The theme for new programs in local schools this year is upgrading. Though few new programs have been added to the curriculum at Scarborough, Cape Elizabeth or South Portland schools, a lot of work has been done to review changes that have been made in the past and revise them as needed.

According to Steve Bailey, assistant superintendent in South Portland, fresh approaches to teaching and clearer learning targets were implemented into the curriculum. Also, the integrated math program, a real-life application approach to math that started at the high school six years ago, was updated with new software and textbooks.

“We have lots of things that are exciting,” Bailey said.

In Scarborough, the alternative education program, which is made up of 22 students who chose to learn in an independent study environment, was selected to participate in a program through the Riverview Foundation.

Just about every week, students will take classes in peaceful martial arts, leadership development, community service and outdoor adventure. The students will apply the skills they learn in five full-day field trips, one of which will be a community service project. The program culminates in May with a three-day canoe trip.

“We’re very excited. It should be a wonderful program for the kids,” said Susan Ketch, assistant principal at the high school.

According to School Board Chairwoman Annalee Rosenblatt, there were no other new initiatives in Scarborough.

“That’s how we’ve kept the budget so low,” she said.

In Cape Elizabeth, the emphasis was placed on coordinating programs already in place rather than creating new programs.

“We’re developing consistency,” said Sarah Simmonds, professional development and curriculum facilitator for the district. “That’s the theme around all the curricular work we’ve been doing.”

Simmonds said the schools are fine-tuning the curriculum in order to guarantee that all students leave each grade with the same experience, regardless of their specific teachers. By being more consistent within grades, there will also be smoother transitions for students as they get promoted.

Also, by working together between schools within the district, students can be more prepared as they graduate from one level to the next.

Jamie Michaud, a language arts teacher in the middle school, said the high school teachers told her they would like to see students coming into their freshmen year with more enthusiasm for reading. In response, the middle school language arts classes will give students an opportunity to select their own reading material in order to help motivate them to read.

According to Michaud, students in middle school – even those who liked to read in elementary school – start letting sports and social events take precedence over reading.

“We lose kids as readers,” she said.

While assigned reading is important in order to have class discussions and build critical reading skills, Michaud believes that self-selected reading and smaller literature circles within a class might be more effective in keeping students interested in and excited about what they read.

“We’ll see if kids enjoy reading and are more enthusiastic about reading when they leave us,” she said.

Michaud said another new addition to the language arts program will be to give students writing portfolios and have them assess their own writing skills, keeping track of their goals and accomplishments. According to Simmonds, this year there will be an emphasis on writing in all of Cape’s schools.

Simmonds said the district is trying to create “a common writing rubric” so that teachers at all levels are using the same language to talk about writing and teaching the same good writing traits.

At the high school, she said, the curriculum has tended to be more literature-based. After visits to other schools, high school Prinicipal Jeff Shedd decided he would like to see a greater emphasis on writing in English at the high school level, as well as a common understanding of writing skills across the faculty.

Though both Simmonds and Michaud agree that there are few weaknesses in Cape’s curriculum, there is always work to be done in terms of reviewing changes made, learning from other schools and updating programs in place.

“We do a good job teaching language arts, we just want to be better,” Michaud said.

Though the emphasis is on English this year, Simmonds said work has also been done to keep tabs on all areas of the curriculum in order to make sure no subject goes too long without being revised.

“We’ll have some set steps and procedures and kind of a time line to know when it’s time to update on a regular basis,” Simmonds said about starting up the development of a curriculum management plan. By coming up with a more formal process for reviewing the curriculum, the district will be able to better track its strengths and weaknesses.

“It will help us in all of our curriculum work,” Simmonds said.

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