Dive Brief:

• Crafting curriculum and engaging with vendors to fulfill curricular needs can pose challenges for K-12 educators and administrators, but there are important methods and tips that school districts can utilize to mitigate costs and fulfill the application of curricula, according to eSchoolNews.
• Mindy Sinyak, the vice president of Customer Success, Noodle Markets, made clear that schools should give vendors a long lead time by as much as three weeks, in order for them to best offer educators the information they need. Educators and administrators should clarify if assessment components are needed, and if so what kind would be needed.
• School officials must also be clear about what specific types of tech may be necessary to bring a curriculum to proper fruition, and letting vendors know about the type of tech you are already utilizing can help save costs and implementation time if they are able to integrate new tech with what is already in use.

Dive Insight:

The sheer breadth of options for curriculum support available from independent vendors underlies the benefits that can come from staff specializing in working with vendors and concentrating on curriculum development, instead of administrators wearing multiple hats. Administrators working to understand the myriad tech options available often have to rely on vendors to help dictate what their school needs, rather than going with a clear and detailed understanding of what is necessary.

Results of a District of Columbia public school pilot program also indicated that school principals who have the opportunity to work with operations managers can help alleviate the workload, putting their attention back on the classroom experience for students and assisting educators. Administrators can benefit from depending on curriculum directors to deal directly with vendors, and it can be a worthwhile investment for districts who want to continue to innovate.