The Board of Trustees has adopted high academic standards for student achievement which challenge all students to reach their full potential and which clarify what students are expected to know and be able to do at each grade level and in each area of study.
The Superintendent or designee shall provide the Board with recommended standards. In developing these recommended standards, the Superintendent or designee shall use a process that involves teachers, school site and district administrators, students, parents/guardians, and community members. He/she shall ensure the alignment of the standards with the district's vision and goals and ensure the proper articulation of standards between grade levels.
District standards for English-language arts, English language development, mathematics, science, health education, history-social science, physical education, visual and performing arts, world languages, career technical education, and preschool education shall meet or exceed statewide model content standards adopted by the State Board of Education or the State Superintendent of Public Instruction as applicable.
Teachers and school administrators shall receive professional development to ensure their understanding of the standards and to discuss effective instructional methods in preparing students to meet the standards.
The Superintendent or designee shall annually communicate the applicable grade level expectations to students and their parents/guardians to inform them of the expectations for student learning.
Staff shall continually assess students' progress toward meeting the standards, report each student's progress to the student and his/her parents/guardians, and offer remedial assistance in accordance with Board policy and administrative regulation.
District standards shall also provide a basis for evaluating the instructional program, making decisions about curriculum and assessment, and, in accordance with Education Code 44662, evaluating teacher performance.
The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that district standards are regularly reviewed and updated as necessary. At a minimum, district standards shall be reviewed whenever applicable statewide standards are revised and whenever data on student achievement demonstrate that students are not adequately achieving the standards in a particular grade level or subject area.
Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
44662 Evaluation of certificated employees
51003 Statewide academic standards
60605-60605.9 Adoption of statewide academically rigorous content and performance standards
UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 20
6311 State academic standards and accountability for Title I, Part A
Management Resources:
CSBA PUBLICATIONS
Common Core Standards, Fact Sheet, August 2010
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PUBLICATIONS
World Language Content Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve, January 2009
California Preschool Learning Foundations, Vol. 1, 2008
Health Education Content Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve, March 2008
California Career Technical Education Model Curriculum Standards, Grades Seven Through Twelve, May 2005
Physical Education Model Content Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve, January 2005
Visual and Performing Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools, Prekindergarten Through Grade Twelve, January 2001
English-Language Development Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve, July 1999
History-Social Science Content Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve, October 1998
Science Content Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve, October 1998
English-Language Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve, December 1997
Mathematics Content Standards for California Public Schools, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve, December 1997
WEB SITES
CSBA: http://www.csba.org
California Department of Education: http://www.cde.ca.gov
Common Core State Standards Initiative: http://www.corestandards.org
Council of Chief State School Officers: http://www.ccsso.org
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices: http://www.nga.org/center
U.S. Department of Education: http://www.ed.gov
Policy VISTA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
adopted: April 21, 2011 Vista, California