It seems West Chester Area Superintendent Dr. David Christopher is following that common executive change strategy – year one, observe. Year two, change everything.
At last month’s Teaching, Learning, and Equity Committee meeting, West Chester Area School District announced another round of changes. This time targeting the instructional model for the district’s fourth and fifth graders. Rather than continuing to rely on a single homeroom teacher to teach all subjects, the district is moving to a departmentalization model where teachers specialize in an area – math, language arts, science, or social studies.
To cover all areas, students will rotate between teachers throughout the day. WCASD hopes this new model will help improve student performance, increase engagement, and allow for more opportunities for differentiation. The plan is to start the departmentalization model with a pilot program next year at East Goshen, Fern Hill, and Starkweather, with a full rollout to all the schools for the 2026-2027 school year.
Other changes being proposed by the District:
To get ready for the change, teachers will have increased professional development in the content area of their specialization. The District is planning an information session for parents of rising 4th and 5th-graders in April.
Reactions to the proposed changes seem to be generally (but not all) positive.
“I love it! I went to a K-8 public school in NJ and we had different teachers for different subjects starting in 4th grade. I think it’s great for a variety of reasons,” one Mom shared.
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