1. 1 Pierce County Equivalency Project Diane Carver Bethel School District Washington State

2. 2

3. 3

4. BATES TECHNICAL COLLEGE CLOVER PARK TECHNICAL COLLEGE TACOMA COMMUNITY COLLEGE PIERCE COLLEGE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, TACOMA PACIFIC LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND 4 Higher Education in Pierce County, WA

5. 5 Pierce County area: 1,669.51 mi.

6. 6

7. Home Sweet Home 7

8. 8 Port of Tacoma

9. Equivalency Project Description Eight Pierce County school districts received an Equivalency Grant from the state to increase the quality and rigor of secondary CTE courses: Specifically to increase equivalency credits in CTE. 9

10. 10 Equivalency Project Goals Develop rigorous CTE curriculum for course equivalency crediting in science RCW 28A.230.097RCW 28A.230.097 Provide Professional Development for the academic/CTE integration team members Collaboration on alignment to the science standards of each CTE framework

11. Equivalency Common Frameworks 1. AP Environmental Science 2. Natural Resources Biology 3. Biotechnology 4. Wildlife Conservation 5. Forestry 11

12. 12 Equivalency Grant Participants 8 Pierce County School Districts: Bethel, Clover Park, Eatonville, Fife, Franklin Pierce, Puyallup, Sumner, and Tacoma 25 Teachers: 16 CTE Natural Resource & 9 Science

13. 13

14. 14 Equivalency Project Leadership Coordinator: CTE Educational Consultant, framework designer CTE Director: Coordinator & Liaison Science Directors: Professional Development CTE Director: Grant Writer & Budget

15. Equivalency Project Process Agenda for February 11, 2010: All participants and coordinators gather to learn about the project and the new science standards

16. 16 Equivalency Project Process  Leadership Team Planning Meetings Dec 11, 2009 & Jan 4, 2010  Professional Development - all staff Feb 11, 2010  Curriculum writing - teaching teams 3 meetings to develop each framework Teachers collaborate on courses  Leadership Team Debrief March 16, 2010

17. Equivalency Project Process Meetings for each framework 1. Sharing sample syllabi, frameworks, lesson plans to determine common Units of Instruction 2. Review the Draft Framework by Unit– modify, add science standards, leadership, employability, thinking skills, relevance to work 3. Finalize framework document 17

18. 18 Equivalency Framework Schedule February MarchAprilMay AP Environmental Natural Resources Biotechnology Conservation & Forestry

19. 19 Professional Development Goals Navigate Science Standards for grades 9-12 Understand Equivalency Credit Process Become familiar with the common Pierce County Curriculum Frameworks

20. 20 New Science Standards Training New symbol ~ New Emphasis What did the teachers learn? … “A new way of looking and STUDYING the standards across K-12 that is manageable, useful, and functional” “Inquiry is the way to engage students” “Big ideas and cross-cutting concepts”

21. 21 Equivalency Training What did the teachers learn? … “That equivalency is actually the Law” “How to secure equivalency” Natural Resource for Science

22. 22 Equivalency Project Resources Resources allocated in the grant –People: CTE Consultant, Substitutes –Location: Puyallup School District –OSPI*: K-12 Science Standards –Pierce County Framework TemplatePierce County Framework Template... Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (WA State Education Department)

23. 23 Equivalency Project Analysis Weaknesses ~ not all districts participated ~ logistics Strengths ~ professional development ~ teacher quality Opportunities ~ collaboration ~ equivalency credit for students

24. Benefits of Common Framework What did the teachers learn?... “The complexities of Frameworks being a road map for instruction” “About the framework process from a state standpoint instead of a district one” “How complex or straight-forward building frameworks can be, depending on the district requirements” 24

25. Discussion: What does “equivalency” mean to you? How do you determine what CTE courses count for core academic credit? How is “cross-credit” different from equivalency? 25

26. Questions? Contact: Diane Carver Bethel School District dcarver@bethelsd.org (253) 683-6909 26