Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment

Instruction & Assessment: Our Beliefs & Practices

Student learning and growth is our common goal.

Collaborate to create common expectations and identify learning targets for grade levels, courses, and grade spans; Refer to learning targets in the daily life of a classroom; Use common assessment criteria; Allow for redrafting of work coupled with reteaching; Continue to improve, grow, and learn as professionals; Support professionals to improve student learning

Students learn best when they are engaged.

Design instruction that is meaningful, authentic, and relevant; Teach students using their concerns and interests; Challenge students to help design the work; Collaborate to find best practices to enhance student engagement; Use reflection and feedback to help students set goals, develop tools for learning, and assess their own work

Students learn in a variety of ways and at different rates.

Facilitate the use of multiple pathways to demonstrate knowledge and skills; Allow multiple opportunities to demonstrate learning; Offer enrichment opportunities in and out of the classroom; Build support systems that can happen as close to the moment when a student needs help as possible and during the regularly scheduled day; Commit to a mindset of continuous improvement for all students; Give students time to grow in their learning

Students need practice and feedback before being expected to demonstrate learning.

Assist students to practice formatively and demonstrate summatively; Provide opportunity to practice and make mistakes; Give specific, descriptive feedback; Communicate progress & performance clearly with students and families; Ask students to reflect on their learning goals and growth

Students need to develop habits of work.

Consider habits of work separately from academic skills and knowledge; Develop work habit criteria for the group and goals for individual students; Teach and help students practice habits of work; Provide feedback on habits of work

Professionals use evidence from student work, behavior, and feedback to inform decisions.

Collect evidence from multiple sources of information; Store data in a consistent manner so that it can be accessed; Analyze and use data; Improve curriculum, instruction, assessment, and systems based on evidence; Create structures and practices to support students academically, socially, and emotionally

*Curricular resources are continually evolving as we learn more and as our students’ interests change.  In an effort to provide a more relevant, engaging, and responsive curriculum for our students we are undergoing a curricular review K-12 in all content areas.  Our updated, detailed units and course outlines are currently in progress and will be made public soon.