School Committee

Salem Public Schools CURRICULUM SUBCOMMITTEE Virtual Meeting January 13, 2025 Minutes Members In Attendance: Amanda Campbell - Chair, Beth Anne Cornell and AJ Hoffman Member/s Absent: None Others In Attendance: Superintendent Zrike, Deputy Superintendent Carbone, Principals Burns, Camah and O’Neill, Executive Director of Academics Talbot, 6-12 Director of Curriculum, Assessment, & Instruction Lowe and Director of SHS College and Career Center, Meghan Sousa. Chair Campbell called the meeting to order at 5:04 pm. Program of Studies for High Schools Deputy Superintendent Carbone said that Salem Prep High School requires more time to explore solutions to current problems of practice before being able to present their program of studies. SHS Principal Burns gave a presentation of the Salem High School (SHS) Program of Studies. SHS Principal Burns said that they are working on the new graduation requirements with district leadership. SHS Principal Burns said that the state requires students to achieve certain competencies but it is leaving it up to the districts on how the students do so. Principal Burns provided an example of credits given to newcomer students based on classes they took and passed in their home country. Members agreed that the Program of Studies can be reviewed and approved before the Competency Determination (CD) is finalized. The CD can be added to the Program of Studies at a later date. The School Committee needs to decide and vote on the CD. One of the members asked for visual aids to make the CD proposal clearer for everyone. SHS Principal Burns said that the new Program of Studies has changes to support multilingual learners and expand the Advanced Placement programs. Member Cornell made a motion to refer the Program of Studies to the School Committee. Member Hoffman seconded. A roll call vote was taken. Member Hoffman voted YES Member Cornell voted YES Chair Campbell voted YES Motion passed unanimously. Deputy Superintendent Carbone said that the principals will need to discuss the CD. Director of Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment Grades 6-12, Sonia Lowe will work with Salem Prep on their Program of Studies. Member Cornell made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 5:36 pm. Member Hoffman seconded. A roll call vote was taken. Member Hoffman voted YES Member Cornell voted YES Chair Campbell voted YES Motion passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted by, Shirley Dorai ​ ​ Executive Assistant to the School Committee & Superintendent  Welcome all. Challenge yourself. Create a positive impact. New Liberty Innovation School Different by Design 1  New Liberty Innovation School Salem Public Schools New Liberty Innovation School ~ Different by Design New Liberty Innovation School is a high school that responds to the needs of students and families looking for an educational experience different from the traditional model. New Liberty was created to give students in Salem and the surrounding towns a high school capable of not only reducing student drop-out rates, but also of truly engaging them in their education and in their community. Being different by design, we wholeheartedly believe in the mantra, “reach while you teach.” As trust builds between staff and students, relationships deepen and so does our ability to leverage that connection to raise expectations for all of our students. Anchored in three pillars: ● Academic: competency-based model, blended and project-based learning and personalized pathways to graduation ● Student Support: trauma-informed counseling and social-emotional learning learning focus ● College and Career Readiness: community-based internships and the creation of individual post-secondary plans New Liberty is intentionally different from a traditional high school. We are designed to address the needs of students at high risk of dropping out of high school. By re-engaging students into a learning experience tailored to their strengths, interests and post high school goals we can re-ignite the desire to learn and finish high school. We focus on the whole student and their social emotional needs through on-site counseling and by explicitly teaching social emotional and executive functioning skills. Finally, we have an employment and post graduate planning specialist who works to ensure that every student has real-world job and/or internship experiences to be exposed to a variety of career pathways, providing students first hand knowledge of the world of work. Our Mission: The mission of NLIS is to engage all students in real-life learning about themselves and the world, to empower them to create a positive impact on their communities, and to ensure they have the tools to pursue their goals after graduation. Our Vision of Excellent Instruction: Learning at NLIS is anchored in culturally and community responsive models of instruction with a focus on equity, independence and high expectations for all. We do this by creating authentic learning experiences that prioritize productive struggle, personalization, student choice and passion to build competence in critical thinking, creative problem solving, and reflection. 2  New Liberty Innovation School Salem Public Schools What is “competency-based” education? Competency-based education is an approach to learning that requires students to master the skills and knowledge at one level before they can advance to the next level. Why? We want to make sure every student has a strong foundation of knowledge and skills to build on as they progress through school and prepare for life after graduation. In traditional schools, students are grouped based on their age, and they progress through school based on time (the “school year”). In competency-based schools, students progress through school based on their learning. A student’s age will never hold them back, and they don’t have to wait for the next school year to begin before they can move on to the next level. Students can advance to the next level - and earn “competencies” toward graduation - as soon as they show mastery of skills! Our school is a place where students can learn at their own pace, explore their interests, and prepare for their future, all while getting the individual support needed. Everything students are expected to do has one main purpose: to help prepare them for their future. At New Liberty we are different by design! Our goal is that students will graduate from high school fully prepared for the next step in life! Why Competency-Based Education (CBE)? The goal of competency-based education is to transform our education system from a time-based system to a learning-based system. Instead of awarding credits based on how much time students spend learning, this model awards credits based on whether students have mastered competencies—the skills, abilities, and knowledge required in an area of study. Put simply, competency-based education is not about time—it’s about what you know and are able to do. Our New Liberty Competency Curriculum Framework is a competency-based framework structured to replace time-based, age-based, and course-based structures with one that focuses on learning, growth, and readiness. Our framework defines the competencies, skills, and experiences students will need to master and/or complete in order to demonstrate readiness, earn credit, and graduate from high school. Competencies are created with a developmental continuum that shows how learning progresses and becomes more complex. ● Each skill of each competency has a rubric, which we call a continua, that transparently details for students what learning looks like at each level. ● Competencies are grouped into sets (such as Humanities) and each competency set has a portfolio that students need to complete to earn credit. 3  New Liberty Innovation School Salem Public Schools ● Performance-based assessments are required for students to demonstrate their learning through the application of skills, knowledge, and strategies to construct an answer, produce a product, or perform an activity. ● Performance-based assessments are rated using the continua, and revision occurs through continua-based feedback. ● One portfolio = credit: When students complete each portfolio at the minimum growth or performance level, they receive credit, regardless of seat time. ● Learning can occur and be assessed in multiple contexts and experiences both within and beyond the walls of the school building. Each content area has sets of competencies or experiences that students are required to complete to earn credit and graduate from high school. ● Core Content Area Competencies (Humanities, Math and Science): These competency sets are aligned to national and state standards and focus on the application of knowledge in multiple ways through multiple experiences. Math and Science have specific concept lists (standards) students much show proficiency in along with the competency and skills. ● Habits of Success Competencies: These competencies focus on developing the interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, habits, and behaviors that research suggests are essential to success in learning, self-direction, goal setting and well-being. ● Portrait of Graduate Competency: This competency focuses on a set of skills developing their strengths in creative problem solving, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, self awareness and cultural humility all important skills beyond high school. These skills are transferable in the world of work. ● Wayfinding Experiences: These experiences focus on developing and identifying interests and passions, navigating transitions, learning from failure, and building social capital culminating in a postsecondary plan upon graduation. ● Health & Wellness: In addition to physical education, NLIS also requires students to learn about and practice social emotional health concepts and skills for responsible decision-making and healthy relationships. These concepts are aligned with the Massachusetts Comprehensive Health and Physical Education framework. How are Massachusetts and national standards incorporated into our Curriculum Frameworks? Our curriculum competency framework includes both state and national standards that are linked to our competencies and skills. Students take courses and are rated depending on the portfolio in which they are enrolled. See below for portfolio description. 4  New Liberty Innovation School Salem Public Schools ● In our Humanities Courses the Massachusetts Framework for English Language Arts and Social Studies are built into our competency framework and graded on the learning continua. ● For Math Courses in the Discovery ( Integrated Math I) and Action (Integrated Math II) portfolios, content is backwards mapped with priority standards in order to ensure students are ready to be successful on the math MCAS. Students in the Impact portfolio will be required to complete Personal Finance along with an entrepreneurship course while demonstrating skills in mathematical problem solving. ● In our Science Courses students in the Discovery portfolio focus on specific Massachusetts Frameworks for biology to ensure readiness for the biology MCAS. In addition we focus on the biomedical pathway with Project Lead The Way (PLTW). At NLIS we have our New Liberty Competency Curriculum Framework that represents our entire program of study with discrete competencies, skills and concepts taught. These are all aligned with the state and national standards. See the example below for ONE Humanities Competency and Skills: HUM.2 = Competency “Make Arguments” HUM.2.2 = Skill (aligned to standard) CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.B Level 2 - 12 = Learning Continua students earn ratings on (NOT GRADE LEVELS) 5  New Liberty Innovation School Salem Public Schools Portfolio System: Credits are awarded to students via a portfolio system. Instead of grade levels, we track progress of individual competencies across all experiences through multiple portfolios. A portfolio is a body of work that demonstrates a student’s level of mastery of a set of competencies. Competencies and skills remain the same throughout the different portfolios, but the performance level expectations increase as students move through the NLIS curriculum. At New Liberty we have three portfolios that students must complete to graduate. Anatomy of Portfolio “Mastery” is defined as demonstrating proficiency of a skill multiple times in multiple ways. Meeting the requirements of a portfolio Progress is measured on how much of a portfolio a student has completed. A student must complete all evidence requirements in a portfolio with high enough ratings to reach the minimum performance level required to complete their portfolio. When this happens we call it “flipping” their portfolio. At New Liberty, 6  New Liberty Innovation School Salem Public Schools portfolios can “flip” at any time during the school year. Therefore at a given moment, a NLIS student might be working in the Action portfolio in one area of study, but have already flipped to the Impact portfolio in another area. Beacon: Student-Centered Platform & Dashboard Beacon is our unique platform designed to help easily report and track progress aligned to the competencies. In partnership with Building 21 this student-centered platform and dashboard helps us track students’ progress and growth across all experiences both within and outside of the school . Personalized Learning Plans (PLP) Students at New Liberty all have Personalized Learning Plans (PLP) which are customized to meet the needs of the individual students. Certain components of the PLPs are personalized by the student and their advisor. Student PLPs are the tool in which students track their progress through the portfolios and set goals for their learning and post secondary plans. Components of PLP: ● My Profile: snapshot of student’s learning journey, support network and learning preferences ● My Progress: real time view of student progress through portfolios, performance levels and pacing toward graduation. This replaces the traditional report card with one that is competency based. (This is tracked via Beacon and updated daily.) ● My Goals: student sets and tracks goals in academics, personal life and career; students then reflect on these goals periodically ● My Personal Development: self reflection component where students rate themselves on effective effort (growth mindset) , self management and social skills ● My Plan: tracking of post secondary plans, planning for students future! ● My Experiences: Learning happens anywhere and anytime. Here, students track their experiences inside and outside of school and reflect on them; these may include, but are not limited to field trips, college tours, and program presentations, including post graduation options. Grading 7 New Liberty Innovation School Salem Public Schools 8  New Liberty Innovation School Salem Public Schools Graduation Requirements 9  New Liberty Innovation School Salem Public Schools New Liberty Course Descriptions Content Area Graduation Requirements Humanities NLIS students must demonstrate increasing levels of proficiency in areas such as reading critically, writing, historical analysis, discussion, and presentation. These skills are included in each humanities portfolio, and are also frequently integrated into other areas of study. Students in the Discovery and Action portfolios are enrolled in Humanities 1 and Humanities 2 respectively. In both courses, students use literature as a springboard for analyses of social issues and historical events that have shaped society. Students respond and reflect through creative projects, extend their knowledge with research, and practice writing and presenting evidence-based arguments. Students in the Impact portfolio are enrolled in Humanities 3 and Humanities 4. In Humanities 3, students expand their understanding of global historical events and patterns through units looking deeply at the history and literature of the Caribbean and Africa. In Humanities 4, our focus returns to the U.S. with a focus on civic issues that affect our community, such as housing policy and policing practices. Students must pass the English Language Arts MCAS in order to earn a high school diploma. Math Students in the Discovery and Action portfolios are enrolled in Integrated Math I and Integrated Math II respectively. These courses use patterns, models, and conjectures to build mathematical understanding. Students taking these courses will extend their knowledge in Number and Quantity, Algebra, Functions, Modeling, Geometry, and Statistics and Probability and apply them to real world scenarios. Students in the Impact portfolio will engage in An Entrepreneurship course in which they have an empowering experience of running a real business. Students demonstrate increased skills in our portrait of graduate and business skills; Communication, Collaboration, Creative Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Self Awareness, Cultural Competence. They also gain experience in implementing the human centered design process to design innovative solutions and products to solve a problem for the client or the community. Most importantly, students develop a vital sense of self-agency over their education and careers. Students must pass the Math MCAS in order to earn a high school diploma. 10  New Liberty Innovation School Salem Public Schools Personal Finance Students in Personal Finance investigate personal incomes and budgets, home and consumer financing, insurance, personal investing and retirement planning. Topics covered will include the power of compound interest, investments, loans and credit, credit management, consumer protection laws, taxes, life and health insurance. Students use this information to make financial decisions applicable to their own life. Science NLIS has a biomedical pathway through Project Lead the Way, PLTW. Students in the Discovery portfolio are enrolled in PLTW Principles of Biomedical Studies. In this course (PBS) is a full-year high school course in the PLTW Biomedical Science Program. This course serves to provide foundational knowledge and skills in fields such as biology, anatomy & physiology, genetics, microbiology, and epidemiology as well as engage students in how this content can be applied to real world situations, cases, and problems. Students in the Action Portfolio are enrolled in PLTW Human Body Systems. This course (HBS) is a full-year high school course designed to follow Principles of Biomedical Science (PBS) in the PLTW Biomedical Science pathway. The HBS course provides foundational knowledge and skills in anatomy and physiology, clinical medicine, and laboratory research. The course engages students in how this content can be applied to real-world situations, cases, and problems. Students in the Impact Portfolio are enrolled in PLTW Medical Interventions. In this course (MI) allows students to investigate the variety of interventions involved in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease as they follow the lives of a fictitious family. A “How-To” manual for maintaining overall health and homeostasis in the body, the course will explore how to prevent and fight infection, how to screen and evaluate the code in our DNA, how to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer, and how to prevail when the organs of the body begin to fail. Through these scenarios students will be exposed to the wide range of interventions related to immunology, surgery, genetics, pharmacology, medical devices, and diagnostics. Other science learning opportunities for our student include; Physics, Medical Assisting, PLTW Biomedical Innovations, STEM Students must pass the Science MCAS in order to earn a high school diploma. Habits of Success All students at NLIS are assigned to an advisory that focuses on personal development through our Habits of Success competencies, building 11  New Liberty Innovation School Salem Public Schools relationships with adults and peers, goal setting and tracking academic progress as well as supporting the development of our students’ Personalized Learning Plans. Health and Wellness All students are required to complete physical education. In addition we require students to demonstrate proficiency in social-emotional skills that support communication, conflict resolution, healthy relationships, mental health and decision-making. Portrait of a Graduate Students must demonstrate proficiency and growth in 21st century skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creative Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Cultural Competence and Self Awareness. These skills are assessed throughout their learning experiences at NLIS but explicitly during their Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Internships. Capstone Capstone is a required course where students reflect on their learning, interests, and growth, and create a positive impact via a student voice learning project. Students engage in multiple workshops and assignments focused on personal identity, the power of telling stories, the cycle of socialization and civic action - all through the lens of diversity, equity and inclusion. Students will develop a portfolio that highlights their growth as a student and post graduation plans, while also demonstrating their personal integration and reflection of the New Liberty Portrait of a Graduate Skills. Wayfinding - Career and All students will engage in internships/employment and post graduation College Readiness planning. Internship and employment experiences will directly align with their interests and post secondary goals, along with building their Portrait of a Graduate skills. This gives students practice opportunities as they connect their real-world experiences to Cultural Competency, Critical Thinking, Creative Problem Solving, Collaboration, Communication, and Self-Awareness skills for success. Students will continue to receive occupational skill building support, as well as 1:1 career development that is individualized and supports post secondary transitions at school with our Post Grad / Employment Specialist. Advanced Course work, Students at NLIS have many ways to extend their learning. They are online courses and Dual strongly encouraged to take advantage of advanced coursework such as Enrollment opportunities “Project Lead the Way” (PLTW) in science, online electives in a variety of subjects, or dual enrollment courses in partnership with local colleges. 12  New Liberty Innovation School Salem Public Schools Design Labs Design Labs are opportunities for students to “extend” their learning based on student interest; art, music, strategic problem solving, lab science, cooking, DIY building, etc. Design Labs are akin to electives in a more traditional model. While Design Labs are not required, they offer students a variety of opportunities to extend their learning while also earning credit in multiple portfolios, including the Portrait of a Graduate. Students will work on tasks related to their pathway to graduation outlined in their Personalized Learning Plan (PLP) while also building post graduation plans. Our goal at NLIS is for students to be engaged in their education! Transfer of credits from previous schools New Liberty can transfer credits from any previous high school courses in which credit was earned. We never take credit away from a student. Students who have successfully completed ALL MCAS testing will receive credit for the Discovery and Action Portfolios and be enrolled in the Impact Portfolio. Students can be enrolled in different portfolios based on their credit earned at the previous school. For example; if a student earns credit for Algebra 1 they would be enrolled in the Action Portfolio for math. If that same student did not earn credit for English Language Arts they would be enrolled in the Discovery Portfolio for humanities, thus creating the student’s personalized learning plan. Students transferring to NLIS meet with the Academic Coach or Principal to see how their previous credits align to our competency based portfolio model, and review their Personalized Learning Plan at NLIS. New students and transfer students who come to NLIS will participate in an orientation process through Habits of Success and complete the NLIS Experience to learn about our school. Assessments: Ways to Measure and Demonstrate Learning Educators at NLIS create authentic learning experiences that prioritize productive struggle, personalization, student choice and passion to build competence in critical thinking, creative problem solving, and reflection. We provide a variety of opportunities for students to demonstrate their mastery of content, skills and competencies outlined in the New Liberty Curriculum Frameworks. Students demonstrate their learning throughout the year on the following assessments: 13  New Liberty Innovation School Salem Public Schools Assessment: Description Ways to measure and demonstrate learning Performance Assessments These are the main assessments used at NLIS. These allow students the opportunity to demonstrate their learning through engaging, relevant, rigorous projects, assignments and performances that connect to the competency, skill and content they have focused on. Students are offered multiple modalities to demonstrate their learning and can always improve their work through revision cycles. MCAS for ELA, Math & In Massachusetts it is required for all students to pass the MCAS in English Science Language Arts (ELA), Math and Science. These are required to graduate. STAR Assessment (reading Students will take the STAR assessment at the point of enrollment and in & math) the fall and spring to measure their growth and identify learning needs. Edulastic (district Assessments curated by standards aligned to district priority standards. assessments) Educators have access to this platform and use it for assessments throughout the year Career and College All students must engage in college and career readiness as part of their PLP: ● Career interest surveys ● Participate in internships/employment based on career interests ● Develop a Post Graduation Plan ● Complete Resume/Cover Letter/References prior to graduation ACCESS Students in the Multilingual Language program will take the ACCESS exam yearly during January or February. 14  New Liberty Innovation School Salem Public Schools Resources Building21, https://building21.org/. Accessed 15 January 2024. Common Core State Standards Initiative – Preparing America's Students for College & Career, https://corestandards.org/. Accessed 11 February 2024. “Explore Transformative PreK-12 STEM Curriculum.” PLTW, https://www.pltw.org/curriculum. Accessed 11 February 2024. “National Standards for Personal Financial Education.” Council for Economic Education, https://www.councilforeconed.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2021-National-Standards-for-Personal-Finan cial-Education.pdf. Accessed 11 February 2024. “Public Comment Draft - MA Comprehensive Health and PE Framework, June 2023.” Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, https://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/health/2023-07-health-draft.pdf. Accessed 11 February 2024. “Standards.” ISTE, https://iste.org/standards. Accessed 11 February 2024. “The Standards.” Next Generation Science Standards, https://www.nextgenscience.org/standards. Accessed 11 February 2024. 15 SALEM HIGH SCHOOL COMMITTED TO EXCELLENCE Course Catalog 2025-2026 WHO WE ARE Salem High School is a diverse, urban comprehensive school where every scholar will engage in relevant, exciting and rigorous learning experiences aligned to a personalized post-secondary pathway. We champion our students to create a future they love “ PATHWAYS ALIGNED WITH CREDITS/CREDENTIALS Career and Technical Education Pathway Medical Assisting Culinary Arts Early Education Building and and Care Property Maintenance Electrical Automotive Technology Graphic Design Computer Science and Visual Classical Pathway Communication STEM Innovation AP Capstone Pathway Carpentry Early College Biotechnology Liberal Arts Engineering Fine/Performing Art Sustainability INCORPORATE College and Career Scope and Sequence Rationale 1.) Provide a description of MyCAP into the course catalog. 2.) Incorporate the College and Career Scope and Sequence (added in Atlas) to the Course Catalog 3.) Describe the process for Post-Secondary Planning and Academic Advising through the College and Career office aligned with DESE and the current needs of Salem High School INCORPORATE CD Requirements Rationale 1.) Provide specifics for scholars and the community for Salem High Schools Competency Determination requirements.  Fine and Performing Arts Music: Adding AP Music Theory to allow expansion of Advanced Coursework for FAPA Pathway Fine Art: Remove Digital Animation 1&2. Add Digital Art and Digital Film 1 to align with college and career opportunities for scholars. Course Descriptions: Change Description in Painting and Drawing II to incorporate digital art to meet portfolio art expectations  Multilingual Department Additions: Adding Newcomer American and World to align with the needs of scholars in grade 10-12 who are in the Newcomer Program. Adding Newcomer Geometry to align with the needs of scholars in grades 10-12 that require intermediate levels for post secondary opportunities and opportunities for advanced coursework. Seal of Biliteracy: Changing language to provide clarity to the distinction between awards.  English Remove: ELA+ - incorporate English interventions in current intervention support courses. Writing for Online Publication - continued low interest and redundant with more current journalism course and curriculum Move: AP Research to the Social Studies department and ensure that the focus in English is literature.  Mathematics Remove: Geometry + - incorporate Math interventions in current intervention support courses. Addition: Credit Recovery Algebra 1 - This course is meant for students who do not receive credit for Pre-AP Algebra 1 during 9th grade. Description: Minor description changes to align topics with current curriculum and clarity on progress of math course for scholars  Social Science: Remove: One out of Many: Curriculum is redundant with advanced coursework offerings and is not aligned with a pathway Addition: AP Research: Moved from the English Department due to non-fiction research curriculum alignment Description: Description changes to allow AP courses to run on alternate years. This will allow to continue to offer significant AP courses aligned with pathways and increase enrollment.  EARLY COLLEGE - CONTINUE TO EXPAND PARTICIPATION Salem State University College Courses Begin Healthcare and Human in 10th Grade. Services Pathway Education Pathway North Shore Scholars Earn up Community College to 30 college credits before Dual Language Liberal Arts high school Pathway graduation. Detailed Description of all Edits 2025- 2026 Courses Description Click HERE to see all description and general edits  Share your Feedback Feedback will be studied to improve the proposal ahead of the presentation to SPS School Committee in February. Click HERE for feedback.