Cross Case Features: Context

Beye High School: Admin Support Context

NCTA participant Jeff Tucker, the Social Studies Instructional Coordinator for the district, is now using his position (and his NCTA experience) to advocate for Asian studies. Jeff says that Asia is not well addressed in the state learning standards and he is a “lone wolf” at the district level in promoting Asia. U.S. history is the “sexy” subject that gets the most coverage. Like many teachers, Jeff feels strapped by the heavy emphasis on the state learning standards.

In his current position, Jeff is charged with aligning curriculum with standards, coordinating the textbook adoption process in social studies, and interviewing/ hiring. He is the principal curriculum writer for World History although he works with a core group of two or three teachers to develop the content. They began these curriculum writing efforts before the state standards were adopted. While the state has outlined the content and a chart that defines what teachers teach and when they teach it, Jeff tries to add ideas that help teachers “make sense” of the Asian content so that it doesn’t seem like a lot of isolated facts. He says that the NCTA seminar, with its emphasis on classroom practical experience, gave him solid preparation for this work.