The Office of Elementary Education, Curriculum, and Instruction is responsible for the management, supervision, evaluation and oversight of the elementary program in the twelve (12) Cambridge Public Schools (CPS) housing Preschool-5 students; direction and oversight of instructional programming for grades Preschool-12, including supervising and evaluating twelve (12) CPS departments; curriculum development, alignment and professional development; implementation and analysis of state-wide and local district assessments; development of targeted programs to meet identified student needs; oversight of the CPS curriculum review cycle; development and oversight of grants; and compliance with the state’s accountability system.
A primary goal of the Office of Elementary Education, Curriculum, and Instruction is to enhance district, school and teacher capacity in aligning student data, programming and instructional practice, aiming to increase student achievement. The office provides leadership in the areas of curriculum, instruction and professional development with direct supervision and evaluation of the following departments: Bilingual and English Language Acquisition, Educational Technology/ Library Media Services,
English Language Arts, Health and Physical Education, Mathematics, Social Studies,
Science,
Title I,
Visual and Performing Arts, and
World Language. The district’s Program Development/ Grant Specialist and Assessment Specialist are also integral team members in the work of the office.
In the areas of curriculum and professional development, the office is responsible for the development and alignment of curriculum to the Massachusetts State Frameworks and to the recently adopted Common Core State Standards. The team of Preschool-12 curriculum coordinators, in collaboration with the instructional coaches and the teaching staff, lead the district’s curriculum development. Teachers work with coaches to successfully implement curriculum through an instructional coaching model that supports both district-wide initiatives and building-based instruction. The goal of the instructional coaching model is to continually improve the quality of instruction in the classroom. This is accomplished through on-going professional development for teachers, modeling of exemplary practice, looking at data and student work, collaborating in professional learning communities, supporting building leadership and creating the conditions for improvement in every classroom through high expectations and targeted support.