In the last Humanities blog post (which took place toooo long ago), we discussed the need for and the content of the Humanities Common Instructional Expectations (CIEs).  This set of documents was built by teachers and was designed to provide guidance in making important, baseline decisions about GCISD ELA and SS instruction. These needs have not changed. However, as our system continues to grow towards the goals of LEAD 2021, a few adjustments are needed.  These updates will be made and shared with teachers before the current school year ends.  Next year, instructional coaches and teachers will have the opportunity to visit campuses to to see how the CIEs are being implemented and visit with PLCs about necessary support. 

The Humanities Vertical Team, which met during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years and was initially charged with drafting the CIE documents, has not met in the same way this year. The focus this year took a different twist, but the vertical goals of this team remain the same.  This year, our Humanities focus has been on:

• Redesigining the K-5 Humanities Curriculum into an aligned document reflecting teachers' needs and preferences
• Learning to access and integrate our new Social Studies instructional materials (K-12)
• Restructuring the district's Literacy Intervention Team and raising awareness about dyslexia
• Casting a new vision for the role of librarians and Learning Commons spaces across the district

We expect to reconvene the Vertical Team during the 2016-17 school year to view the progress towards alignment and determine next steps. 

There is no shortage of work to be done in our department, but together strides are being made toward our mission:

The mission of GCISD Humanities is to instill a capacity for communication, empathy, and citizenship through critical thinking, reflection, and appreciation of diverse viewpoints.