Curricular Update
Fall 2023
2023-2024 Department Chairpersons
Art (K-12) - Leah McKain
Business Education - Matthew Kleinle
English (K-6) - Victoria Principe
English (7-12) - Ilene Austin
Family Consumer Science - Lisa Voytko
Health & Physical Education (K-12) - Jeffrey Husick
Health Services (K-12) - Jillian Haubrich
Math (K-6) - Lisa Bowland
Math (7-12) - Tracy Krock
Music (K-6) - Christina Caiazzo-Pritchard
Music (7-12) - Harold Cassady
School Counseling (K-6) - Jennifer VanLouvender
School Counseling (7-12) - Theresa Onody
Science (K-6) - Gary Schubert
Science (7-12) - James Bruski
Social Studies (K-12) - Anthony Lanfrank
Special Education (K-6) - Gina Connor
Special Education (7-12) - Melissa Koehler
Technology Education - Matthew Rimbey
World Languages - Amanda Nicholson
Curricular and Professional Development Initiatives for the
2023-2024 School Year
~Research-Aligned Literacy Instruction~
~StudySync Implementation Gr. 7 & 8~
~Keys to Literacy: Comprehension Routines Gr. 9-12~
~Math Instructional Strategies Presented by
~Project Lead the Way: Engineering~
~STEELS Standards~
~Data Science Integration~
~SACA Course Development~
~Curriculum Mapping and Writing: Health/PE, Art, Music, Social Studies, Science, Spanish, Technology Education~
~Data-Informed Instructional Practices~
Secondary Department/Team and Faculty Meeting Schedules
Department and team meetings will be staggered in order to allow for administrative support and targeted problem solving. Much like the elementary and middle school levels, at the High School and Junior High School levels, faculty meeting time will be structured differently to support a problem-solving approach within the MTSS framework. In terms of the High School and Junior High School, we would like for departments to continue to meet together during department meeting time to allow for curriculum discussions that spans across both buildings. Department chairs will facilitate these meetings and members of the administrative team will be available for support. Please click the link below to access the schedule for your building.
Field Trip & Conference Forms
Linked below are the Field Trip and Conference Request forms to be utilized. Please be sure to follow the process and timelines as outlined on the forms.
Curricular Update (Continued)
Fall 2023
New or Revised Curriculum
All new or revised curricula are available through Sapphire. If you are assigned a course with a new or revised curriculum, you will have access to the course curriculum in the learning management system through Sapphire. Click here for directions to access the curricular documents through your gradebook. For the new or revised curriculum guides, access them through Sapphire to view the Shared Google Drive containing course supporting materials. Click here for access to the publicly available curricular documents. The following courses were revised during the 22-23 school year and throughout the summer:
Thank You
The amount of curriculum writing and work that occurred during last school year and throughout the summer was amazing! The entire Curriculum Department thanks all teachers who helped with this endeavor! Your work and commitment is noticed and appreciated. We look forward to another productive year in this area!
Curriculum Department Staff Resources
Check out the Curriculum Department website for resources and documents pertaining to Field Trips, Conferences, Course Proposals and Curriculum Writing Information. This is a great place to locate up-to-date documents regarding these topics!
Curriculum Department: Staff Resources
Act 158 Update
The High School team must be recognized for their work in implementing a variety of proactive programs to help students meet the graduation requirements set forth through Act 158. In terms of the 2023 graduating class, all students who met our locally-established graduation requirements met the additional Act 158 graduation requirements. The district did not need to issue any waivers for Act 158 due to the hard work and determination of the entire High School team. Congrats on a job well done!
Curricular Update (Continued)
Fall 2023
MTSS Plans
Throughout the 2022-2023 school year, MTSS teams throughout the district worked to develop and/or fine-tune their building MTSS plans. For the 2023-2024 school year, all schools within the district will be implementing MTSS procedures to proactively support the needs of students and collaboratively problem solve as needed. The Curriculum Department looks forward to supporting these building plans and working with building teams to support the diverse needs of our students! More information regarding building MTSS is located on the Curriculum Department website.
Multi-Tiered System of Support
District Assessment Schedule
During the 2023-2024 school year, the district will continue to implement a consistent system of common benchmark assessments to measure student growth and progress. The gathered data should be utilized by both teachers and school MTSS teams to identify student areas of need and provide targeted supports as needed. Click below to access the District Assessment Schedule.
For those new to the district, below are links for additional information regarding the various assessment platforms and their use to guide instructional decisions for you to explore.
Progress Learning Getting Started
Project Lead the Way: Engineering
We are excited to announce a new series of courses offered to ninth through twelfth grade students in partnership in Project Lead the Way, which will provide a hands-on and in-depth experience in many facets of
PLTW: Engineering (Cont.)
engineering. We will begin this series through the course Introduction to Engineering. Over 80 students will be participating in this initial course that will not only build knowledge and skills in engineering but also encourage the development of essential skills such as problem solving, critical and creative thinking, communication, collaboration, and perseverance. Additional courses to be offered through this pathway include: Civil Engineering and Architecture, Principles of Engineering, and Engineering Design and Development. Mr. Rimbey and Mr. Meckes are greatly thanked for their time dedicated to training and preparation for this course.
Structured Literacy
On April 23, 2022 the final amendments of Chapter 49 of Title 22 became effective. These amendments require instruction in structured literacy to be implemented in educator preparation and continuing professional development programs for the following certification areas: early childhood, elementary-middle level, PK-12 Sp. Education, English as a Second Language, and Reading Specialist. Click here for more information regarding structured literacy.
Explicit Instruction
Explicit instruction is an instructional approach which research illustrates has a strong impact on student learning. Explicit instruction involves direct explanations through which concepts are clearly explained and skills are clearly modeled, without vagueness or ambiguity. The teacher’s language is concise, specific, and related to the objective involving visible instruction with a high level of teacher/student interaction. Additional information regarding explicit instruction can be accessed here.
Curricular Update (Continued)
Fall 2023
STEELS Standards
The new Science, Technology & Engineering, and Environmental Literacy & Sustainability Academic (STEELS) Standards guide the study of the natural and human-made world through inquiry, problem solving, critical thinking, and authentic exploration. The integration of these disciplines in the standards highlights the interconnectedness of scientific, technological, and engineering focused study, the integral relationship between humans and the environment, and the importance of integrating the teaching and learning of science, technology, and engineering.
Throughout the course of this academic year, all science teachers will be learning about the STEELS standards in order to analyze current programs and practices to identify areas where changes to science instruction are required. Following this analysis, teams will work to review needed programming and revise course curricula to align with the standards. These new science standards offer an exciting opportunity to enhance K-12 science instruction within the district.
Gradebook for Grades 5-12
In order to ensure that student grades are generated in an equitable manner, department teachers will work to establish a common grade weighting system to be utilized across departments and/or buildings. A common grade weighting system will ensure that various types of measures are calculated in a consistent manner when determining a student’s marking period grade. Once the categories and corresponding percentage of weight are determined by departments/grade levels, teachers can set the weighting parameters within their grade books. If needed, teachers can watch this tutorial video regarding this set up process.
Suicide Awareness, Prevention and Response Policy (819)
Please find the updated Suicide Awareness, Prevention and Response Policy (819) that was approved by the School Board on July 19, 2023. In addition to the policy, review the Administrative Regulations attached to the policy. If you have any questions, please reach out to your school’s administrative and/or counseling team.
Suicide Awareness, Prevention and Response Policy
2022-2023 Instructional Review
and Looking Ahead
Please find the attached presentation that summarizes various summative data pertaining to student learning from the 2022-2023 school year. Information regarding initiatives intended to respond to the demonstrated student learning needs are also included to illustrate the planned path forward. As shown, there are many areas of great progress as well as areas where continued problem solving is needed. We look forward to continuing to work together to improve and enhance the educational outcomes for Stroudsburg students.
Instructional Review and Looking Ahead
Vision Statement
To provide a world-class education enabling all students to graduate reading on grade level or beyond and have the academic, social, and emotional skills to compete globally in the workforce.