The Tri-State Area School Study Council has provided a continuing partnership between school districts and the University of Pittsburgh for over 67 years. Tri-State’s focus is on building organizational capacity to: expand levels of literacy and improve student achievement; promote high quality governance through Board-Superintendent collaboration, teamwork, and policy development; and to develop practical legal understanding of the principles and processes used to evaluate district actions.
Membership benefits for the 2024-2025 school year can be found here.
Below are services provided to Tri-State members. All services are provided only to current members.
Information Dissemination
Tri-State provides member districts with access to three electronic quarterly newsletters:
- The Forum, an in-house newsletter featuring information about professional development opportunities as well as articles and exemplary practices. It features contributions from various local and state organizations including a recurring Title IX column provided by the Women’s Law Project of Western Pennsylvania. The Forum also features a 2-page legal issue section provided by Weiss Burkardt Kramer LLC, “In Brief: School Law Update.”
- Education Law Report, created by Tucker Arensburg law firm, to keep members abreast of the latest cases and developments in general school law
- Special Education Alert, created by Andrews & Price law firm, which includes information and tips on important special education issues
Employment Opportunities
Tri-State can send information out to a large network of Tri-State member district personnel as well as recent University alumni and can share postings across the nation thanks to our affiliation with the National School Development Council. We also host job postings on this site on our Administrative Positions page.
Research and Development Technical Assistance
Tri-State’s team of consultants works with districts to address the bulleted list below as well as any other needs our members have.
- Designing long- and short-term strategic planning as well as mid-point review
- Mapping and redesigning curriculum
- Coaching peers in math and literacy, including PSSA & Keystone work
- Formulating regional district research and development initiatives
- Evaluating course alignment with the Pennsylvania Standards
- School Board retreats
Curriculum Mapping
Curriculum and Instruction is the cornerstone of any successful educational program. Research indicates that student access to aligned curriculum, appropriate instructional materials, and grade level standards-based instruction taught by highly-qualified, effective teachers leads to increased student academic achievement. “Curriculum Mapping” serves as the foundation for providing the evidence for the written, taught, reinforced and tested model of curriculum management.
A Two-Part Curriculum Mapping Process & Format
Part 1- TPS Curriculum Map & Syllabus Approach
- A “Teacher/Parent/Student-Friendly” (TPS) mapping and syllabus approach
- The syllabus to be posted on webpage (as well as sent home) for all parties to refer to regarding scope and sequence of the course or grade-level instruction
Part 2 – Unit Curriculum Map
- A detail document of each “Unit of Study” found in the TPS Map/syllabus
- This unit map incorporates information regarding:
- Chapter/Resources Utilized
- Content/Concepts
- Skills or Learning Objectives
- Student Assessments or Tests
- Projected Week or Timeline (Subjected to Changes & Optional)
Workshops & Sessions
One-Day Session
- Introduction of the objectives of curriculum mapping along with utilizing the template formatting process.
Three-Day Sessions
- Introduction of the function and objectives of curriculum mapping along with utilizing the template formatting process.
- Implementing the Part 1 – TPS/Syllabus Curriculum Mapping
- Implementing the Part 2 – Unit Curriculum Mapping
Five-Day Sessions
- Introduction of the function and objectives of curriculum mapping along with utilizing the template formatting process.
- Implementing the Part 1 – TPS/Syllabus Curriculum Mapping
- Implementing the Part 2 – Unit Curriculum Mapping
- Follow-up training and review sessions of Curriculum Maps
- Final report on degree of completion and implementation of the curriculum mapping