July 6-7 Curriculum Institute to offer new thinking about student learning

Continuing its tradition of informing school leaders about learning issues in a supportive, professional development setting, CSBA’s Curriculum Institute at the Hyatt Regency in Monterey July 6-7 will feature speakers specializing in a wide spectrum of student needs.

“This year’s Curriculum Institute promises to inspire district leaders to think comprehensively about student learning and achievement,” said Holly Jacobson, CSBA assistant executive director of Policy Analysis and Continuing Education. “We have strived to address challenges that boards face every day—from designing effective and systemic professional development to providing a framework to ensure every student receives instruction to maximize learning. While the Legislature and governor can wait until 2008 for the ‘Year of Education,’ we know that every year is the year of education in our local schools.”

During the first general session, Ellen Moir, executive director of the New Teacher Center at the University of California, Santa Cruz, will share her expertise on the need for creating change through effective professional development. This session will address how mentoring, staff development and leadership training for everyone from novice instructors to top district leaders can transform a school district. Moir will explain how this initiative has affected student achievement and teacher retention rates in Ravenswood City School District in East Palo Alto.
The second general session will focus on the response to intervention model for special education students. Alice D. Parker, coordinator of strategic initiatives at Sopris West Educational Services in Longmont, Colo., will discuss a problem-solving approach that incorporates universal screening data, targeted prevention and intervention programs and ongoing progress monitoring to provide a proven framework for delivery of effective instructional practices matched to students’ needs. This in-depth and interactive session will provide strategies to create different pathways that respond to the needs of diverse learners.

Other sessions will showcase powerful professional development practices and strategies, best practices in differentiated learning and instruction, English and language arts instructional materials adoption, how to use data to improve instruction, strategies for increasing instructional time, and other topics.