April 25, 2008
Dear County and District Superintendents and Charter School Administrators:
REQUEST FOR REVIEWERS TO EVALUATE KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE TWELVE INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR THE EDUCATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE
I am requesting your assistance in recruiting individuals to participate in the review of instructional materials being developed as part of the Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI) curriculum for kindergarten through grade twelve (K–12).
In October 2003, Assembly Bill 1548 (Pavley) was signed into law establishing the EEI. It directed the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) and the California Integrated Waste Management Board, in cooperation with the California Resources Agency, the California Department of Education (CDE), the State Board of Education (SBE), and the Secretary of Education, to develop a set of Environmental Principles and Concepts (EP&C) that would serve as the basis for creating an environment-based, standards-aligned curriculum for elementary and secondary schools. This landmark legislation provides a significant opportunity to increase environmental literacy by making learning of the EP&C an integral part of the K–12 curriculum.
The Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission (Curriculum Commission) is responsible for the review of the proposed curriculum and will submit its recommendation to the Secretaries of CalEPA and the California Resources Agency. The Secretaries will then present the curriculum to the SBE for approval.
The review process will be similar to that used in the review of instructional materials for state adoption and will be based upon the evaluation criteria used in the recent history–social science and science adoptions. Review panels will evaluate the instructional units according to the SBE-adopted criteria and will submit their recommendations to the Curriculum Commission as to whether or not the instructional units meet the criteria.
Reviewers will attend a two-and-a-half day training April 20-22, 2009, and will return for a three-day meeting August 10-12, 2009, to develop their recommendation to the Curriculum Commission. Travel, lodging, and per diem expenses for those meetings will be reimbursed.
We are currently accepting applications for the following reviewers:
- Content Review Expert (CRE): CREs focus their review on content accuracy, including whether the materials are aligned to state content standards and reflect current and confirmed research in the subject area. A Ph.D. degree in a science or history–social science field is required to serve as a CRE.
- Instructional Materials Reviewer (IMR): IMRs review materials for all aspects of the evaluation criteria, including not only content, but program organization, assessment, universal access, and instructional support. A majority of the IMRs must be classroom teachers at the time of appointment.
Individuals participating in this review will have a unique opportunity to ensure that high-quality, standards-based environmental curricula is available to teachers and schools in California. This professional development experience benefits both the participant and his or her school district or organization.
The deadline for receipt of completed applications is August 27, 2008. The application and additional information can be found on the Education and the Environment Initiative Curriculum Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/sc/ee/. Please download and distribute the application to all qualified candidates in your schools or organizations who might be interested in serving as a CRE or IMR.
I encourage you to help us recruit qualified applicants for this review. If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact Patrice Roseboom, Education Programs Consultant, Instructional Resources Unit, at 916-319-0509 or by e-mail at proseboo@cde.ca.gov.
Thank you for your assistance and cooperation in distributing this information.
(Original signed by:)
JACK O’CONNELL
JO:pr
1430 N Street
Sacramento, CA 95814