March 25, 2008
Dear County and District Superintendents and Charter School Administrators:
FOCUS GROUPS FOR THE UPDATE OF THE HISTORY–SOCIAL SCIENCE FRAMEWORK
Pursuant to the California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 5, Education, Section 9511(c), the California Department of Education (CDE) will be convening four focus groups across California to solicit input on the update of the History–Social Science Framework. Curriculum frameworks provide guidance to teachers, administrators, and parents on how a standards-based curriculum is implemented in the classroom. Frameworks are updated periodically to ensure that they reflect the latest current and confirmed research on education in the subject area. The focus group meetings will be open to the public, and comments made at each meeting will be forwarded to both the Curriculum Development and Instructional Materials Commission and the State Board of Education for consideration.
The focus groups are currently planned for the following locations and dates:
| Location | Date |
|---|---|
CDE Headquarters, Sacramento |
May 9, 2008 |
Santa Clara County Office of Education, San Jose |
May 30, 2008 |
Los Angeles County Office of Education, Downey |
June 5, 2008 |
San Diego County Office of Education, San Diego |
June 6, 2008 |
Each focus group meeting will be held in the afternoon. A more detailed agenda will be sent to participants and posted on the CDE Web site prior to each event.
The CDE is soliciting nominations for members of the focus groups. Each focus group will include between 10 and 15 invitees, who will be selected to ensure balanced representation of regions, types of schools, and grade levels experience. County and district superintendents and charter school administrators are invited to nominate individuals for service on one of the above focus group meetings. Nominees should be educators at the time of nomination. California Education Code Section 44013(a) defines an educator as:
“Educator” means a certificated person holding a valid California teaching credential or a valid California services credential issued by the commission who is employed by a local education agency or by a special education local planning area and who is not employed as an independent contractor or consultant.
Please use the enclosed nomination form to submit nominations to the CDE. Both the nominee and the nominating administrator should sign the form. Please note that there is no stipend for service on a focus group, and no reimbursements for travel costs or substitute replacements can be provided by the CDE.
If you have any questions regarding the focus group process, please contact Susan Martimo, Administrator, Curriculum Frameworks Unit, at 916-319-0446 or by e-mail at smartimo@cde.ca.gov.
Sincerely,
JACK O’CONNELL
JO:km
Enclosure (DOC; 45KB; 2pp.)
1430 N Street
Sacramento, CA 95814