Port City Notebook

News, views and random observations around Alexandria

Archive for June 2014

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What is the ACPS Curriculum and Why Does it Matter?

One of the strengths of ACPS—its comprehensive written curriculum for all courses and subjects in all grades—is also one of its best-kept secrets. Even among parents who know of its existence, there is a lot of confusion about it. First, some background: Prior to 2010, ACPS had no fully-developed written curriculum. The school division had Standards of Learning (SOL) Pacing Guides for teachers to use to gauge their progress in […]

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In the News

Given our schools’ laser-like focus on standardized testing and meeting ever-more stringent benchmarks, it’s only natural to believe that public education has become a giant assembly line and students are just a commodity. Michael Alison Chandler’s article in The Washington Post a week ago, “Driven to Their Diplomas,” shows why that doesn’t have to be the case. She writes about the extraordinary lengths that the staff at T.C. Williams High […]

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