The Kimball Public School’s curriculum, instructional design and assessment practices guide and ensure teacher effectiveness and student learning.
The school employs a full-time Curriculum and Assessment Director to assist staff in curriculum mapping that is tied to the Nebraska standards that incorporates pacing guides and a scope and sequence for each curricular area. This process continuously evolves as new standards are adopted at the state level to ensure a systematic learning process and evaluation system.
An instructional evaluation grant was applied for and awarded to improve teacher effectiveness. A committee was developed to include one elementary teacher, one junior high teacher, one high school teacher, and administrators. This committee decided to utilize the Charolette Danielson Model/NE Frameworks for an evaluation tool. During the 2016-2017 school year, Lisa Myles from ESU 13 conducted four 2-hour sessions on each of the four domains of the Danielson Model. These domains are designed to improve teacher effectiveness and instructional methods.
KPS ensures that all students are engaged in learning by frequently assessing progress formally and informally by using the following assessment tools: DIBELS, NWEA, program based assessments, formative and informative classroom assessments, and observations. The Curriculum and Assessment Director provides professional development to all staff throughout the school year. In these sessions, staff are provided assessment results that are then utilized to improve curriculum for the upcoming school year. KPS also utilizes NeSA for 3rd-8th grade students. Beginning in the 2016-17 school year, the ACT test is now given to all juniors. In addition, the district has elected to administer a Pre-ACT test to all sophomores.
KPS continuously strives to improve parent involvement within the school system by using open houses/orientation at the beginning of the school year. Parent surveys are provided at parent-teacher conferences to offer the school additional opportunities for improvement. KPS utilizes a variety of resources to communicate with families including, but not limited to, school newsletter, school website, Infinite Campus, email, Remind101, etc. In the 2017-2018 school year, KPS adopted Canvas as a learning management system (LMS) to increase student and teacher communication.
Documentation
Curriculum and Assessment: PD Summary
Pacing Guides:
Scope and Sequence:
Assessment Results: