Introduction

Derby’s Instructional Core Beliefs

Derby Public Schools believes curriculum outlines what students will know and be able to do as a result of their experiences in our classrooms. Teachers continue to develop effective ways to implement the “what” of the curriculum with “how” can be more effective for student learning. They engage in meaningful experiences that are framed around the following tenets:

• Curriculum establishes what learners will know and be able to do through assured experiences.  

• The curriculum is built on a series of learning progressions.

• The district’s model for meaningful learning involves equitable access to well planned tasks that grow relationships, risk taking and agency for learning in all students.  Learning is developed through all of us and is cultivated through personalized actionable feedback, a growth mindset, and developmental relationships among all learners.  

• Assessment is a co-created process in a learning environment that enables participants to understand how learners are thinking, what they know, and what skills need to be developed and refined.