The Warren County R-III School District curriculum coordinators provided the school board with an update on the program’s process as the school year began.

Dr. Carrie Strunk, district math and science curriculum coordinator, and Gina Dildine, English Language Arts (ELA) and social studies coordinator, spoke to the assembled board at the September meeting to inform the body that elementary and secondary content areas of ELA (English Language Arts), math, and library are meeting to rewrite curriculum this school year.

She lauded the program’s work in making sure educators' voices are heard.

“We don’t meet with any more than four representatives at a time, and we prefer to utilize curriculum writers from years past, if possible,” Dildine said. “But we also welcome new members.

“These curriculum teams will be responsible for evaluating, writing, reviewing, revising, and facilitating the implementation of the curriculum, instructional methods, activities, and assessments,” Dildine continued. “It’s important to note that when we develop new curriculum, we make sure it’s aligned to Missouri learning standards, and the AP courses at the high school are aligned to the College Board AP and state standards.”

Dildine added that maintaining strict adherence to R-III’s CSIP (Comprehensive School Improvement Plan) is vital.

The coordinators laid out the framework for the process to the board during their presentation.

“Everything we create and evaluate during the process always encompasses our district’s CSIP goals,” Dildine said. “Goal No. 2 is to have 75 percent of our students in grades K-8 reading at or above grade level or achieving one year’s worth of reading growth. Goal three will increase or maintain 5 out of 8 math courses (grades 3-8 math MAP, Algebra 1 EOC, and Algebra 2 EOC) to meet or exceed state MAP index scores during this CSIP cycle.”

While ELA and math are the primary focus for this year, the district has well-established future curriculum writing plans. After ELA, Library, and Mathematics, the district will undertake new curriculum writing in Social Studies, Physical Education, and Health in the 2027-28 school year.

Additionally, the curriculum writing plans for increasing district-wide curriculum cohesion in order to better foster parental engagement by May 2028.

Among items highlighted from the 2024-25 school year were: curriculum teams created 411 learning units for Math, ELA, Fine Arts, Practical Arts, and high school electives, continued development and building common assessments in Canvas for 2nd-12th grade students. The purchase of new Fine Arts resources for K-12 classrooms and new Practical Arts resources for grade 6-12 classrooms. Also continued to develop the district's Academic Dashboard that syncs Canvas assessment data to Infinite Campus.

Strunk said that the immense amount of work undertaken by the curriculum team was a testament to all involved.

“We’re here to highlight the R-III curriculum and all the amazing work that the members of our curriculum team have accomplished this past year,” Strunk said.

In addition to the strong curriculum, benefitting students who attend R-III, Strunk added that the continued professional development of staff also pays dividends in strengthening a student’s education.

She highlighted the representatives from every school in the district and mentioned the ongoing PD goals to “provide opportunities for staff to actively engage in quality professional development,” and to “plan future professional development opportunities based on the results from the professional development staff survey.”

Strunk said that on a rating scale of 1-5, 46 percent of district educators gave the process a 5.

“Based on the survey data gathered from teachers across the district, learning loss/interventions, the science of reading and learning, and behavior management professional development are among the highest suggested topics to consider when planning for the 2025-2026 professional development calendar,” Strunk said.