ROLE 3: CURRICULUM SPECIALIST
Making the Whole Visible
Across her work with schools and systems, Joellen Killion has noticed a common tension: curriculum often makes sense in pieces, but not always as a coherent whole.
The Curriculum Specialist role addresses that challenge.
Rather than controlling curriculum, this role helps educators see how learning connects across lessons, units, and grades. Joellen emphasizes coherence; understanding not just what to teach, but why it fits where it does.
In literacy leadership, this role supports teachers in seeing progressions, aligning instruction, and understanding how daily lessons contribute to long-term goals.
Action Step:
Ask teachers how today’s literacy lesson connects to what came before and what comes next.
Coherence is a theme we’ll explore together with Joellen at the Winter PL Conference on February 27, 2026 in Atlanta, GA.