Applications now open for 2019 Curriculum Initiative positions
The JEA Curriculum Initiative is heading into its next cycle as a valuable member resource to meet teachers’ classroom needs through robust curriculum. Applications are now open for those interested in becoming curriculum leaders.
What’s next
For the 2019-2020 curriculum cycle, we will continue to focus on differentiation and updating examples while also adding curriculum coaching to provide one-on-one guidance to our members who want to best utilize our curriculum in their classrooms.
Specifically, leaders chosen for the 2019-2020 curriculum initiative will help us address the following goals:
- To deepen our resources for differentiation to support advisers with students of all levels by creating lesson modifications.
- To expand and update our collection of student and professional examples.
- To offer one-on-one curriculum coaching for members who need help implementing our lessons and building the right scope and sequence for their classes.
- To continue to revise existing lessons and add new lessons.
To do so, JEA will select up to six people to fill new positions as curriculum leaders. These leaders will work with our curriculum coordinators, Shari Adwers, MJE, and Abri Nelson, CJE.
Call for six curriculum leaders
Interested members can apply for one of six positions. Applicants will fill out the online application and may go through an interview process depending on the number of applicants.
The precise job description for each person selected will be tailored to the skills and talents of the applicant, but we’d like to hire six volunteers who will take on a mix of the following tasks:
- Differentiation: We will continue to focus on creating content for students with diverse needs, including special education, English language learners, gifted and talented and middle school students. Experience teaching diverse populations preferred. Modifications may include additions to existing lessons or creation of entirely new lessons.
- Curriculum coaching: We would like to begin offering small-scale virtual coaching to help members integrate curriculum into their classrooms using Google Hangouts, email, and phone consultations. Curriculum leaders who want to coach will be trained during the summer to follow a specific coaching plan with a predetermined amount of contact time for each adviser they coach, ensuring the coaching meets specific outcomes but also is not overly burdensome. In offering coaching, we hope to help members use our curriculum to deepen and enhance classroom learning. Curriculum leaders who take on coaching will not be expected to provide coaching for classroom management or pedagogical methods; they will work one-on-one with teachers to identify lessons and resources within the curriculum to structure specific units or lessons based on the teacher’s classroom context.
- Resource development: We continue to need updated and expanded collections of student and professional samples for all types of media and content. Curriculum leaders may solicit examples, organize resource databases, and review existing curriculum for opportunities to include more robust exemplars.
- Lesson revision and development: Curriculum leaders will continue to fill holes in the curriculum by adding new lessons or revising existing ones.
Again, we hope to hire curriculum leaders who will work across some or all of these four areas, with each person’s specific expectations outlined in collaboration with the curriculum coordinators, Shari and Abri. All training and collaboration for this upcoming curriculum cycle will happen remotely via phone and video conferencing. Curriculum leaders will also help the curriculum coordinators document and track curriculum content and usage. Educational Initiatives Director Megan Fromm, MJE, will continue to oversee the curriculum as part of her elected position. Click here to apply.
Timeline
The next curriculum term will begin May 31, 2019 and continue through April 30, 2020.
- April 1 – April 30: Curriculum leader application open
- April 30: Application deadline
- May 1-15: Google Hangout or Skype interviews if necessary
- May 20: Curriculum leaders announced
- May 31: Term begins
- June 1: Identification and planning of goals and priorities as a team
- June 1 – Sept. 15: First round of tasks complete, individual deadlines TBD
- Sept. 15 – March 15: Second round of tasks complete, individual deadlines TBD
- March 15 – April 30: Final round of tasks complete, individual deadlines TBD
Curriculum leaders earn a $1,500 stipend, awarded in $500 increments, for completing their contracted work by agreed-upon deadlines.
As the largest organization in the country for journalism teachers and advisers, JEA serves the scholastic media community by providing resources to its members so they can offer their students the strongest programs possible. To read more about the initiative and its most recent team, or to access the members-only repository of lessons, visit the curriculum site.
To apply, follow this link.