Derby Principal To Tackle Curriculum Improvement

Lacking an assistant superintendent and a director of curriculum, school officials are searching for ways to update and improve class plans in anticipation of the upcoming Derby High School accreditation process.

“We have NEASC [the New England Association of Schools and Colleges] coming in this fall and we have no assistant superintendent or curriculum director because we didn’t get the funding for the positions,” School Superintendent Stephen Tracy told the Board of Education Tuesday.

Curriculum improvements have not been addressed for years, high school principal Fran Thompson said, so he himself will take on the task.

During this year’s budget creation process, Thompson said he thought the amount of money being allocated by the city would put the high school’s accreditation at risk.

“We have not done any substantial curriculum work since I have been here and I’m starting my third year,” he said. ​“My hope is to be able to coordinate a lot of this.”

Thompson will be using the ​“Understanding by Design“ curriculum development model.

He will begin working with department heads and with Derby Middle School principal Sally Bonina ​“to bridge the gap” between the two schools, Thompson said. 

“There has been little communication between the buildings unfortunately,” Thompson said. Improving communication between both the high school and middle school, as well as with the elementary schools will be key, he said. 

“There is virtually no communication right now and we want to offset that,” he said. ​“There should be a lot more dialog than there is.”

Initially they will concentrate of the curriculum for grades six through 12, Thompson said, but the natural progression will eventually include the elementary schools.

“It’s a start,” he said.

Thompson won’t be writing curriculum but instead will develop its framework, Tracy said.

“Although is was disappointing that in the budget process they didn’t give up someone in a position to work on this full-time, this is a nice step forward and an example of thinking outside the box allowing us to move forward without the funding we needed,” the superintendent said.

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