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The Merrill Area Public Schools continue to be a leader in providing a content-rich, well-rounded education for our students. We are committed to preparing all students for college and career by providing a rigorous and relevant curriculum, which is designed to meet the needs of all students.
Because of a core belief to reach every student, every time, all the time, we embrace the principles of personalized learning. This includes careful lesson design, assessment information to drive instruction, student voice and choice in the classroom, meaningful integration of 1-to-1 instructional technology to engage students, not to mention honest feedback to students about their learning and progress.
Learning is a collaborative responsibility of all stakeholders and every student has the right to learn. Meaningful learning happens in responsive environments where learners are engaged, students bring strengths and experiences to learning, and purposeful assessment drives instruction and affects learning.
Curriculum
Teachers play a critical role in the design of curricular plans that provide clear learning targets and common assessments in order to base daily instruction.
The MAPS curriculum is developed in a unit design format and is published online. However, curriculum development teams revise and update curriculum regularly, always seeking continuous improvement. Parents can easily see what students must know and be able to do at each level.
The MAPS curriculum is standards-based, rigorous, age-appropriate and relevant to the learning needs of students in the 21st century. Our curriculum development process focuses on establishing Enduring Understandings, Essential Questions, Learning Targets and Common Assessments.
Instruction
MAPS provides a responsive education for each student. Principals and teacher leaders meet regularly in collaborative meetings to analyze student achievement data in relation to student growth over time.
Instruction is differentiated to meet the needs of students at all levels of learning. When students are not progressing as well as expected, despite instructional differentiation in the classroom, we have a process that brings a team together to collaborate and plan interventions. This individual planning is part of our district-wide Response to Intervention (RtI) process.
Instruction must be engaging and motivational. Personal connections should be made between the curriculum and instruction to help our students be motivated to learn and feel valued as a person, not to mention feel like a member of the group. Goal setting is part of this process because it helps students understand what they can do and where they can go.
Effective in the 2017-2018 school year, MAPS will have highly trained instructional coaches at the elementary level. These are critical positions in the transformation of the District to a learner-centered environment that supports student achievement. To ensure growth of all students, instructional coaches will assist teachers in using data to guide learning, provide support in implementing best instructional practice, support classroom strategies to promote growth in personalized learning, and provide secondary support of iPad and app use from an instructional design purpose.
Assessment
The Merrill Area Public Schools utilizes classroom assessments, grade or course common assessments, benchmark assessments, the Fastbridge assessment and state exams. All are standards-based and each type of assessment provides information about the attainment of proficiency in both content knowledge and skills.
Quality assessment impacts students’ motivation for learning and improves instruction. The teaching & learning interaction is informed by both formative and summative assessment.
Formative assessment is a planned process in which assessments are used by teachers to adjust and guide their ongoing instructional procedures and by students to adjust their current learning tactics. Formative assessment is evidence used for learning.
Summative assessments are found at the classroom, district and state level and are used for grades and for accountability. The information gathered from summative assessments is evaluative and is used to assess standards-based proficiency. Summative assessments can show both growth and achievement. Summative assessment is evidence of learning in the classroom.
Merrill Area Public Schools Academic and Career Plan - Board Approved August 21, 2024
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