Christin Williams

Education 650

Curriculum Specialist Refection

On June 5, 2019, I was able to begin my Curriculum Specialist shadowing experience

with Mrs. Teresa Stanley, the Title I Math Curriculum Specialist for Kanawha County Schools. I

was thoroughly excited about partaking in this portion of the internship for many reasons. One of

which being was that I can see myself in a Curriculum Specialist position one day in the future

and look forward to learning more about the role. Another reason is that I was able to work with

and Mrs. Stanley a few years ago as a substitute for Kanawha County; when spent time

substituting for her, as well as the other 2nd Grade teacher at Midland Trail Elementary School. I

was very pleased that she remembered me and willingly took me on as a “shadow” for a few

days.

This is Mrs. Stanley’s first year in this position; she is over 10 elementary schools and 4

middle schools. She made sure to inform me that she is still learning and also wanted me to learn

that even in higher positions, it is always okay to ask for help!

During my time spent shadowing and working with Mrs. Stanley, I was able to dive more

into the position as a curriculum specialist. My first ‘assignment’ was to organize and plan the

mathematics curriculum mapping for grades K-5 at Piedmont Elementary, the county’s only

year-round school. Mrs. Stanley guided me on how to do this, gave me the teacher manuals and a

few other resources, and jokingly told me to “get to work!” I was thrilled that she entrusted me to

handle such a task that would impact so many students and teachers! I did quickly learn that

curriculum mapping is not as easy of a task as some would think. I had to make a schedule of the

school year, which included breaks and days off, then analyze the lessons that were included
with each chapter/content and determine how much time teachers would need to deliver the

content to their students with understanding. I asked MANY questions along the way, but by the

time I was on the second grade curriculum, I felt more confident in my assignment. This did take

a large portion of the day! When I was finished I did have some time to talk and try to make

some connections with Mrs. Stanley and her coworkers at the Roxalana Annex. This was only

one task of several I accomplished while shadowing Mrs. Stanley, but I feel that this one in

particular was extremely beneficial to me learning about the position, and ‘fun!’

Another activity I did during my time with Mrs. Stanley that I thoroughly enjoyed and

learned a great deal from was helping her prepare for upcoming professional developments that

she will be presenting to educators concerning math practices. The entailed creating graphics and

charts, making copies, stapling handout packets, assisting in creating a PowerPoint presentation,

and giving input as to how I would feel about certain aspects of the PD if I were a teacher in

attendance. We were doing all of this work for a PD that won’t take place until August, but Mrs.

Stanley said she wants to make sure it is the best it can be, so she is not rushing to get it together.

I have attended many professional development sessions in my rather short time as a teacher, but

I never truly thought about everything that goes into them. This provided me a great insight as to

how much work, and time, a curriculum specialist puts into a single day PD.

Prior to spending time with Mrs. Stanley, I was unsure of just exactly what a curriculum

specialist’s job entails. Mrs. Stanley, and her coworkers at the Roxalana Annex showed me true

kindness and gave me some of the best advice and encouraging words in working toward my

career goals. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I was able to spend with them. I am thankful for the

connections I was able to make in my time I was with them. Currently, I am the most interested

in one day becoming a curriculum specialist when it comes to advancing my career in education.
I would love to be able to help multiple teachers and students in multiple schools throughout the

county, and this position does just that!