Sioux Center Christian School has been working toward fully implementing the Iowa Core Curriculum. This website is one of the ways that we update stakeholders on the work of the Iowa Core Curriculum at Sioux Center Christian School. The district leadership team has created this website to share information related to three questions:
1. What is the Iowa Core Curriculum?
2. Who has been working toward implementing the Iowa Core Curriculum at Sioux Center Christian School?
3. What has Sioux Center Christian School done to work toward fully implementing the Iowa Core Curriculum?
What is the Iowa Core Curriculum?
The Iowa Core is based on the belief that Iowa's students deserve an education that helps them succeed. The Iowa Core provides academic expectations for all Iowa's K-12 students. It does so by helping teachers take learning to a deeper level by focusing on a well-researched set of standards in literacy and mathematics and essential concepts and skills in science, social studies, and 21st century learning (civic literacy, financial literacy, technology literacy, health literacy, and employability skills). The Iowa Core is a student-based approach that supports high expectations for all students.
The Iowa Core Curriculum (ICC) is a state-wide effort to improve teaching and learning to ensure that all Iowa students engage in a rigorous and relevant curriculum. The ICC focuses on three areas: content (what is taught), instruction (how things are taught), and assessment (how we know students have learned). Teachers are equipped in these three areas through professional development. Each of these pieces must work together to ensure that our students succeed. Six universal constructs have been identified as the building blocks for success in the 21st century: critical thinking, complex communication, creativity, collaboration, flexibility and adaptability, and productivity and accountability.
The Iowa Core Curriculum is a state-mandated and legislated initiative, passed during the 2008 legislative session, through Senate File 2216. The Common Core State Standards in Literacy and Mathematics were integrated into the Iowa Core by Iowa State Board of Education action in 2010. All school districts and accredited nonpublic schools are required to fully implement the Iowa Core in grades 9-12 by July 1, 2012 and grades K-8 by the 2014-2015 school year. The ICC is a requirement for all accredited schools in the state of Iowa. It is a great opportunity for SCCS to review its current curriculum, continually improve instruction, and focus on assessment tools. It is also a great springboard for quality professional development.
Sioux Center Christian School has been working on aligning with and fulfilling our responsibilities with the Iowa Core Curriculum since 2008. The process of alignment involves these questions: Are we teaching the right content at each level? Do our assessment choices align with that content? Do we use assessments to make choices on instruction? Are we teaching content in an effective way? Our deadline to be fully aligned is July 1, 2014. We must show that our current content standards align with those in the ICC. The ICC team feels that there is no part of the ICC curriculum that doesn’t fit with our school’s mission.
Full implementation is accomplished when the district or school is able to provide evidence that an ongoing process is in place to ensure that each and every student is learning the essential concepts and skills of the Iowa Core. A school that has fully implemented the Iowa Core is engaged in an ongoing process of data gathering and analysis, decision making, identifying actions, and assessing impact around alignment and professional development focused on content, instruction, and assessment. The school is fully engaged in a continuous improvement process that specifically targets improved student learning and performance.
The following six outcomes have been defined to assist districts and schools in fully implementing the Iowa Core:
1. School leaders build and sustain system capacity to implement the Iowa Core.
2. Community members and other supporting agencies work together to support the implementation of the Iowa Core.
3. A continuous improvement process to improve teaching and learning is used at the district and school level.
4. District leaders and other educators monitor and use data to increase the degree of alignment of each and every student’s enacted curriculum and other relevant educational opportunities to the Iowa Core.
5. Educators engage in professional development focused on implementing Characteristics of Effective Instruction and demonstrate understanding of Essential Concepts and Skills.
6. Educators implement effective instructional practices to ensure high levels of learning for each and every student.
For more information, check out http://educateiowa.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2485&Itemid=4602.
Who has been working toward implementing the Iowa Core Curriculum at Sioux Center Christian School?
Joe Dirksen, Rebecca De Smith, Dave Mulder, Josh Bowar, Beth Bleeker, Peg De Haan, Karl Hoekstra, Jena Schouten, Kevin Timmer, and Ryan Zonnefeld make up our District Leadership Team. The teachers and stakeholders of SCCS have also been working to ensure full implementation of the Iowa Core Curriculum.
What has Sioux Center Christian School done to work toward fully implementing the Iowa Core Curriculum?
Completed Tasks
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VISION STATEMENT: We have completed a vision statement for our work of the Iowa Core Curriculum. This vision was created by our District Leadership Team and outlines what we hope to accomplish through implementing the Iowa Core Curriculum. The ultimate goals of our work at SCCS with the ICC include: better teaching, better learning, better assessment, better support, leadership at all levels, and community involvement.
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FLOW CHART: We have created a flow chart that highlights our goals toward implementing the Iowa Core Curriculum. This flow chart is used to guide our work, and we work on updating the flow chart periodically to make sure that we continually assess our implementation plans.
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GRAPHIC TO GUIDE OUR WORK: We have been using the graphic below to guide our work of implementing the Iowa Core Curriculum. Created by Pella Christian Grade School, the graphic easily explains what we are working to accomplish through implementing the Iowa Core Curriculum at SCCS. It includes the 6 components of the Iowa Core and what we believe the outcome will be for the Iowa Core at SCCS.
The Iowa Core graphic pictured above is a visual interpretation of the Sioux Center Christian School Iowa Core vision. Our vision for the Iowa Core begins with the centrality of God's Word. The Iowa Core has six pieces, with the first two being support structures around the "hub" of God's Word. These support structures are “shared leadership” and “community”. Notice that both of these support structures are rooted in the hub of the wheel. The spokes in the wheel represent the remaining four parts of the Iowa Core. These four parts are “Characteristics of Effective Instruction”, “Ongoing Assessment”, “Professional Development”, and “Curriculum Alignment”. The visual also expresses the desired outcome of implementing the Iowa Core, that being student success. We define student success by the accomplishment of the SCCS Iowa Core vision and the SCCS mission statement
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SELF STUDY: The District Leadership Team began the work of implementing the Iowa Core by completing a self study. The self study is a tool that helped the team to analyze the current state of the 6 Iowa Core outcomes at Sioux Center Christian School. After discovering the current state, the team rated the school on each item and also set priorities for working on each item. The self study is updated annually in an effort to use the document to continuously guide our work of implementing the Iowa Core at SCCS.
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TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Teachers at SCCS have been learning about the Iowa Core and have been working toward implementing the Iowa Core into their classrooms in the areas of curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
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IMPLEMENTATION PLAN: The implementation plan outlines our progress toward fully implementing the Iowa Core at SCCS. The plan gives details about how we are meeting the action steps under each of the 6 outcomes, and it provides details about resources and steps that we have taken to implement the Iowa Core. It includes step-by-step tasks that we perform to meet the requirements of the Iowa Core. This implementation plan is updated yearly to reflect the progress of our school, stakeholders, and District Leadership Team. The SCCS District Leadership Team has completed the first round of the implementation plan - 2 years ahead of schedule!
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UPDATE TO THE SOCIETY: In June 2011, the SCCS Society was given an update on the progress of the implementation of the Iowa Core. A document was handed out that gave information on the past work and the future plans for implementation, and questions were answered.
Where We're Headed
While focusing on the mission of Sioux Center Christian School and the vision for the Iowa Core at Sioux Center Christian School, the Sioux Center Christian School District Leadership Team plans to:
1. Update our self study yearly.
2. Continuously update our implementation plan and document our progress toward full implementation.
3. Continuously update our stakeholders on the progress of Iowa Core implementation and also ask for feedback and support during the implementation process.
4. Provide professional development time for teachers to work on further implementing the Iowa Core in the areas of curriculum, instruction, and assessment. We will also provide an update of the work of the SCCS District Leadership Team.
5. Attend AEA trainings related to the Iowa Core.
6. Attend AEA trainings related to implementing the math curriculum.
7. Focus on the math essential skills and concepts, guiding teachers through a process of analyzing gaps in the current curriculum and working toward filling those gaps in an effort to fully implement the math section of the Iowa Core.
8. Continue to encourage teachers to fill out a form that highlights how they are meeting the requirements of the Iowa Core through their classroom field trips and special guests.
9. Create new action plans for our next round on the implementation plan.
10. Call a full meeting of the SCCS District Leadership Team.
If you have any questions about the work of implementing the Iowa Core Curriculum at Sioux Center Christian School, please contact Josh Bowar at jbowar@siouxcenterchristian.com. Future postings and updates will be available on this website.
To learn more about the Iowa Core, check out these links:
http://educateiowa.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2485&Itemid=4602
http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/icc/
http://www.nwaea.k12.ia.us/en/iowa_core/
http://www.gwaea.org/iowacorecurriculum/iccindex.html
