Midland Park Public SchoolsCurriculum, Staff Development & Assessment
Dear Midland Park Public Schools Community,
It is hard to believe that it has been over a year since the MPS curriculum department was reestablished and Ms. Schlosser, curriculum secretary, and I have joined the Midland Park Public School community. Since that time, the curriculum department, in collaboration with other school stakeholders, has updated district K12 math and ELA curriculum to be in alignment with the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and has updated our K12 Math and ELA textbooks also to be in alignment with these new standards. The CCSS standards will help prepare our students for CCSS aligned assessments - commencing in New Jersey in 2013 - as well as help ensure that instruction is both academically rigorous and prepares students for college and career. The curriculum office was also involved this year in helping to prepare for the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC) school district monitoring system process which MPS passed in 2011-2012.
The curriculum office is also establishing a five year curriculum and textbook review cycle so that instruction in all discipline areas remains up to date and is in compliance with the latest New Jersey and Federal standards. Technology also continues to be advanced in the district, with the purchase of Discovery Streaming videos, while exploration of the feasibility of digital textbooks and/or laptop initiatives for teachers and students is also in its early stages. Our schools are also conducting benchmark and formative assessment of our students two to three times a year, using the Global Scholar/Scantron Performance Series online testing platform, and analyzing other state/local student achievement data within our teacher led professional learning community (PLC) weekly meetings. PLC teams are considering this data when developing targeted instructional remediation and/or advancement.
The curriculum office door is always open. Susan and I look forward to always hearing from the Midland Park community. Should you have any questions about district curriculum, instruction, or assessment, please do not hesitate to contact our office at (201) 444 – 7400, x 232. We can also be reached at jschembari@midlandparkschools.k12.nj.us and/or sschlosser@midlandparkschools.k12.nj.us. Thank you.
Sincerely,
John Schembari, Ed.D.
K12 Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
