It’s been seven-plus years since the Germantown School Board chose to not adopt the Common Core standards and create The Germantown Way. Working on curriculum may be a continuous process and there may be a set of grade-level standards, but we still do not have a set of metrics defined to measure the effectiveness of how our students are performing versus those standards. The Board took on that responsibility in full and haven’t made sure that the work has been completed. To be honest, I would want to know if The Germantown Way, our way, is setting the kids up to perform better and be more prepared after high school no matter what their future holds. If we are falling short, I’d also want to know that so that we can improve.
In addition, do we need to review what exactly is The Germantown Way? It doesn’t appear to be what it was originally intended to be anymore.
Approximately 4 years ago at the April 10, 2017 Board meeting, the Germantown School Board adopted the Bridges math curriculum. As was explained to the Board, Bridges “aligns with” Common Core. The motion to adopt passed 6-1. (Link to the recorded session can be found in the comments.) Ray Borden was the only Board member to vote against adoption.
At the September 14, 2020 Board meeting, the Germantown School Board approved the 2020/21 Model Academic Standard. These can be found (link in comments) via the GSD website. Clicking the link for Math will take you to the Wisconsin Standards for Mathematics… which includes a large section on Common Core.
April 10, 2017 Board meeting video:
https://Germantown.eduvision.tv/Share.aspx?q=CT1wecDsedBnZMb6lvqccQ%253d%253d GSD Model Academic Standards:
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