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Miami-Dade County Public Schools offers schools several tools to ensure the alignment of the school curriculum with the district’s academic goals and the state standards.

1 – Instructional Focus Calendar - Reading - Grade 6 Describes scope-and-sequence for sixth grade reading program at Ruben Dario Middle School. Also known as a “pacing guide” or “planning guide” in other districts.
What to Notice The document is laid out chronologically, with one row for every two weeks. Not only does it specify core reading texts, but it also describes remediation and reinforcement strategies, as well as additional resources. Cluster assessments are the final column. Notice that the resources are very specific, including page numbers, so that teachers have easy access to what they need.	Questions to Ask How did the school select Bridges as its core reading text? Was this a district-wide decision? What were the criteria? What kinds of instructional support do teachers receive? Are there school-based coaches? Or does the district have instructional support staff who are available to work with teachers? Did the school develop this alignment document? Or does the district publish this?
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2 – Curriculum Placing Guide - Language Arts/Reading - Grade 1 Describes scope-and-sequence for first grade language arts/reading program.
What to Notice This document is narrower than the sixth grade pacing guide above. In the overview, the document describes what the first grade teacher is responsible for. The core of the document outlines all of the content standards that a teacher must cover, organized by “strand.” And these standards are linked directly to the state standards by number.	Questions to Ask How are these standards mapped to the district benchmark assessments? Is there a separate document which maps these standards to resources and potential lessons? What kinds of instructional support do teachers receive in the implementation of this pacing guide?
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Miami-Dade County Public Schools has made an extraordinary effort to upgrade its curriculum and ensure faithful implementation across all district schools. Curriculum tools and pacing guides are made available online to all principals and teachers, and district staff are tasked with visiting schools to assess curriculum implementation and instructional practices.

1 – Overview of Competency-Based Curriculum Description of Miami-Dade's approach to curriculum and instruction.
What to Notice Miami-Dade developed an online curriculum aligned with Florida’s Sunshine State Standards. This “competency-based curriculum” (CBC) is designed to provide additional rigor and specificity to the state standards. The CBC can be accessed online at: http://www2.dadeschools.net/students/cbc/index.asp Notice that each subject area offers an overview that describes the district’s philosophy and goals in that area. Each competency reflects the synthesis of several different curriculum objectives.	Questions to Ask How is a competency-based curriculum (CBC) different from what the district used before? What was the process to develop the CBC? How are updates to the CBC communicated district-wide? How did the district train all of its teachers to use the new curriculum and to access the online tools? Does the district offer pacing guidelines to assist in the implementation of the CBC? If so, how are they developed? How does the district measure the success of its online curriculum tools? Do district staff use software to monitor the usage of the tools? Did the district set measurable goals for the use of the tools?
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2 – Process to Monitor Curriculum Implementation Guide for tracking implementation of district curriculum in schools.
What to Notice This document summarizes the district’s approach to curriculum implementation and provides several tools for district staff or school principals to use in the assessment of curriculum implementation and instruction. The district creates instructional review teams that conduct site visits focused on assessing the status of curriculum implementation at a given school. The document contains instructional review tools, a classroom checklist sample and sample implementation checklists.	Questions to Ask How frequently are schools visited by the instructional review team? What factors determine whether a school or classroom is visited? What is the typical end goal of an instructional review, and who is the “customer” for the report? What authority does the team have to implement or recommend changes? Does the district store the data from the review forms in any central database? Have any of the metrics or checklists been correlated with student achievement data? How has the district responded to district-wide trends in these reviews?
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Miami-Dade County Public Schools has implemented an Eight-Step Continuous Improvement Model to ensure that data is used to improve instruction.

1 – Eight-Step Continuous Improvement Model Offers graphic depiction of the district’s continuous improvement model.
What to Notice The core model is based on four components: plan, do, check, act. The eight-step process builds on these components and provides teachers with a detailed step-by-step process that starts with using test scores to identify student needs. At the very bottom, this one-pager describes the five different levels of students.	Questions to Ask How was this process developed? Was it internally developed, or did the district hire consultants or instructional experts to develop the process and/or tool? How widely is the tool distributed? In what contexts are teachers and principals introduced to the tool and the process?
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2 – Eight-Step Continuous Improvement Model Lays out the eight-step process along with other tools and guidelines to ensure the proper use of data to improve instruction.
What to Notice Immediately after introducing the eight-step process, the presentation offers a list of Miami-Dade’s “five characteristics of effective schools” on page 4. The bulk of the document offers extremely specific instructions on how to execute each of the eight steps effectively. In the instructions for step 1, the document includes a more detailed description of the mastery levels for students. Many of the sections include a page devoted to “keys to success.”	Questions to Ask Are Miami-Dade’s “five characteristics of effective schools” comprehensive? What else would you put on the list, if anything? Which are most important? What audience is this document intended for? Who leads the continuous improvement process at local schools? What training do they receive?
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3 – Classroom Walkthrough Checklist Identifies key classroom indicators for the eight-step process.
What to Notice This document offers principals or coaches a simple tool to use in classroom walkthroughs. For each step of the eight-step process, the document identifies two to four pieces of evidence that would indicate the teacher is involved in the continuous improvement process.	Questions to Ask How often are walkthroughs conducted and by whom? Are walkthroughs always targeted to the continuous improvement protocols? How are results of the walkthroughs communicated to the teacher? What intervention resources are deployed if the teacher does not appear to follow a continuous improvement process?
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4 – Agendas from Principals Meetings Describes agenda for monthly Friday principals’ meetings.
What to Notice Miami-Dade’s principals meet for a half-day on one Friday of every month. Notice how much of the agenda is devoted to instructional and assessment issues vs. operational issues. Notice also that the district lists “expected outcomes” at the top of the page.	Questions to Ask Who determines the agenda for these meetings? Are high-performing principals ever offered the opportunity to lead sessions for their peers? Do district presenters model effective instructional strategies in their sessions? Are the sessions designed to be interactive?
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The school board in Miami-Dade County Public Schools has chosen to link the superintendent’s performance evaluation directly to the district’s goals.

1 – Org Chart - Board of Education Depicts the organization of the district’s governance structure.
What to Notice The org chart only includes the superintendent, not the rest of the district organization, implying that the board does not interfere with management, except via their oversight of the superintendent. The board has an audit committee which helps them hold the superintendent accountable, and a Miami-Dade student participates in an advisory capacity.	Questions to Ask To what degree do board members engage on management issues? Do they go around the superintendent? How was the current superintendent hired? Who led the process? Did it go smoothly? How were the other committees identified? Who participates in the committees, and how is their participation determined? How does the school board measure its own performance? How does the school board communicate with district leadership?
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2 – Mission, Vision and Values - District Lays out district’s mission, vision, and values.
What to Notice This one-pager is attractively produced. The language is clear and compelling.	Questions to Ask Who developed the mission, vision and goals? Was the board involved? What was the process? Did this document precede the arrival of the current superintendent?
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3 – District Goals Describes goals and measurable objectives for the Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
What to Notice The district articulates six clear-and-compelling goals that cover student achievement, community involvement, operational effectiveness and human resources. Then, in the following pages, the document breaks the goals into measurable objectives and metrics. Notice that the language is very positive throughout and that there are strong links with the mission, vision and values of the district.	Questions to Ask How were these goals developed, and what was the process? How often are these goals and metrics revisited? How are goals prioritized? Who tracks the district’s performance on the measurable goals? In what document does the district review its progress? How public is this process?
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4 – Superintendent’s Evaluation Template Offers a rigorous tool for evaluation of the superintendent’s performance.
What to Notice The tool is built around the district’s six major goals and the measurable objectives that map to those goals. Notice how specific the goals are on the first page, especially the student achievement targets. Notice also that some of the objectives are quantitative (like the student achievement targets), and others are qualitative (like the redesign of the Alternative Education Program).	Questions to Ask Who developed the tool? Was the current superintendent involved? What is the process for annual goal-setting? Who takes the lead in evaluating the superintendent? Is the whole board involved? Are any external consultants or facilitators hired? How does the board monitor progress toward goals throughout the year? What has the superintendent’s track record been? Is this document—or any portion of it—distributed to the public?
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Miami-Dade County Public Schools strives to create an organizational structure that will encourage the highest levels of performance and allow the district to achieve its goals as defined in the mission statement. Central office units define their responsibilities in terms of the district’s mission and goals. One school organizational chart reflects a flat structure, which contrasts with the more layered organizational chart of the other school, both of which may be appropriate for different schools in different settings.

1 – District Organization Chart and Department Descriptions Overview of district organization and central office responsibilities.
What to Notice This document shows the structure of Miami-Dade’s central office. Note that all major departments report directly to the superintendent. Also, the district has separate functions devoted to accountability and system-wide performance and knowledge management. Each department’s role is described in the context of how it contributes to the district’s pursuit of the goals in the mission statement. The responsibilities of most central office units are defined in terms of service to schools.	Questions to Ask How are responsibilities divided between school operations (which oversees the schools), curriculum & instruction, and professional development? How closely do these departments work in order to ensure effective teaching and learning? How does the School Improvement Zone function? What happens when a school is assigned to the School Improvement Zone? How can a school “graduate” from the School Improvement Zone? What is the rationale for having human resources report to the chief of staff?
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2 – Greynolds Park Elementary and Norland Middle School Organization Charts
What to Notice These organization charts provide examples of two models of school organization. At Greynolds Park, all functions report directly to the principal, and assistant principals (APs) do not have specific department or operational responsibilities. Norland Middle School, on the other hand, takes a more layered approach in which APs have formal responsibility for different components of the school’s programs and operations.	Questions to Ask What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of a flat org chart like Greynolds Park’s or a layered org chart like Norland’s? Is one more or less appropriate for an elementary or a secondary school? Are the organizational structures of individual schools determined by district staff, school staff or some combination? Is there any advantage to having different organizational structure models within the same district? To what degree does Greynolds Park provide for informal job differentiation for its APs? Does the org chart reflect actual decision-making in the school?
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