Presented by Zac Chase, District Secondary ELA Curriculum and Library & Media Services Coordinator, St. Vrain Valley School District (CO); and Nannette McMurtry, Instructional Coordinator, St. Vrain Valley School District (CO)
Sponsored by Writable
Closed captioning will be added to the recording within 2 weeks of the live presentation.
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When planning a new literacy curriculum or simply daily learning experiences, it’s key to balance the needs of students with a set of clearly communicated standards and goals. As an alternative to a pre-built curriculum that limits customization, some educators turn to building their own.
Like many districts, St. Vrain Valley School District was faced with this very challenge. They support a diverse group of over 32,000 students just outside of Denver, CO. To help every student be successful, they decided to build a curriculum from the ground up that met their specific needs, including high-quality reading and writing tasks, authentic audience, and a focus on inclusion and representation.
In this recorded edWebinar you’ll meet leaders from St. Vrain Valley School District’s curriculum and technology team and learn how they were able to build their own ELA curriculum from the ground up. You’ll hear why they decided on this path, how they set learning goals, chose tools and technology resources, and created successful collaboration among teachers and school leaders. They also share advice to best help you start creating or customizing your own curriculum, too!
This recorded edWebinar will be of interest to K-12 teachers, librarians, school and district leaders, coaches, teachers on special assignment, curriculum coordinators, leaders, developers, and directors, technology coordinators and directors, and ELA department heads.
About the Presenters
Zac Chase is the district secondary ELA curriculum and library & media services coordinator at St. Vrain Valley School District, a 32,000-student district outside of Denver, CO. SVVSD is a district comprised of 14 different municipalities that features a 1:1 student-to-device ratio in its 50+ elementary and secondary schools. In his role there, he is responsible for curriculum development and curation, library support, and media curation.
Before embracing Colorado, Zac learned and taught with students in Sarasota, FL and then Philadelphia, PA as a middle and high school ELA teacher. His last classroom was in Philadelphia’s Science Leadership Academy—an inquiry-driven, project-based school where Zac also worked to plan and coordinate faculty professional learning. He has also worked with schools and school systems nationally and internationally to consider how to create learning spaces that tap into human curiosity while building pathways to student academic success. Zac is the co-author of Building School 2.0: How to Create the Schools We Need and was lead author of the 2016 National Education Technology Plan while at the U.S. Department of Education.
Nannette McMurtry is an educator with experience in the classroom, as well as school and district leadership. Her past experience includes teaching students in high school English classes, and she will always be an English teacher at heart. In her current role, Nannette supports students, teachers, and administrators implementing innovative learning practices and resources around the district and in the new online school, LaunchED. She finds magic in this work when she knows that she helps students access and experience learning that empowers them to be creative thinkers, innovators and problem solvers. Nannette has presented at local, regional, and national conferences facilitating conversations on innovative learning and classroom design, blended learning, and the power of teachers as storytellers.
Closed captioning will be added to the recording within 2 weeks of the live presentation.
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Writable is a guided writing program that helps teachers scaffold and motivate students to become purposeful, proficient writers, and helps schools assess and monitor writing growth. With 600+ assignments and prompts (or create your own), many types of feedback, and district or state assessments, Writable helps teachers save time on prep and grading while focusing their writing instruction.