Making Change

Obviously, the creation and implementation of a new curriculum would be a major change in any school district. The gatekeepers would likely be the superintendent, the school board, and possibly anyone with a post of or similar to "district curriculum coordinator." These are the individuals who ultimately decide whether the change will happen, even though they have little or nothing to do with the implementation.

School-level administration would be next in line. This would involve principal, assistant principal(s), any reading coordinators, etc. The school's media specialist(s) should also be involved, as they could assist greatly with selection of appropriate materials. They may also be the ones that are gatekeepers to the school's resources, such as a computer lab.

The ELA department would be next, headed by the chairperson (or chairpersons, if applicable). They should be heavily involved in the creation of the new curriculum, as they are also the ones responsible for implementation. The department chair(s) will likely have mandatory involvement, and may belong also in the second tier of this described chain of command. This process may or may not involve the entire department initially, depending on when the curriculum is created and implemented. If time for creation of the curriculum is only in the summer, volunteers will be needed to assemble everything. Hopefully, these volunteers will also have a more vested interest in creating an effective curriculum than if everyone was mandated to be involved. Teachers that are reluctant to change could be very resistant in making a shift from the familiar to the new, even if it may benefit them and their students.

The school-level administrators and the ELA department chair(s) would be the ones that should initially gain the knowledge about why this change is needed. Although he administrators can disseminate the information to ELA teachers, the department chair(s) is likely to have the most clout with them, and would be able to best persuade them that change is needed. The decision process, as mentioned above, would involve at least ELA department volunteers to create an aligned, standardized, and uniform curriculum, while the entire department is responsible for implementation. This would be overseen by both school-level and district-level administrators. Confirmation would occur after the entire curriculum has been accepted as part of the school culture and has been in place, likely for several years.

There are many other factors to consider when attempting to make this change in the particular school I'm examining. The school is in the suburbs, but it is a public school with an urban population. Accommodations would need to be addressed in the curriculum for the range of student abilities, including the approximate third of the students that are identified as having special needs (IEPs, 504 plans, etc.). Resources and funding (or lack of both) are major factors to consider, as they will affect how teachers will be compensated for their time when writing the new curriculum, and what they will be able to use to implement it. The school board and superintendent, although in charge of the school, may not understand completely its student population, which could be a barrier to the success of the change. Implementation may also be difficult with the aforementioned teachers who are complacent with the status quo and feel no need to change their pedagogy to suit a new curriculum. Even teachers who are interested in effective implementation will need to devote a great deal of personal time and energy to familiarize themselves with the new curriculum and associated materials.