Show-Me Curriculum Administrators Association

In July 2023, SMCAA conducted Quality Curriculum Retreat in person. This event was attended by 28 participants. During this statewide event, we looked at different items which impact our roles as curriculum directors and education in general. We studied legislative impacts on curriculum work, SEL impacts, the use of grading and proficiency scales, and heard updates from DESE staff and the Success Ready Student Network (SRSN). We were able to host our Annual Fall Conference in October 2023. The theme for our conference was The Future is NOW. Our keynote speaker, Tom Schimmer, focused on Growing Tomorrows Citizens and then shared his expertise in the afternoon with a session on Standards Based learning. Our breakout sessions on day two consisted of the following topics: Special Education Specially Designed Instruction; Curriculum Work that Empowers; Building Thinking into Any Classroom; Building a Framework for Student Success; Using EMBARC; Using a World Caf Model to Engage Staff in Instructional Framework; Strengthening Your Collaborative Teams and Engaging the Community; Social Emotional Learning through Multi-Sensory Instruction; and Curriculum Building with Tech Enhanced Simplicity. A total of 63 participants attended this event. Evaluations were good and we used recommendations for planning our 2024 Fall Conference. Our 2024 Winter Symposium theme was Rethinking the 3 Rs and was held in February 2023. It was not as well attended as in previous years due to conflicts with other state meetings. The Symposium began by having the Vice President of Education Programs with the Missouri Chamber of Commerce speak on Employability Skills in High Demand. The rest of the Symposium consisted of presentations by DESEs Curriculum Content Directors. We had a total of 36 attendees in-person. The Annual Curriculum Bootcamp was replaced this year by The Assessment Summit. The Summit took place in June and was well received by attendees. Before the Assessment Summit, participants had the chance to sign up to attend the pre-Summit where vendors approved by DESE to meet SB681 requirements shared information on their products. The sessions for the Summit helped participants learn more about creating Purposeful Assessments (district wide and classroom specific), Developing Mastery Assessments, Creating High-Quality Unit Assessments, Data Dialogues, Creating Self-Assessed Capable Learners, and using Data to Modify Instruction. The event consisted of 32 participants.

In total, SMCAA conducted 48 days of district specific training in 14 school districts conducting curriculum workshops with the objective of helping public school teachers and administrators understand the elements of effective curriculum and develop curriculum in subject specific areas aligned to the State Standards. In addition, much district work was targeted on Champion Teaching practices, social studies curriculum, and student engagement. In addition, training sessions were presented on effective writing and implementation of common assessments. All together these visits were attended by over 400 educational staff members. During 23-24 school year, SMCAA was able to offer three different cohorts: New Curriculum Directors Cohort, Instructional Coaches Cohort, and Curriculum Directors Book Study Cohort. New Curriculum Directors Cohort: The New Curriculum Directors Cohort aimed at assisting Curriculum Directors who had been in their position five years or less. This years cohort consisted of 8 individuals representing 6 districts. SMCAA conducted 8 two-hour virtual trainings and held beginning-of-the-year and end-of-the-year one-on-one meetings with the participants. The purpose of the two-hour trainings was to focus on key concepts necessary for Curriculum Directors to perform their job. Curriculum Directors Book Study Cohort: The book study cohort consisted of 11 members representing 11 different school districts. The book study had 8 two-hour virtual trainings and held beginning-of-the-year and end-of-the-year one-on-one meetings with the participants. During the course of the year, participants read and discussed Fisher, Frey, Lassiter and Smiths book How Leadership Works: A Playbook for Instructional Leaders". Instructional Coaches Cohort: What does it mean to be a Instructional Coach? What is my job description? What am I supposed to be doing? How do I get started? What skills do I need to work on? Who can I turn to with questions? Taking on a new role can be a daunting task, and often we find ourselves with more questions than answers. If you are new to the Instructional Coaching role or have found the coaching job isolating, come join the SMCAA staff and fellow coaching newbies as we embark on a journey of exploring the role and world of instructional coaching. This year-long event will consist of two 1-on-1 meetings done at the beginning and end of the school year, and eight virtual webinars. All webinars will be recorded, once they have concluded you will receive a recording of the session for reference.