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Professional Development > BSCS National Academy for Curriculum Leadership > Currculum Reform

Curriculum Reform and the National Academy for Curriculum Leadership

Reform

The ACADEMY supports school- and district-based Leadership Teams in building the capacity to lead the change process during the implementation of new instructional materials. The focus of the Leadership Team is to build a professional learning community that characterizes successful staff development and provides a vehicle for sustainable curriculum reform.

Professional learning communities create a collective sense of responsibility for student learning and form the cornerstone for sustainable curriculum reform.

The five characteristics of professional learning communities are

The ACADEMY promotes sustainable curriculum reform based on the BSCS Curriculum Implementation Model. The model identifies four stages: Awareness, Selection, Adoption, and Sustainability. During the Awareness Stage, Leadership Teams lay the foundation for change using data and building awareness of the characteristics of high-quality, inquiry-oriented instructional materials. During the Selection Stage, Leadership Teams help teachers develop common understanding of high quality instructional materials through the use of a collaborative and evidence-based process of evaluating instructional materials. During the Adoption Stage, Leadership Teams design professional development to support the implementation of inquiry-based instructional materials. During the Sustainability Stage, Leadership Teams monitor the capacity for change by using strategies and tools to measure the impact of the professional development program and by building leadership capacity at each site involved in the implementation of inquiry-based instructional materials.

The four stages of Implementation are

The ACADEMY program is a three-year professional development initiative designed to help high schools and districts develop leaders with the knowledge and skills they need to implement inquiry-oriented, standards-based instructional materials, thereby improving learning and teaching in their science classrooms.

NACL Program