Election 2011: District 61 Candidates on Curriculum

What do you think of the district’s current curriculum? What changes, if any, would you make?

District 61 has done a good job of maintaining its curriculum. Curriculum should be an ongoing work in progress; we should always be looking for ways to improve it. I know the district has been working on improving the writing skills across the grade levels, and I agree this is an area that continues to need attention and improvement. Study skills is an area I feel we can improve upon by providing students formal instruction in various study techniques before they reach junior high school. As the students get older, they are introduced to team projects; this is another area we can improve upon. Our students need to be equipped with project management skills and the tools to work within a team environment so they can operate within the dynamics of a team and be successful. Our school district would also benefit by adding a formal anti-bullying program to its curriculum.  

I'm happy with the direction of the curriculum. We get regular updates on curriculum work done by the staff. Each discipline is on a regular cycle of review, making sure that it is in line with district and state goals.

The curriculum is very dynamic, always evolving. District 61 has always tried to maintain top notch educational programs so that all students can succeed.