XENIA — Xenia Community Schools (XCS) recently approved a plan to participate in an audit to determine the quality of the school system’s curriculum and instruction, and related curriculum management processes in grades 6 — 12. Estimated cost of the audit is $37,000 —including a site visit —inclusive of expenses.
The projected start date is to be determined. The site visit will not occur before January 1, 2024. It is not to exceed four months from the commencement of the site visit. A draft version of the report to the district will be provided within eleven weeks from commencement of the site visit school officials were told after a presentation given on November 6.
Included in the audit is an evaluation of:
– The extent and coverage and quality of the school district’s curriculum, programs, and services in the middle and high schools.
– Documentation of curriculum expectations to guide teachers’ instruction.
– Appropriateness of curriculum and expectations for learners.
– The effectiveness of the implementation of the educational program, to include scheduling and class sizes.
– How the system assesses student mastery of the intended objectives and evaluates success of its educational programs.
– The scope and quality of board policies and planning for effective governance of the system.
– Connections and relationships among organizational components for consistency and equal access to programs and services, to include RTI and MTSS analysis.
– Staffing ratios and use of staff resources for maximum productivity.
“A curriculum audit is designed to reveal the extent to which officials and professional staff of a school district have developed and implemented a sound, valid, and operational system of curriculum management,” said Holly Kaptain, Executive Director, Curriculum Management Solutions, Inc.
“Such a system, set within the framework of adopted board policies, enables the school district to make maximum use of its human financial resources in the education of its students,” she added.
According to school officials, Xenia Community School has invited this proposal to determine whether or not its programs and services are properly suited for the system, if the design of programs and services is in keeping with sound and appropriate practice, and whether or not the district has sufficient data for improvement of its educational programs and services over time.
“The curriculum underlying each classroom syllabus provides a critical framework for teachers and is essential for student learning,” said Superintendent Gabe Lofton. “We have worked hard over the past few years to select resources that will help Xenia students succeed, and this audit is part of our process for continuous improvement”.
The audit plan states that general quality control assumes that at least three elements must be present in any organizational and work-related situation for it to be functional and capable of being improved over time. These are a work standard goal/objective; work directed toward attaining the mission/standard, and feedback that is related to or aligned with the standard or mission.
The five focus areas include vision and accountability; curriculum, consistency and parity, assessment and feedback, and productivity. Once findings are formulated, the auditors then recommend specific, research-based action steps to fix the problems identified in the findings. This process includes assessing materials, conducting interviews with stakeholders, and utilizing surveys, as well as site visits with evaluators to assess implementation in person.
Reach Karen Rase at 937-502-4534.
