This is awesomely impressive and should be happening more:
...The district was named a finalist for the Broad Prize for
Urban Education, which honors academic excellence in largely minority
and low-income districts... Corona-Norco appears to have mostly avoided the
pitfalls common to similar districts with diverse student populations
and budget constraints. About half the students are Latino and are
mostly low-income. The district's $371-million budget has been cut by
$140 million since 2007-08.
...It is most apparent in the lack of strife between the district and its
unions. In 2010, teachers and administrators took a 5% pay cut to avoid
teacher layoffs. Teachers, who meet weekly to discuss strategies and
tweak lesson plans, are given freedom to experiment in the classroom and
are active in developing curriculum... By design, the district stays away from prescriptive lesson plans,
allowing teachers and administrators at individual schools to develop
their own strategies to reach the same goal — higher student
achievement. - LA Times
Further proof that giving teachers choices in curriculum is better than wide-reaching mandates from people that likely have never taught in a classroom or know your students.
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