As educational leaders, in-school administrators are key to the successful implementation and ongoing renewal of curricula. Administrators can facilitate the renewal process associated with the Elementary Level English language arts curriculum by having knowledge of the curriculum, the associated resources, the change process and strategies to assist teachers with implementing the curriculum.
To support the use of the renewed Elementary Level English language arts curriculum, I:
| 1. ___ | ensure that students in our school receive adequate instruction time (i.e., 560 minutes per week or approximately 110 minutes per day). |
| 2. ___ | ensure that each teacher has a copy of the renewed curriculum guide (January 2002), access to the accompanying bibliography (September 2001) and subsequent updates, and a copy of this information bulletin. |
| 3. ___ | ensure that I understand the philosophy, objectives, content, and instructional, assessment, and evaluation approaches associated with this curriculum and discuss with teachers the extent to which they are familiar with the intent of the curriculum and the kind of support they need to deliver it. |
| 4. ___ | ensure that sufficient human and financial resources are allocated to support achievement of the curriculum objectives. |
| 5. ___ | inform parents/boards/community members about the ELA curriculum, its philosophy, content, and approach. |
| 6. ___ | support the development of a strong collection of print and non-print resources for students and teachers including major integrated resources, trade books, language resources, and professional resources. |
| 7. ___ | ensure that the school division resource selection policy reflects Saskatchewan Learning initiatives and guidelines, and recognizes the resource needs of an English language arts classroom. |
| 8. ___ | create an environment of trust and support to facilitate the stages that individual teachers will progress through in becoming familiar with the renewed curriculum. |
| 9. ___ | support teachers in expanding their repertoire of instructional and assessment approaches and in taking risks necessary when trying something new. |
| 10. ___ | support teachers in integrating the Common Essential Learnings, Gender Equity, and Aboriginal and Multicultural content and perspectives into their program as well as utilizing the Adaptive Dimension as appropriate. |
| 11. ___ | ensure that teachers have an appropriate means for providing information about student progress. |
| 12. ___ | ensure that school reporting forms reflect the philosophy of ELA. |
| 13. ___ | provide and encourage ongoing professional development and opportunities for teaching English language arts, including time to meet and plan with other ELA teachers. |
| 14. ___ | support teachers in using processes such as those described in Classroom Curriculum Connections (Saskatchewan Education. 2001) that foster reflection, inquiry, or networking related to the English language arts curriculum. |