Districts have different levels of resources available for developing curriculum for their students, which is why the State of Connecticut is in the process of developing model curricula that can be used by educators statewide. The most recently released model curricula includes science for grades 6-8.
This spring, the first phase of the new curricula, including financial literacy curriculum for grades 6 to 12 and math for grades 6-8, was made available to educators.
The curricula are available to all Connecticut educators at no cost through GoOpenCT, Connecticut’s digital library of open educational resources by and for teachers, professors, students, and education leaders.
“These new science curriculum materials, provided in an easy-to-use online platform, save educators time in planning and give our students a stimulating learning experience that prepares them for college and career,” says Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker.
Connecticut educators who have worked to develop the new state curricula say that small and underresourced districts often lack the funds, time, and staffing to develop curricula as powerful as those being made available by the state. They hope the curricula will free up time for teachers to move straight to learning experiences with their students.
Last year, Governor Ned Lamont signed into law Public Act 21-02, which requires the State Department of Education to develop, for the first time, age-appropriate and rigorous model curricula to supplement existing local curricula. Model curricula development is done through collaboration with the State Education Resource Center, subject matter experts, district officials, educators, and additional stakeholders.
