Curriculum-Best Practice Subgroup Notes V.1

Curriculum & Best Practice (c) (d) Subgroup Meeting Notes April 24, 2012, PSESD, Renton

Chair: Brian Smith; OSPI Lead: Mike Donlin; Facilitator: Jennifer Mackillop; Recorder: Mike Donlin

Present: Brian Smith, WIAA;, Jennifer Mackillop, PSESD; Heather Carter, YSPP; Mia Doces C4C; Jacque Smith, Federal Way SD; Ken Lyon, Lake Washington SD; Mike Donlin, OSPI.

Members of the group introduced themselves and told where they were from. Then we jumped right into the work.

Several documents were shared by way of establishing guidelines for the work of this subgroup. There was a lot of good discussion around resources, definitions, experiences, and needs. There was also good discussion around school climate/culture, social-emotional learning (SEL) and bullying prevention.

The group agreed that inclusion of only “evidence based” programs or curricula could be very limiting. Therefore, we recognized a series of “needs”, actions to guide our on-going work.

First, there is a need to define terms, specifically: curriculum, program, framework, approach.

Second, there is the need for a rubric of the components of Best Practice, to include:

1. Products/Kind of “product”: curriculum, materials, rubrics, other resources

2. Training Component(s) for all stakeholders: staff, administration, families, community partner organizations

3. A readiness to benefit rubric

4. Inclusion of community partners

5. An assessment and evaluation

6. A social-emotional learning

7. A policy implementation

8. A cultural competency

9. Age / grade appropriateness of materials.

10. Program evaluation information (Blueprints, etc.) *

11. In addition, we also discussed a template for generating site/school/district-specific lessons to augment pre-existing material. This list is by no means complete or finalized. We will continue to work on this at our next meeting, adding, editing and refining it into a usable tool for districts and schools.

Third, we need a list of programs, approaches, curricula and other resources and materials to run through the rubric. Mike pointed to the list currently posted on the Safety Center site as a starting point.

Finally the group agreed that it would be very beneficial to have a list of model schools, schools which have demonstrated the implementation and effectiveness of programs, approaches, curricula and other resources across Washington.

Ken also suggested that we share and, in a sense, field test what the groups develops as we go forward. We can do this directly with schools as well as in focus group settings. This will give us some real-time feedback.

The group was given a homework assignment:

- Read the Limber PowerPoint and the Jones, et al, documents, each on best practice in bullying prevention programs. (These were handed out, but are being posted on the Work Group web page, as well.)

- Identify information common to both.

- Identify something important that leaps out to you.

- Identify something which seems to be missing.

In addition, Jenn and Mia will share their ‘readiness to benefit’ rubrics with the group.

With all this as a starting point, the group will meet again on May 15, 8:00 a.m., at the PSESD.

* I added this item to the list. Mike