We will do our best to have all completed power standards to schools by May 6. Some power standards will still be in process at that time. Power standards that have gone through two rounds of the accordion process will be available by that date. If completed learning targets are available, we will provide those as well. Completed subjects will include math, language arts, social studies, science, PE, music, world language, fine arts, drama and health. Courses that may or may not be complete are leadership, speech/debate, technology, CTE, and miscellaneous courses (economics, psychology, yearbook/annual, sociology, humanities, criminal justice, street law and AVID).

Power standards are not new to FWPS, and we did not create them. In reality, these are the same standards that teachers have been using for the past two to eight years, depending on when the state revised the specific standards. While it is understandable that teachers will need to align their instruction more closely to the power standards, perhaps through curriculum mapping in August, we hope most teachers are familiar with these as they are the standards they’ve taught previously.

Individual principals who need support with their roll-out plans should contact Josh Garcia or Diane Turner immediately for coaching and support. Principals are also working diligently to plan and deliver “roll out presentations” as part of their staff meetings, PD, and Data Day. Principals should share their Power Points, visuals, and other resources so they can be saved to the SBES Admin FirstClass conference folder for sharing.

Our focus is on continuing our communication work with staff, students, and community members. In addition, staff will be provided time at the building level to discuss next steps.

We are responding to FWEA questions directly and through this FAQ column, which will be updated as new questions come up. Our goal is to respond in a reasonable and timely fashion. Principals also should make a point of presenting information, answering questions, and referring staff to the website. Principals will want to continue checking out the SBES Admin Conference Folder for resources.

This is up to each building to determine. TFL suggests you take teachers through a mock process of identifying power standards and unpacking a power standard so teachers have an understanding of the process. We wouldn’t say a “deep” understanding is necessary. If teachers understand what their colleagues did to arrive at power standards and learning targets, they will be better able to plan instruction as well as know what a student must be able to do and what level of rigor is expected to meet the learning targets.  If we are fortunate enough to have the two days of training in August, we intend to spend some time reviewing the process for identifying both power standards and learning targets.

What is the process for insuring that the curriculum we are currently using within the district supports the power standards that are being identified for all subjects?

Teachers will continue to use their professional discretion to design effective daily lessons. In some cases, we have specific district-adopted curricula that provide more structured instructional materials and assessments.