The Windham Central Supervisory Union--a district of eleven towns, nine schools, and over 1,100 students--will institutionalize the study of Asia from kindergarten through the 12th grade. There is strong evidence of student, teacher, administrator, parent, and community involvement in Asia-related initiatives. Our district’s initiation of Journey East: A Sino-American Cultural Exchange and the participation of several teachers and administrators throughout our district in UVM’s Asian Studies Outreach Program have created strong support for the development of a district-wide Asian Studies Curriculum.

During the summer of 2001, teachers and administrators will work together to develop a K-12 Asian Studies Curriculum Framework as part of the Social Studies and Humanities Curriculum of WCSU. This curriculum development project will be facilitated by the Assistant Superintendent of WCSU and assisted by the Curriculum Development Coordinator of the UVM Asian Studies Outreach Program. Additionally, we will utilize personnel and resources from the Asian Studies Outreach Program to provide support to teachers in curriculum design, instructional strategies, and application of information technology. On-site support by ASOP personnel and Asian nationals will be an important aspect of curricula implementation. Additionally, WCSU teachers who have participated in ASOP programs will make significant contributions to this project.   

Participants will include representation from Leland and Gray Union High School and Middle School and each elementary school in the district. Participants will also include various grade level teachers to ensure that the appropriate grade level themes will be part of the curriculum.

The charge of the curriculum development committee will be to develop a comprehensive and coordinated K-12 curriculum which makes connections to Vermont’s Framework of Standards and Learning Opportunities. One of the goals for this work will be to ensure that the study of China will have an important place in the curriculum. The intended result of the committee’s work will be to develop a concentrated study of Asia in the district curriculum at various grade levels: primary, intermediate, middle and high.

Teachers will be designing Standards-Based Units, develop Student Learning Expectations, and designing Instructional and Assessment Best Practices. During the course of the 2001-2002 school year and beyond, further work will be planned to develop units of study to cover grade level themes, such as The Asian Family and Arts in Asia for younger grades and Taoism and Confucianism and Change in China since 1949 for the upper grades.

Professional development activities and in-service programs will be planned and implemented. We will continue to encourage teachers to participate in the Asian Studies Outreach Program which has proven to be an effective approach to supporting the study of Asia. For example, every year two teachers and two school leaders will participate in that program with the funding for which we are applying. The in-service programs lay a theoretical foundation for teachers’ learning about Asia, and the first-hand experience in Asia broadens and deepens that learning. Each year a number of teachers and administrators from the district will participate in these in-service activities and travel to Asia as part of the Asian Studies Outreach Program.  

The superintendent’s office and school principals will continue to provide administrative support for this project. This administrative support will result in a sustained effort in the implementation of the Asian Studies Curriculum in the district.