As we initiate a new effort to strengthen and align Oakland's middle school science curriculum, we can benefit from a clear statement explaining our goals and methods. The District's imperative for standards-based instruction drives our vision. Our students should be served by teachers who are well prepared, and have the materials and resources they need to teach effectively. Experienced teachers should find common ground for collaboration, as they implement an agreed-upon curriculum. District-wide assessment should guide and monitor instruction. We are firm in our belief that the best way to achieve these conditions is through the active leadership of classroom teachers. In the process of achieving this, we intend to create an active learning community of teachers, to embody the educational aspirations of our profession. Our focus is a practical inquiry into the most useful instructional strategies for our students. Our methodology is to collaborate and learn from each other, as well as from outside experts.

Our first resource is ourselves. Though our District is struggling, we have many brilliant and creative teachers. These teachers are experiencing success with their students, applying a variety of strategies and using a range of curricula. Our first goal is to bring these teachers together and empower them to create a guide for all middle school science teachers in Oakland. This team will include teachers who are new as well as veterans, as each have unique perspectives and gifts.

The guide we craft will be much more than a collection of activities. It will be an instructional plan for all of the District's science teachers. We will expect not only the novice teachers to draw from it, but the experienced teachers as well. Our responsibility will be not just to do the activities, but to apply our creative energies to making the lessons as excellent as we can. Innovations of individual teachers will then become relevant for all of us, as they will serve to enhance our common curriculum. Thus, the curriculum guide actually creates the foundation for future collaboration, research and professional development.

As we drive toward this common curriculum, we need to actively foster community and ownership of the process and the product. Though all of us benefit by working as a team with District leadership, it is critical that teachers feel this is OUR project, and not something imposed from above. It must be seen as something that improves our practice, gives us more resources, more insights and more support. This does not mean we are taking an insular approach, rejecting ideas from elsewhere. On the contrary, part of our process will be to investigate not only what works within our District, but what is working elsewhere as well. Our community is not limited to the borders of our District but extends to anyplace educators are struggling with these issues.