In this year of homecoming, we will transform our system through the integration of academic and social-emotional learning, and establish a new path to academic recovery and reimagining.
We have the opportunity to transform our system in ways that welcome every student, staff, and family back, and confront the inequities that continue to exist in our system.
Transforming our system means lifting academic expectations and creating and sustaining school cultures where students, staff and families can experience joy and thrive, particularly communities that have been underserved within our school system. This moment is about ensuring school communities are places where all students are safe and well-cared for and where they can learn and grow socially, emotionally and academically for post-secondary success.
Here is a printable version of the 2021-2022 Instructional Principles contained within the page below. In addition, check out additional resources to support your continued learning at the end of this page.
Through empathy interviews with over 70 stakeholder groups, and engagement with thousands of families across the city through borough town halls, we heard how the pandemic has impacted the socio-emotional well-being of the entire school community, and concerns about how we will ensure that students have a strong academic comeback in the fall.
The following themes emerged with high frequency across all stakeholder groups:
Theme 1: Concerns over disparities of resources and outcomes
Theme 2: Concerns about the quality of instruction and learning
Theme 3: Need for social emotional learning work that is targeted
Theme 4: Technology utilization, efficiency and adequacy
To address these concerns, stakeholders made several recommendations to address:
Academic Needs: Strategies for addressing skill/standards gaps in literacy and numeracy; Schoolwide academic intervention services; Improvements in special education; Expansion of early childhood education
Technological Needs: Ensure equitable access to technology; Embed technology in interventions
Mental Health Needs: Additional staff for mental health; Regular opportunities within the school day to support mental health for students
Educators’ Needs: Create targeted time for professional development and coaching; Provide time for planning before the school year; Ensure regular opportunities within the school day to support mental health for staff
We have an opportunity to use our creativity and ingenuity to innovate and re-imagine our schools and broader system, especially for marginalized students, their families, and communities. There has never been a time of greater clarity or urgency for our work and acting on our shared vision – starting with our 2021-2022 Instructional Priorities.
As we re-imagine education for our students, we will focus on the following academic priorities starting in the 2021-2022 school year:
Our academic recovery demands more from all of us. To deliver on our Instructional Priorities and commitment to deliver educational justice for every student, our schools will:
Ensure high expectations and rigorous instruction for every single student grounded in an asset-based mindset.
Develop and strengthen a welcoming and affirming school environment.
Implement inclusive curricula and assessments that center student voice and collaboration.
Center time for ongoing and targeted professional learning communities.
Summer 2021
Fall 2021
Winter/Spring 2022
In preparation for this upcoming school year, strong culturally responsive core instruction (Tier 1) and the use of varied assessments are critical in accelerating learning for each student academically and social emotionally.
Assessment Strategy Coordination
We need actionable, reliable and common information about how our students are doing in order to help every school with the supports needed. To complement other forms of assessment in each school, the below screeners, which will be centrally funded and provided to schools, will provide information that will support teachers in making informed instructional decisions on the standards and skills needed to accelerate learning. Coupled with “knowing students well,” decisions by teachers will be more informed to support instructional growth.
Schools will select common screeners that will be administered to all students in ELA and Math K8/HS, three times a year (Fall, Winter, Spring) to inform instructional next steps for teachers focusing on core instruction as a priority. The common screeners are:
If schools prefer to use a different screener than the ones provided by central DOE, they must seek approval from their Superintendent through an exception process:
Training in Acadience, MAP Growth and iReady for school leaders and teachers focusing on administration and interpretation of data for instructional decisions will be provided.
Core Instruction & Intervention Planning Based on Screener Outcomes
Logging in, please wait...
0 General Document comments
0 Sentence and Paragraph comments
0 Image and Video comments
General Document Comments 0