Arizona Revised Statute 15-904 requires that school districts submit their Annual Financial Report to the Arizona Department of
Education by October 15.
Knowing full-well that the topics of last night’s meeting could present a public embarrassment, the Tucson Unified School Board held an irregularly scheduled meeting to vote on a declaration affirming that the “central components of standards-based education are in effect at every level in our school district,” and to present the FY 2012-2013 Annual Financial Report.
The Declaration of Curricular and Instructional Alignment is required for the Arizona Department of Education, which requires that districts affirm that they have adopted a curriculum that is aligned with the Arizona Academic Standards and adopted an evaluation system that assesses whether teachers are integrating the Standards into their instructional practices.
The State Board of Education adopted the Arizona Academic Standards Articulated by Grade Level (Standards) in the subject areas of reading, writing, mathematics, science, and social studies.
Each of the three documents that comprise the complete Declaration is signed separately by the local governing board as a body, the district superintendent, and every school principal (including equivalent charter school officials and administrators). Local education leaders are supposed to submit Declarations of Curricular and Instructional Alignment to the Arizona Academic Standards for language arts (reading and writing), mathematics, science, and social studies (collectively, the “Standards”) to the Arizona Department of Education that affirm the following:
Governing Boards declared they:
adopted a curriculum that is aligned with the Standards, and
adopted an evaluation system that assesses whether teachers are integrating the Standards into their instructional practices.
Superintendents declared these policies would be implemented by:
providing instructional materials aligned to the Standards,
providing (or arranging for others to provide) opportunities for teachers and principals to receive training related to the Standards,
administering the district’s system of teacher evaluation to confirm that teachers are integrating the Standards into their instructional practices, and
for non-unified school districts: collaborating on a curriculum alignment agreement between all corresponding feeder and receiving districts.
Principals declared that teachers under their supervision:
were provided access to the Standards and the curriculum,
received instructional materials aligned to the Standards,
received training related to the Standards, unless those teachers were excused for appropriate reasons, and
were evaluated as to whether they integrated the Standards into their instructional practices to the extent the Standards apply to their teaching area(s).