Clara Barton Elementary School selected as a Chicago Public Schools Early Adopter Common Core Lead School
Chicago Public Schools this year will begin the push towards transforming curriculum and instruction throughout the system to prepare students for 21st century college and career expectations by establishing curriculum and assessment based on Common Core State Standards (CCSS).
As a first step, the District has begun the process of recruiting “Early Adopter” schools that will implement CCSS during this school year. Even though full implementation is not required until the 2013-14 school year, CPS officials said the District intends to have a CCSS-aligned curriculum in place in all of its schools a year early.
Clara Barton Elementary School has been selected as one of the districts Early Adopter Lead Schools in helping to begin developing a model of standards based instruction aligned to the more rigorous Common Core State Standards.
According to CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard, “Adopting the Common Core State Standards will help our children get back on track towards being competitive with their peers across the country. We’re excited about fully implementing these standards throughout the district during the 2012/2013 school year - one year ahead of schedule - while bringing the program online this year with our Early Adopter schools. This represents a significant step forward for our system and as we all work together to support our teachers and principals in boosting the academic success of our students.”
CCSS is a state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers. The standards were developed in collaboration with teachers, school administrators and educational experts. The standards are informed by the highest and most effective teaching and learning models and will provide teachers and parents with a common understanding of what students are expected to learn. Consistent standards will provide appropriate benchmarks for all students regardless of where they live.