LEARNING SERVICES

This is an exciting time to be involved in education, specifically in Pulaski County Special School District’s (PCSSD) growing Learning Community. The Academic Accountability team is comprised of a Deputy Superintendent and more than 25 content and/or area Directors, Coordinators/Deans and other supportive staff members. As professionals we are committed to educational integrity while focusing on teaching and learning at all levels-district, school and individual classroom.

In serving the 24 District schools, Academic Accountability provides leadership, resources and support to the PCSSD Learning Community for the purpose of increasing student achievement in an ever changing technological society. In support of this mission, Academic Accountability focuses on high expectations, rigorous curriculum and collegial, collaborative learning through ongoing professional development while fostering parent, extended family and community involvement. This support can be seen in three overarching areas: curriculum development, professional development and “hands on” school involvement.

Pulaski County Special School District's (PCSSD) approach to Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment with Technology Integration is based on local expectations and the Arkansas Frameworks. More specifically, PCSSD has chosen a curriculum development process that allows curriculum to be designed and refined by using best practice instructional delivery models, by selecting a variety of assessment and by utilizing innovative technologies that are systematically addressed and implemented. Curriculum can be defined as the "planned educational" experiences offered by a school district which can take place anywhere, at any time, in multiple contexts and in a specific manner all focused on student growth, performance, and achievement. PCSSD teachers play an intricate and vital role in this development process. These tools are used by teachers when determining the core knowledge and skills students need to know and demonstrate in a variety of situations including real-life situations. In addition, the key to learning in the 21st Century is to carefully and analytically design each course with essential questions that encourage students to think about the content they are learning. The use of enduring understandings is also important since these are the key concepts and principles that students need to know and be able to do in the future to compete in our global society.