Curriculum

Welcome to the 

School District of Beecher-Dunbar-Pembine’s Curriculum page!

Empowering Students to Pursue Success


In 2009 BDP adopted the Partnerships in Comprehensive Literacy Model (PCL) This model provides protected time to create memorable and relevant experiences with the standards 3K-12. The PCL Model offers a research-based curricular perspective that is both thought-provoking and practical.


Our Philosophy and Mission:

BDP is dedicated to the achievement and growth of all our students and is committed to providing learning opportunities that enable success beyond graduation. Teachers and administration in our district are steadfast in wanting students to learn, grow, and truly understand content and concepts using research-based instructional strategies and personalized curriculum. Understanding is much deeper than merely taking information in and recalling it. It means to internalize information and transfer it to all settings necessary. “To understand is to make sense of what one knows, to be able to know why it’s so, and to have the ability to use it in various situations and contexts.” (Wiggins and McTighe, 2006)


This is no easy task!


We believe the professional work of the teacher is to use standards-based learning and formative assessments to determine developmental abilities and next steps to design curriculum that best meets the learners in our school district. 


Support from the Association of Supervision, Curriculum, and Development (ASCD):

Teachers creating their own curriculum offers several benefits that are supported by experts and educational frameworks. According to Heidi Hayes Jacobs, developing a custom curriculum allows educators to tailor content to meet the specific needs and interests of their students, fostering a more relevant and engaging learning experience. Jacobs emphasizes that a customized approach enables the incorporation of timely and culturally relevant materials that can better prepare students for the future​ (ASCD, 2003)​.

ASCD also highlights that teachers designing the curriculum ensures alignment with local standards and contexts, which might not be fully addressed by a pre-packaged curriculum. This flexibility allows for the inclusion of specific local issues and priorities, providing a more comprehensive and meaningful educational experience​ (ASCD Files)​.

Furthermore, when teachers develop their own curriculum, they can better integrate differentiated instruction strategies to meet diverse student needs. This personalized approach can help address varying learning styles and paces, ensuring all students have the opportunity to succeed​ (ASCD Files)​.


Understanding By Design:

Students are unique and learn and grow at their own rate of intellectual, emotional, physical, and social growth. Students come through our doors with a variety of cultural and diverse gifts. In an effort to meet our BDP students right where they are and to move them forward to on-going success, our teachers use a process to develop curriculum to meet the learning needs of all our students - those at grade level, above or below grade level, those with learning differences, cultural diversity, and everyone in between.  The process is called backward design or Understanding by Design (UbD).  UbD starts with the end goal.  Where do our students need to be by the end of this month, unit, year? Wisconsin State ELA Standards, Social Studies Standards, Math Standards, and Next Generation Science Standards determine these end goals. Through a meticulous process, teachers then ascertain what enduring understandings students need, the knowledge and skills necessary to demonstrate those understandings, and decide assessments to know students' previous achievements and next instructional steps.  From there, materials and learning plans are developed.  This process results in a completed Unit of Study.


Transformative learning occurs when we understand and pay attention to brain development and the processes of learning (Zull, 2002).  In developing a  guaranteed and viable curriculum for all 3K-12 students at BDP, equity is embedded into all curricular decision-making (see WI PCL Center and Equity document). This guide describes both the philosophies and guidelines staff use when developing, maintaining, and revising courses offered to students.  Applied with critical care and commitment, the curriculum and assessment design will ensure courses provide students with quality and rigorous learning experiences designed to create deep learning and enduring understanding. 


Educators often design instruction using either the didactic approach (delivering information) or a discovery approach (exploring and testing ideas). In his book, The Art of Changing the Brain, James Zull reminds us that we need a strategic approach to curriculum development.  Learning experiences need a balanced use of the back cortex (didactic) and front cortex (discovery).  Language Studies embraces both, producing better learning K through college than just simply a workshop approach. (Zull, 2002)  


 For example:


Building knowledge in Language Studies (see diagram below) ensures integration and transfer.  Mini-lessons in Readers' and Writers’ workshops are, therefore, short, explicit, and applied through a gradual release of responsibility.