BUILDING CONSTITUENT SUPPORT FOR STATEWIDE CURRICULUM CHANGE--THE CHALLENGES

Statewide curriculum changes are neither easily nor quickly accomplished, and they should not be. What is best for the students served by the educational system should be the guidiing principle. Ensuring that this principle is not aborted requires sometimes a painstakingly slow processes. Understanding the processes involved for effecting change is only one major requirement, but admittedly a critical one. Without this basic knowledge, little progress can be realized and most of the effort will be spent "preaching to the choir", accomplishing little. The Earth science course required of all 8th grade students in NC was eliminated in 1985. In 1987 a grassroots effort began to have it reinstated into the high school curriculum. A course in Earth/environmental science became a mandatory requirement for all high school students beginning with the class of 1999. Looking back over that period, certain characteristics of the effort stand out as essential elements in accomplishing the ultimate goal. Elaboration on each of these elements will be presented and brief comments offered on funding to accomplish such an effort.