Ken Card Reflects on 2011/12 Milestones
With so much do and not enough hours in the day to do it all, Dr. Kenneth A. Card, Jr. is becoming an expert at prioritizing and time management. The Huntington School District's assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction keeps busy. He seamlessly moves from one task to another while keeping his eyes firmly affixed to the goal of improving academic performance across the district.
Recently granted tenure by the Huntington School Board, Dr. Card took a few minutes late last week to reflect on what he considers this year's "milestones." The list includes:
• Directed the construction of action plans by every principal and director, including annual measurable goals and targets, as well as supporting actions.
• Assisted in establishing a quarterly benchmark assessment schedule at the elementary level, as well as a process for data analysis and subsequent instructional and service differentiation, particularly for those students deemed at risk of not achieving proficiency in English language arts and mathematics. This included setting monitoring checkpoints associated with various assessment measures.
• Promoted implementation across the grade levels of instructional differentiation and high-yield instructional strategies, as well as best practices in writing instruction at the high school.
• Worked with fellow central office administrators to introduce the Framework for Teaching observation process, which provided a consistent set of criteria and process for use in evaluating teacher classroom performance.
• Implementation of Odysseyware pilot, an on-line distance learning program that can be used for credit recovery and the alternative high school equivalency preparation program (AHSEP) and will potentially be used for additional purposes, such as the freshman seminar.
• Assisted in the implementation of AIMSweb curriculum-based measure in grades 3-6 and by middle and high school reading teachers, providing professional development for teachers and ongoing training.
• Expanded the district's professional development schedule to include training in the Common Core Standards, the Framework for Teaching, differentiated instructional strategies and Response to intervention planning and implementation.
• Established school-based inquiry teams at each district elementary school to assist in the development of data-driven instructional process and developing the three tiered RTI model required by state law.
• Facilitated extension of the Saturday Academy program to include at-risk secondary students.
• Conducted monthly meetings with principals and directors on matters related to curriculum and instruction. The meetings included discussion of the following books: Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design by Tomlinson and McTighe and Leadership for Differentiating Schools and Classrooms by Tomlison and Allan, as well as other featured articles from various education publications.
• Worked to establish the budget and spending plan associated with Race to the Top monies. Contributed to the development of the 2012/13 curriculum and instructional budget.
• Helped to establish a required summer reading list for K-12 students to be implemented during the summer of 2012.
• Planned and coordinated summer curriculum writing related to the common core standards and establishment of student learning objectives (SLOs) as required within the district's annual professional performance plan.
• Contributed to the development of a multi-year district technology plan, as well as a pilot program that has infused iPads and associated applications into multiple elementary classrooms.
Dr. Card said he expects to be even busier during the 2012/13 school year.