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JAMESTOWN, NY (WNY News Now) – A new way of teaching kiddos in Jamestown may be in the works, as educators explore new learning methods.
New York State Common Core curriculum has been in place for more than a decade now, but English Language Arts teachers in Jamestown are experimenting with other syllabi.
Since September, teachers have experimented with what’s the best method. To either continue Common Core, or try a new format like MHA, and/or Savvas.
“It’s the first time in a while that Jamestown has had a consistent ELA program K through 8,“ stated Coordinator of Literacy Dr. Jennifer Aaron. “That’s part of why we wanted to look at new curriculums, because there’s a break between 2nd and 3rd which language changes and how strategies are taught are slightly different. So we wanted that cohesion.”
While this process is currently only being tested for English Language Arts, if successful, it is possible other subjects will follow suit.
“This is our new curriculum process,“ explained Superintendent Dr. Kevin Whitaker. “The first thing we needed to look at was our literacy, so this is where we started. Without having a successful process in the first one, it is hard to move on to the next ones. But this is our new process for adopting curriculum as we move forward in the school district.”
In the end, educators know what teaching method would be most effective.
“They’re the ones who can make a sound recommendation to us rather than the other way around where we say, we spent a bunch of money on a curriculum, this is what you’re going to do,“ explained Dr. Whitaker. “They say, we looked at all the curricula out there, and we made a decision based on what is best for our students.”
The teaching body will continue to advise the Board of Education on their findings and return with a permanent solution at a later date. Ultimately the advisory group would pick a favored approach which would be accepted as the standard districtwide.
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