December 1, 2023: Curriculum Update Available!
Please download and replace your PDF copy of the curriculum with this required update, which includes minor fixes to linked resources. See changelog for details.
Download the Curriculum Here
Updated December 1, 2021
Changelog: What's new in this revision?
Request for Proposals (RFP): External Evaluation
Request for Proposals (RFP) for Connecticut’s African American/Black and Puerto Rican/Latino Course of Studies Implementation (Round 4)
On June 23, 2021, CT PA 21-2 identified SERC as the lead organization for coordination and provision of professional learning and implementation support for CT’s African American/Black and Puerto Rican/Latino Course of Studies.
SERC is seeking competitive proposals from qualified and interested organizations or individuals with proven expertise and experience in external evaluation.
Download the full Request for Proposals including dates and instructions here:
RFP for External Evaluation
Due Date: Proposals are due by 9:00 am ET on Friday, September 6, 2024
African American/Black and Puerto Rican/Latino Course Professional Learning 2024-25 Update
SERC and the Connecticut State Department of Education are entering the fourth year of professional learning to support CT educators in implementing the African American/Black and Puerto Rican/Latino Course of Studies.
With educator and stakeholder feedback, we continue to work on assessing our support and services. To this end, we are redesigning the professional learning format to provide greater access and more varied opportunities to engage with course content that will benefit all students. These changes include incorporating the content of our Summer Institute as part of the professional learning starting in September.
We invite interested stakeholders to collaborate with us, including colleges, universities, and state and regional organizations. Please contact a member of the CSDE/SERC Project Team by August 1st with any interest. We look forward to partnering with you!
The CSDE/SERC Project Team:
Stephen Armstrong, K-12 Social Studies Consultant, CSDE – stephen.armstrong@ct.gov
Heather Dawes, Project Specialist, SERC – dawes@ctserc.org
Nitza M. Diaz, Consultant, SERC – diaz@ctserc.org
Paquita Jarman-Smith, Consultant, SERC – jarman-smith@ctserc.org
Michelle LeBrun-Griffin, Consultant, SERC – griffin@ctserc.org
CSDE/SERC Training Series
SERC is honored to have completed the 2023-2024 CSDE/SERC African American/Black and Puerto Rican/Latino Course of Studies Training Series. Participating teachers continue to speak highly of: the speakers and historians that we have gathered, the synergy of the learning community created through the cohort model, and the scaffolded lesson support to ensure fidelity of implementation of the model curriculum. Planning for the 2024-2025 Training Series (Cohort 4) has begun.
Please “Save-the-Dates” below and watch for registration information on our website. (*First two days of training series will be held in-person at SERC in Waterbury. Majority of remaining sessions will be held virtually via Zoom.)
- Summer Institute – Monday-Friday, July 15-19, 2024 : Registration is Open!
- September Quarterly – Thursday and Friday, September 19-20, 2024
- December Quarterly – Thursday and Friday, December 5-6, 2024
- February Quarterly – Thursday and Friday, February 6-7, 2025
- March Quarterly – Thursday and Friday, March 27-28, 2025
“Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2019) (a) For the school year commencing July 1, 2021, and each school year thereafter, each local and regional board of education shall include African-American and black studies and Puerto Rican and Latino studies as part of the curriculum for the school district, pursuant to section 10-16b of the general statutes, as amended by this act.”