Create a New Online Curriculum

In most cases, PowerSchool Special Programs are configured with existing curricula appropriate for your state. The default curriculum can then be customized for the school district.

• To create a new curriculum, you need to have completed the planning process described in Plan an Online Curriculum.
• If you already have a curriculum, you may want to skip to Expanding and Editing the Curriculum Outline.
• If the new curriculum is similar to an existing curriculum in the database, you can copy the existing curriculum and then modify it to create the new curriculum.

Define the Curriculum Root

The curriculum root is the main identifier for the entire curriculum.

1. Select Configuration from the Administration menu, and then click Curricula.
2. Click Add New Curriculum.

3. In the Add New Curriculum menu, select Sample Student Curriculum.

4. In the New Curriculum Root fields, specify the Label and Description of the new curriculum root. For the root label, enter a word or acronym that uniquely identifies the curriculum from any other curricula. This label can contain up to 10 letters or numbers (but no spaces).

5. Click OK.

Set Up the Curriculum Outline Levels

1. Select Administration >Configuration, and then click Curricula. The new curriculum appears in the tab's list initially marked as (In Development) which prevents it from appearing to end users before it is ready.
2. In the Actions section for the curriculum, click Set Up This Curriculum.

3. Initially, the new curriculum has a default set of outline levels. Use the editing icons to modify these levels to match your design from the planning process described in Plan the Curriculum Outline.

4. Click Add New Level.

5. In the Level Name fields, specify both the singular and plural form of the name (e.g., proficiency and proficiencies). This allows the name to be displayed correctly in all cases.

Labeling Schemes

A level can be auto-labeled with digits (automatic sequence 1, 2, 3...), auto-labeled with letters (automatic sequence A, B, C...) or manually labeled (directly typed in by the user). In all cases, the outline level can be labeled with up to three characters.

In the following example, the labeling for the objective level is Auto-labeled: Numeric.

1. In the Labeling Scheme field, select the labeling scheme which determines how curriculum statements at this level will be labeled from the drop-down list.

2. In the Options section, select the Outline Level:
   • Mandatory means this level applies and is required throughout the outline (i.e., all content areas).
   • Optional means that the level is applicable in some parts of the curriculum outline (i.e., for certain content areas) and not others.
3. If students will be directly assessed at this level of the curriculum, continue to the procedure Define the rubric for assessments for a level. If you are not using a rubric for this level, skip the next section and continue to Select the level position.

Define the Rubric for Assessments for a Level

Add a rubric for any outline level for which students will be directly assessed. For more information on rubrics, see  Plan an Online Curriculum.

1. On the Add Curriculum Outline Level Properties window, select Yes in the Use Rubric for Assessment? field.

2. Define the rubric. You can establish up to six rubric items (three is a practical number). Use the editing icons to insert or delete rubric items.
3. In the Name field, enter the rubric names to use in this outline level.
   Example Rubrics:
   {proficient, borderline, not-proficient}
   {above standard, meets the standard, below standard}
   {mastered, partially-mastered, not-mastered}
4. In the Symbol field, enter a one- or two-character symbol for the rubric.

5. In the Charting Color drop-down, select a color to identify the rubric when charting student performance. For example, you might assign green to the highest level of performance and red to the lowest.

6. In the Level Position field, select where you want to include the new level in the outline. After you create the level, you can change its position using the options on the Outline Levels tab.
7. Click Accept to save the outline level settings.
8. If you want to set up outline tags, proceed to set up outline tags. Otherwise, skip to the procedure  Develop the Curriculum Outline.

Set Up Outline Tags

Once you have set up the outline levels, an optional step is to set up outline tags.

1. On the Curriculum Outline Setup page, click the Outline Tags tab, and then click Add New Tag.
2. To define the new tag, enter a name, and select an icon from the list. In this example, a tag is being defined to identify state-mandated objectives.
3. Click OK.
4. If needed, you can change the order of the tags on the Outline Tags tab by clicking and dragging any tag to a new relative position.
5. To begin developing the outline, select Curriculum Outline from the Curriculum menu.
6. Click Edit Outline.
7. Click the Insert icon to enter the first curriculum statement.
8. Complete this form to enter the first curriculum statement (a grade level in this example).
   
   • Click Accept to save and exit the pop-up window.
     or
   • Click Accept and Add Another to continue and enter another item at this level.
9. To begin entering the second (deeper) level of the curriculum outline, click the insert icon just left of the top-level statement where you want to insert the new second level statement.
10. Complete this form, and click Accept to insert the second-level item.
    
    • If tags have been created for the curriculum, you can assign one or more of them to the curriculum statement you are inserting by clicking the checkboxes.
11. Repeat Steps 5 - 6 to define the rest of the curriculum. At the last level, you will have the ability to include macros to insert the student name or gender pronoun in the statement.