School Board Policy 601 -
School District Curriculum and Instructional Goals

I. Purpose 

The purpose of this policy is to establish broad curriculum parameters for the school district that encompass the Minnesota Academic Standards and federal law and are aligned with comprehensive achievement and civic readiness. 

II. General Statement of Policy

The policy of the school district is to strive for comprehensive achievement and civic readiness in which all learning in the school district should be directed and for which all school district learners should be held accountable. 

III. Definitions

A. “Academic standard” means a summary description of student learning in a required content area or elective content area.

B. "Antiracist" means actively working to identify and eliminate racism in all forms in order to change policies, behaviors, and beliefs that perpetuate racist ideas and actions.

C. “Benchmark” means specific knowledge or skill(s) that a student must master to complete part or all of an academic standard by the end of the grade level or grade band.

D. “Comprehensive achievement and civic readiness” means striving to:  meet school readiness goals; close the academic achievement gap among all racial and ethnic groups of students and between students living in poverty and students not living in poverty; have all students attain career and college readiness before graduating from high school; have all students graduate from high school; and prepare students to be lifelong learners.

E. "Culturally sustaining" means integrating content and practices that infuse the culture and language of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities who have been and continue to be harmed and erased through the education system.

F. “Curriculum” means district or school adopted programs and written plans for providing students with learning experiences that lead to expected knowledge, skills, and career and college readiness. 

G. "Ethnic studies" as defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.25, has the same meaning for purposes of this section. Ethnic studies curriculum may be integrated in existing curricular opportunities or provided through additional curricular offerings.

H. “Experiential learning” means learning for students that includes career exploration through a specific class or course or through work-based experiences such as job shadowing, mentoring, entrepreneurship, service learning, volunteering, internships, other cooperative work experience, youth apprenticeship, or employment.

I. "Institutional racism" means structures, policies, and practices within and across institutions that produce outcomes that disadvantage those who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.

J. “Instruction” means methods of providing learning experiences that enable students to meet state and district academic standards and graduation requirements including applied and experiential learning.

K. “Performance measures” are measures to determine school district, school site, and student progress in striving for comprehensive achievement and civic readiness and must include at least the following:

1. Student performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress where applicable;

2. The size of the academic achievement gap; rigorous course taking, including college-level advanced placement; postsecondary enrollment options, including concurrent enrollment, other statutorily recognized courses of study or industry certification courses or programs, and enrichment experiences by student subgroup;

3. Student performance on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments;

4. High school graduation rates; and

5. Career and college readiness under Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.30, subdivision 1.

IV. Long-Term Strategic Plan

A. The School Board, at a public meeting, must adopt a comprehensive, long-term strategic plan to support and improve teaching and learning that is aligned with striving for comprehensive achievement and civic readiness and includes the following:

1. Clearly defined school district and school site goals and benchmarks for instruction and student achievement for all student categories identified in Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.345, subdivision 3, paragraph (b)(2); 

2. A process to assess and evaluate each student's progress toward meeting state and local academic standards, assess and identify students for participation in gifted and talented programs and services and accelerate their instruction, adopt early-admission procedures consistent with Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.15 and identify the strengths and weaknesses of instruction in pursuit of student and school success and curriculum affecting students' progress and growth toward career and college readiness and leading to the World's Best Workforce;

3. A system to periodically review and evaluate the effectiveness of all instruction and curriculum, taking into account strategies and best practices, student outcomes, principal evaluations under Minnesota Statutes, section 123B.147, subdivision 3, students' access to effective teachers who are members of populations under-represented among the licensed teachers in the district or school and who reflect the diversity of enrolled students under Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.35, subdivision 3(b)(2); and teacher evaluations under Minnesota Statutes, section 122A.40, subdivision 8, or 122A.41, subdivision 5;

4. Strategies for improving instruction, curriculum, and student achievement, the academic achievement of English Learners, and where practicable, the native language development and the academic achievement of English learners;

5. A process to examine the equitable distribution of teachers and strategies to ensure children in low-income families, children in families of People of Color, and children in American Indian families are not taught at higher rates than other children by inexperienced, ineffective, or out-of-field teachers.

6. Education effectiveness practices that:

a. integrate high-quality instruction, technology, and curriculum that is rigorous, accurate, antiracist, and culturally sustaining;

b. ensure learning and work environments validate, affirm, embrace, and integrate cultural and community strengths for all students, families, and employees;

c. provide a collaborative professional culture that seeks to retain qualified, racially and ethnically diverse staff effective at working with diverse students while developing and supporting teacher quality, performance, and effectiveness;

7. An annual budget for continuing to implement the school district plan; and

8. Identifying a list of suggested and required materials, resources, sample curricula, and pedagogical skills for use in kindergarten through grade 12 that accurately reflect the diversity of the state of Minnesota.

B. The school district is not required to include information regarding literacy in a plan or report required under this section, except with regard to the academic achievement of English learners.

C. Every child is reading at or above grade level every year, beginning in kindergarten, and multilingual learners and students receiving special education services are receiving support in achieving their individualized reading goals pursuant to Policy 621 (Literacy and the Read Act).

Legal References: 
Minn. Stat. § 120B.018 (Definitions)
Minn. Stat. § 120B.02 (Educational Expectations for Minnesota Students)
Minn. Stat. § 120B.11 (School District Process for Reviewing Curriculum, Instruction, and Student Achievement Goals; Striving for Comprehensive Achievement and Civic Readiness)
Minn. Stat. § 120B.12 (Read Act Goal and Interventions)
Minn. Stat. § 120B.30, Subd. 1 (Statewide Testing and Reporting System)
Minn. Stat. § 120B.35, Subd. 3 (Student Academic Achievement and Growth)
Minn. Stat. § 122A.40, Subd. 8 (Employment; Contracts; Termination)
Minn. Stat. § 122A.41, Subd. 5 (Teacher Tenure Act; Cities of the First Class; Definitions)
Minn. Stat. § 123B.147, Subd. 3 (Principals)
Minn. Stat. § 125A.56, Subd. 1 (Alternate Instruction Required before Assessment Referral)
20 U.S.C. § 5801, et seq. (National Education Goals 2000)
20 U.S.C. § 6301, et seq. (Every Student Succeeds Act)

Cross References: 
WBLASB Policy 104 (School District Mission Statement)
WBLASB Policy 613 (Graduation Requirements)
WBLASB Policy 614 (School District Testing Plan and Procedure)
WBLASB Policy 615 (Testing, Accommodations, Modifications, and Exemptions for IEP, Section 504 Plan and LEP Students)
WBLASB Policy 616 (School District System Accountability)
WBLASB Policy 618 (Assessment of Student Achievement)
WBLASB Policy 618 (Assessment of Student Achievement)