Teaching and Learning Toolkit
The Division of Teaching and Learning
The Division of Teaching and Learning is responsible for providing academic and instructional support to District staff. The Deputy Superintendent for Teaching & Learning and the Chief Academic Officer oversee the work of this Division and design and implement best practice instructional systems to ensure the alignment of curriculum, instruction, research, assessment, and supporting resources.
Our goal is to ensure high-quality teaching and learning is happening in every classroom, every day so that all students are prepared for college, careers, and civic life.
Our Theory of Action
A theory of action is a hypothesis about what will happen if we implement a set of strategies. It helps us show the intentionality of our actions and how they are related to a larger goal. The Rochester City School District believes that all students should have equitable access to high-quality teaching and learning every day. The Division of Teaching and Learning has outlined the following theory of action to illustrate how we support the achievement of that goal:
The Purpose of The Teaching and Learning Toolkit
The RCSD Teaching and Learning Toolkit exists to support the District goal of ensuring all students have access to high-quality instruction every day. The Toolkit is broken down into the following sections to provide RCSD staff with resources they need to make this goal a reality.
Curriculum
In the Curriculum section, there is a landing page for each discipline. Each of these pages includes links to detailed curriculum guides and the following information at a glance:
Tier I Instructional Expectations: Consistent implementation of high-quality instructional materials is the first step toward ensuring every student's success. These sections outline the curricular materials that schools and teachers are expected to implement as the foundation of classroom instruction.
Core Instructional Actions: Each discipline has identified Core Instructional Actions to focus on during the current school year. These delineate high-leverage, research-based actions and strategies which should be employed by teachers to support student achievement in the discipline. This is not an exhaustive list, but a prioritized one - they are actions and strategies we expect to see teachers implementing in class with students.
Core Student Practices: Each discipline has also identified Core Student Practices which delineate the most important disciplinary practices in which we believe students should be engaged. These are similar to the aforementioned Instructional Actions, but focus on what students should be doing every day. The Core Students practices are the actions, practices, and types of thinking that we should see evidence of students doing in class on a regular basis in that discipline.
Instruction
The pages in this section of the Toolkit are intended to be quick-reference guides that provide information and resources that cover fundamental pedagogical practices and concepts. Each page includes a research brief and unpacking guide which RCSD staff can use as individuals, groups, or as an entire school. These guides help us all be on the same page when we're talking about instruction.
Assessment
This section includes information about New York State and District-based assessment programs.