Mini Curricular Audit

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Introduction
A curriculum leader must be prepared to lead in all subjects, across all levels. Most people take a lifetime to become an expert in a single field, but to have true credibility in your vision for curriculum implementation; you must be versed in the content and pedagogy of every expert on your campus. I chose to focus my audit on English Language Arts and specifically writing, wherever possible, because for now, this is where my expertise lies. Someday, I must apply what we have learned in Curriculum Supervision to all secondary subjects, and all levels in order to become an authentic leader. Many see administrators as mere managers and bureaucrats, but an administrator’s role in shaping, promoting, and aligning the curricula is nothing short of the development of multiple areas of proficiency and vision. Before I begin, I would like to note that this is quite an interesting year for a curriculum audit. Schools in Los Angeles are now required to be fully implemented from the older state content standards to the new national Common Core standards. With so many questions still unanswered about what the Common Core is, the misalignment of the curricula is likely greater than ever before.
Description of School Environment
Our school, Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnets, is one of the largest in LAUSD (Los Angeles unified school district). Westchester is located on the extreme west side of LAUSD’s jurisdiction, just blocks from the beach and in the shadow of the planes from Los Angeles. We offer a fairly traditional A-G curriculum, but one, which emphasizes science in three magnet themes: Health and Sports Medicine, Aviation and Aerospace, and Environmental Science. Enrollment, as reported in our School Report ...

... middle of paper ...

...istrict. Los Angeles Unified
School District, 2014. Web. 26 Apr. 2014.
.
Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnets: Home Page. (2014). Retrieved from http://westchesterhs-lausd-ca.schoolloop.com/cms/page_view?d=x&piid= &vpid=1299578118082
Glatthorn, A. A., & Jailall, J. M. (2009). The principal as curriculum leader:
Shaping what is taught and tested. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Resources for Student-Centered Instruction in a Time of Common Core
Standards. (2014). Retrieved May 4, 2014, from http://www.ncte.org/standards/common-core
Standards for the Assessment of Reading and Writing, Revised Edition (2009).
(2014). Retrieved May 4, 2014, from http://www.ncte.org/standards/assessmentstandards
LAUSD. (2014). Common Core State Standards. Retrieved May 4, 2014, from
http://ccss.lausd.net/

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