Presidential Taskforce to Advance Racial Equity

Curriculum Subcommittee

GOALS & OBJECTIVES
In accordance with Hunter College Campus Schools’ Mission Statement, it is a responsibility of the School to expose students to different cultures and viewpoints. HCCS has a duty to engage its students in multiple perspectives, so that they can have a more robust understanding of the world around them. A curriculum which reflects the diversity of our world and responds to the changing makeup of our student body is an important part of academic and intellectual excellence. HCCS must ensure a learning environment in which students from all backgrounds can thrive in order to fulfill our mission.

The committee recognizes that due to numerous factors, the population of HCHS is not necessarily static and, oftentimes, not reflective of the demographics of our city. Thus, our curriculum should be dynamic, should affirm student lived experiences and backgrounds, and should be inclusive of all races, cultures and identities. The HCCS curriculum and pedagogy must meet the needs of diverse gifted and talented students through intellectual/academic excellence, while promoting diversity, equity, inclusion and intellectual excellence.
 
The committee believes that the strength of Hunter’s education in large part relies on the expertise and experience of its teachers and academic departments. This Committee does not recommend a centralized plan for curriculum implementation, nor does it seek to dictate specific curricular changes. Rather, the Committee's goal is to create and recommend strategies that focus on a process for curriculum review, and that develop methods for analysis of any future changes and adjustments to the Campus Schools’ curriculum.
 
The Curriculum subcommittee endorses the idea that a more diverse faculty AND student body, with respect to lived experiences, as well as academic experiences and pedagogical approaches, will benefit the community at large. A diverse faculty is critical to achieving our curriculum goals.
 
Changes in our admission policy broaden the definition of what is gifted and talented and will diversify who is eligible to apply to Hunter.  With a more diverse population coming from a larger array of academic, social, and cultural environments, HCCS and in particular The High School’s curriculum and faculty must meet the needs of this new and increasingly diverse student body, and will do so by achieving the following goals:

I. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW: The goals of the subcommittee focus on methods to evaluate all aspects of HCCS  curriculum now and evaluate any curricula changes suggested through the lens of diversity, equity and inclusion. We strongly believe that Hunter’s curriculum must address both the academic as well as the social-emotional education of all students.

Our goal is to design and recommend strategies to achieve the following five outcomes:

  1. The creation of a process to evaluate Hunter’s current and future curriculum, specifically with an eye towards diversity, equity and inclusion.

  2. The creation of a process by which any changes to the curriculum are measured and evaluated with a mind towards continually creating a more diverse, equitable and inclusive curriculum.
  1. The creation of curriculum in each academic department, 7th grade seminar program and Big Sibling Program, that supports 7th grade students as they transition from 6th graders scattered across the five boroughs to Hunter’s 7th grade and eventually 8th grade and beyond. 

  2. The development and implementation of curriculum and approaches that not only support all students as they transition to Hunter College High School, but to develop programming that specifically supports students from groups with disproportionately low retention rates during the 7th-9th grade years. 

  3. The development and implementation of a K-12 curriculum that both raises awareness of cultural differences and societal inequities and supports students of varied cultural and racial identities.
 
II. FACULTY SUPPORT: We understand curriculum is not just a matter of content and skills, but also of approach and delivery. To that end, it is our goal to help create and recommend strategies which support teachers in developing expertise that enables them to fulfill our mission of educating and supporting a diverse student body, both as it relates to content as well as to methods.

Our goal is to design and recommend strategies to achieve the following three outcomes:

  1. The implementation of an ongoing process that focuses professional development on making curriculum more diverse, equitable and inclusive. 

  2. The creation of ongoing professional development designed to allow the faculty to meet the increasingly varied needs, both academic and social-emotional, of our students. 
  1. The development of faculty member think tanks in order to research and implement best pedagogical practices that provide differentiation for students with disabilities. 

III. STUDENT DEVELOPMENT: The committee recognizes that incoming HCHS students face new kinds and new levels of academic challenges as they enter HCHS from schools all across the city; schools with very different curricula and pedagogical practices. We know that our students have been exposed to a wide variety of preparation, content and habits of learning. Furthermore, as a new admission process redefines gifted and talented education, and the diversity of our students and their academic experiences become increasingly varied, we recommend HCHS respond in kind, expanding our efforts to support all of our students both in terms of academic skills and social-emotional well-being. 

Our goal is to design and recommend strategies to achieve the following three outcomes:

  1. An evaluation conducted by all departments and the administration to evaluate the 7th grade curriculum specifically with the aim of continuing to do what Hunter does well and to develop new curricula with the intention of onboarding an ever increasingly diverse student body. Each academic department, as well as the 7th grade seminar program and Big Sibling Program, should in part focus its efforts on supporting 7th grade students as they transition from 6th grade, scattered across the five boroughs, to Hunter’s 7th grade and, eventually, 8th grade and beyond. 

  2. Implementation of curriculum and approaches that support all students as they transition to Hunter College High School, and to develop programming that specifically supports students from groups with disproportionately low retention rates during the 7th-9th grade years. Historically, these groups have been HCES students, as well as socio-economically disadvantaged students and those from racially and ethnically groups that are underrepresented at HCCS. 

  3. Increased social, emotional, and academic support for HCCS students, particularly those who are economically and socially disadvantaged and those from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. This goal is elaborated on by the Culture and Climate Subcommittee.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

David Joffe, Co-chair (HS Faculty)
Sabra S. Pacheco Co-chair (Admissions Director)
Jiyoung Choo (HS Parent)
Kamillah Dawkins (Asst. Principal)
Jennifer Guss (ES Faculty)
Satinder Jawanda (HS Department Chairperson)
Brian Park (HS Faculty)
Anshu Prasad (HS Alumnus)
Abigail R. (HS Student)
Chloe R. (HS Student)*
Giovanna Termini (HS Faculty)


*Graduated June 2021