriculum design, approval, and steps for implementation. Finally, a description of the procedures that will be used for curriculum evaluation and the 5-year evaluation cycle that will be used for subjects is followed by a discussion concerning the technology tools for teaching and learning and corresponding professional development needs. It is the goal of this revised curriculum to provide Haddonfield’s students with the educational background they will need to succeed in their higher educational pursuits and adult lives.

Rationale in Support of Change

In 1996, the State of New Jersey’s CCSS were adopted by the New Jersey State Board of Education (New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, 2016). These standards do not stipulate what curricular offerings should be provided, but they do provide a specific outline concerning what students are expected to know and be able to accomplish following their completion of a 13-year public school education (New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, 2016). Because the standards are revised every 5 years, it is important for Haddonfield Middle School to revisit its ELA curriculum to ensure that it remains aligned with the CCCS.

The most recent revisions of the CCCS involved several significant changes to the ELA requirements, including (a) requiring regular practice with complex texts and their academic language; (b) reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from texts, both literary and informational; and (c) building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction (Kurabinski, 2016).Therefore, Haddonfield’s current ELA curricular offerings must be updated to include these new standards in order to prepare students for successful completion of the PARCC’s standardized tests.

Mission/Philosophy Statement

The stated mission of the school is “to teach, guide, and nurture young adolescents” (Haddonfield mission, 2016, para. 2). In support, the school mission statement adds that it seeks to achieve this outcome through “partnerships with parents and the community” in order to “create a school where students want to learn and see the benefit of their learning” (Haddonfield mission, 2016, para. 2). In addition, the school’s mission statement also highlights the goal to help young learners become better citizens: “We help students become independent learners, responsible decision-makers, and thoughtful citizens” (Haddonfield mission, 2016, para. 3). This mission is highly congruent with the guidance provided by Bas (2013) who cites the need to include citizenship development in the curriculum design process. In this regard, Bas advises that, “A curriculum is developed for such purposes as establishing a good-quality education system either on national or international basis, training qualified human force to help develop the country and supporting the protection and development of social and cultural values” (p. 981).

Finally, the school’s mission statement also includes a description of its ideal curricular offerings: “We provide a comprehensive curriculum that integrates learning – academic, artistic, technological, and athletic – with life” (Haddonfield mission, 2016, para. 3). Taken together,... 1).
Discussion of Mission Statements and District Overview

The school’s mission statement emphasizes the need to provide students with optimal curricular offerings and the district’s mission statement likewise highlights the need to prepare students to meet the rigorous requirements of CCCS. In addition, both the school and district mission statements underscore the importance of preparing young learners for success in college and later life.

Currently, the Haddonfield School District is comprised of three elementary schools (Central Elementary, Elizabeth Haddon Elementary and J. Fithian Tatem Elementary), Haddenfield Middle School and Haddonfield High School (Haddonfield Public Schools overview, 2016). The Haddonfield School District publishes a curriculum map that describes what ELA concepts students are required to know, what skills they will be required to demonstrate, associated learning activities and assessment methods; however, this curriculum map has not been updated since 2008 (Haddonfield curriculum map, 2008).

The Haddonfield district is also relatively affluent, with a median household income of $116,233 and an estimated per capita income of $55,054 (Haddonfield city data, 2016). The research also shows that Haddonfield has a long history that dates to 1682 with a number of historic sites in the district (About Haddenfield, 2016). At present, Haddonfield has an estimated population of 11,593 citizens (About Haddonfield, 2016). In addition, the median age of Haddonfield citizens is 42.8 years versus the state median age of 39.4 years, with females slightly outnumbered male citizens (50.5% versus 49.5%, respectively) (Haddonfield city data, 2016).

Committee Membership/Profile and Selection

The membership of the curriculum committee will consist of six ELA school educators and six parents of students attending Haddonfield Middle School. Committee members who will be selected based on their willingness to participate in the curriculum revision and all members will be provided with relevant background material concerning state and district requirements for the school’s ELA curricular offerings. All ELA teachers at Haddonfield Middle School will be contacted personally via face-to-face meetings or through email to invite their participation in the curriculum review process together with a sign-up form and information concerning tentative meeting dates and times.

In addition, recruitment letters will be written to all parents on children enrolled in grades 6 through 8 at the school together with a link to additional information that will be provided in the school’s existing Web site. Interested parents will be requested to complete an enclosed short questionnaire that describes their educational background and personal interest in curriculum development and design.

Based on this feedback, prospective committee members will be screened to ensure they are committed to the process and possess the requisite background and experience to participate in the curriculum revision process. In addition, four members (two educators and two parents) will be selected by the committee members to form a subcommittee to address selected issues involved in the curriculum evaluation process as outlined in Table 1 in the “procedures for curriculum evaluation section” below.

Analysis of student performance data with NJCCCS/CP Indicators

At present, Haddonfield Middle School has 599 students in grades 6 through 8, but NJCCS/CP standards indicate that about 54 of these young learners are not considered proficient in math and/or reading (Haddonfield Middle School overview, 2016).

Survey of Stakeholder Needs

While it is reasonable to suggest that the entire population of the United States can be regarded as stakeholders in the success of the public schools in preparing young learners to…