Curriculum and Instruction - SAS-WASC

Standards and benchmarks have been posted on Atlas and are now accessible toteachers as they document what they are teaching through written and posted unit plans.In November 2007, 90 % of faculty survey respondents reported that the curriculumat SAS is based on clearly defined learning standards. Nevertheless, the areas ofstrength and areas for follow-up in the Subject Area Evidence Binders points tocontinued desire for improvement in various subject areas.One concern in the curriculum work of the school has been how to ensure a closelink between what is actually being taught and what is posted as our curriculum onAtlas. To establish and maintain that link, the expectation for teachers in postingunits on Atlas has been to post what they actually teach as they teach it. Withindivisions, teachers teaching the same courses are expected to collaborate and, ina number of cases, cross campus collaborations have helped to align curriculumdelivery. Continued attention to collaboration as a common, consistent expectationand practice at all divisions will improve the continuity of the curriculum, itsdelivery, and its assessment.As the Atlas audits of June, 2008 show, significant progress has been made towarddesigning and maintaining a fully documented, living curriculum that has the focusto define common content for all and the flexibility for differences in approach,methods and supplementary materials to attain desired common outcomes.The same audits will show that the work is not complete. Here, as with programreview, the progress is uneven across campuses and divisions. The challenges areparallel: the number of new faculty members that need to be brought on board inthese years of growth, the different stages of development of the two campuses andthe two distinct campus cultures that provide the context for the work.With about 45 % of the faculty at SAS new to the school in the past three years andthree new principals in school year 2007-2008, helping staff familiarize themselveswith SAS curriculum expectations and structures has been particularly challenging.Central office educational programs administration split their time between twocampuses and 342 faculty members (2007-2008), and further, with the growth of theactual facility at Pudong, a number of teachers have moved classrooms three yearsrunning. Progress has been substantial nevertheless. Additionally, the campuses arein different stages of development: with one more established than the other and oneeager to make its own distinct traditions and culture (both part of the One SchoolTwo Campus Vision), discussions about change are impassioned.Professional development in Atlas mapping and in unit plan writing has beenprovided to teachers at several junctures (August 2006, October 2006, February2007, August 2007, October 2007, February 2008), and will continue to be the casein order to maintain focus, provide further training for veteran staff and train overseventy new staff members who join SAS in 2008-2009. In addition in 2007-2008,a school-wide Atlas coordinator was appointed to address the needs of teachersand subject areas with particular concerns and questions. At each division, teacherexperts in Atlas functions have been identified and stand ready to offer support totheir colleagues through the process of uploading unit plans.Atlas unitsPudong campusPuxi campusCollaborative Pudong/PuxiTotal2006-2007expectation: to collaborate on one unit per semester acrosscampuses79 units uploaded142 units uploaded29 units loaded251 units loaded76Shanghai American School Self Study Report