Developing the Curriculum

About our authors William R. Gordon II has served as a teacher, instructional leader, and district-level executive leader in Florida. As both and elementary and high school principal, he became known for his deep understanding of curriculum and instruction, thought leadership, and systems approaches in the Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) school system. During his 11-year tenure as the principal of Winter Park High School, the school was named by the State of Florida as a "High-Performing School" due to the school's rigorous curriculum and outstanding student achievement. Additionally, U.S. News and World Report repeatedly ranked Winter Park High School in the top 1 percent of high schools in the nation. While in OCPS he became an area superintendent, where he was responsible for the curriculum, instruction and student and teacher performance in 29 diverse schools serving approximately 35,000 students. After serving in OCPS, he became the chief operations officer at Florida Virtual School (FLVS), the nation's oldest and largest public online public school system. While at serving as an executive leader at FLVS he established an Analysis, Assessment and Accountability (AAA) division in the district. The AAA division established enterprise-wide data collection, data analysis, and predictive analytics as a leader in the online industry. Additionally, he engaged with online curriculum, instruction, and professional learning. He has also served as an adjunct professor in the College of Education at the University of Central Florida.

Rosemarye T. Taylor has a rich background in teaching and leading in Georgia and Florida. She also served as national director of professional development for Scholastic, Inc. Since joining the faculty at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, she has become known for expertise in instructional and curricular leadership through use-inspired research that influences improved educator practice. She has published numerous articles, chapters, and books addressing the alignment of curriculum, instruction, classroom and standardized assessment, professional learning and evaluation to result in improved learning outcomes. She has also led innovations at the school, school district and university level to leverage technology and digital tools to improve literacy and learning across student populations. Currently, she is Professor Educational Leadership working with master's degree and doctoral students, while continuing to actively support schools and school districts in their missions to serve all students.