WVUSD: 2016/2017 Year-End Results
Deliver Collaboratively-Developed Curriculum and Instruction
Through a two-year process of screening and piloting, the elementary and middle school
Textbook Adoption Committees worked diligently to recommend appropriate textbook
publishers to the Board of Trustees, which they adopted in April 2017. Textbooks were ordered
and the teachers were provided with a Teacher Edition.
The Benchmark Advance textbook series, published by Benchmark Education Company was
adopted for ELA/ELD in Kindergarten through 5 th grade. The California Collections textbook
series, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, was adopted for Language Arts in 6 th through
8 th grade. Teachers will receive training on this new material prior to the start of the 2017/2018
school year and then if needed, additional training sessions can be scheduled.
The LCAP process and implementation continues to be refined. During the 2016/2017 school
year, over 4,000 stakeholders were represented and were provided opportunities for input into
the plan.
A collaborative team of Math teacher-leaders and Educational Services representatives
developed the 9 th grade Math Placement Policy. In August 2016, the Board of Trustees
adopted this policy, as required by Senate Bill 359. The Math Placement Policy provides
incoming 9 th grade students with clear academic measures in determining student placement.
WVUSD continues to expand our Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM)
emphasis through a variety of platforms including PLTW. Expansion of seven elementary
schools, two middle schools, and both comprehensive high schools has provided more access
to students. Robotics Clubs have also been implemented at each grade level, including
competitions in which WVUSD schools have placed in top positions in relation to other top-
tiered districts. Coding has been offered at school sites to support students. In order to support
STEAM activities and training, each school has been provided “STEAM-O” funding to support
students and teachers throughout the campus.
The Lucy Calkins Writing Units of Study continue to be a primary focus in Educational Services.
Along with a variety of trainings, over 150 teachers have participated and are incorporating
research-based, grade-by-grade plans for teaching state-of-the-art writing strategies in
kindergarten through 8 th grade. Selected elementary and middle school teachers will attend a
writing seminar at Columbia University in June 2017. The information learned during the
training will be shared with District committees in the fall of 2017 to further develop and improve
writing processes across the District.
The Elementary Learning Specialists (ELS) continue to provide support in the classroom by
assisting teachers with instructional strategies, modeling differentiated practices, and serving
as Instructional Coaches for teachers.
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