Development and purpose of Curriculum Council

The council of the Wauwatosa School District is designed to assist in the

improvement of curriculum and instruction. When a member of the
school staff or community wishes to propose a curriculum change,
alternative or improvement recommendations, they shall make a written
request to the Director of Student Learning. The council and its
representative committees are to advise on total district coordination in
all matters of curriculum and instruction. All committees of the district,
including the council, are advisory to the Superintendent's office.
Recommendations from the council shall be forwarded unamended to the
Superintendent through the chairperson.

Before the establishment of the Curriculum Council in August 2007, the

Curriculum and Instruction Department worked on Curriculum
Framework with varied public consultation. In preparing those
documents, the C & I department was supported by an area chair content
structure. Membership of these areas was loosely defined, but including
teachers from district schools.

The Wauwatosa School Board adopted policy 7003 in May of 2007 which
created the Curriculum Council and Content Area Teams which are lead
by Content Team Leaders. The charge of the LRP is to create a
Curriculum Framework in all content areas for distribution to all teachers.

The Curriculum Framework sets out what all students should know,
understand, value and be able to do as a result of the programs they
undertake in the Wauwatosa School District, from kindergarten through
to year twelve. Its fundamental purpose is to provide a structure around
which schools can build educational programs that ensure students
achieve agreed upon outcomes.

It is neither a daily curriculum nor a syllabus, but a framework identifying

common learning outcomes for all students. It is intended to give schools
and teachers flexibility and ownership over curriculum in a dynamic and
rapidly-changing world environment.

The Curriculum Framework makes explicit the learning outcomes which

all Wauwatosa students should achieve. This focus on outcomes
represents a major shift in school curriculum from a focus on educational
inputs and time allocation toward one that emphasizes the desired
results of schooling.

The Curriculum Framework establishes learning outcomes for all

students, regardless of who they are, which school they attend, where
they are from, or what approach their school takes to help them achieve
those outcomes. Schools and teachers will use the Curriculum Framework
to develop their own learning and teaching lessons according to their
grade levels and the needs of their students.

Curriculum Council uses a website as a tool to more effectively work and

communicate in a rapidly changing world of web. Please visit our
website
to view the ongoing work of the Wauwatosa School District Curriculum
Council. Information is available from monthly agendas to notes,
proposals and additional resources.