Glendale teachers prepare for Common Core
Educators in Glendale said are studying and training one another on the new Common Core standards set to be implemented by 2016, replacing standards California adopted in 1997.
Fifty-one classroom teachers from Glendale’s 30 schools are now helping to train their colleagues on Common Core skills, which encourage critical thinking from students as they analyze non-literary texts and in-depth math problem-solving skills.
The 51 have already trained 260 Glendale teachers on the new English language curriculum, which aims to make students literate across a wide range of subjects from the technical to the historical. The math curriculum training has yet to be scheduled.
“As we all do, they want to get their hands on them and be able to write in them and tab them and make them their own,” said Lynn Marso, an assistant superintendent for Glendale Unified.
As part of the standards, Glendale students will take adaptive computer exams by the spring of 2015 that will adapt to their knowledge level.
The test’s software will respond to a student’s correct answer with a more challenging question. A student’s wrong answer will result in an easier question, helping to determine an individual’s ability.
In the months ahead, as teachers begin to delve into the new content, they will also appear at PTA meetings to educate parents, many of whom are seeking more information, on the new standards, Marso said.
Glendale Unified Supt. Richard Sheehan is scheduled to visit Glendale, Hoover and Crescenta Valley high schools in January, holding informational meetings about the Common Core standards.
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Follow Kelly Corrigan on Twitter: @kellymcorrigan.
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