ELEMENTARY CURRICULUM GUIDELINES

I.General

A.Guidelines

Please take note of the following points:

A CD with the ELEMENTARY CURRICULUM GUIDELINES is provided for each school. It is suggested that these GUIDELINES be printed and placed in a loose-leaf binder, with tabbed divider pages for each chapter. In addition they may be sent to teachers electronically.

B.Catholic Telemedia Network (CTN)

1.Catholic Telemedia Network (CTN) offers a wide range of religious and educational multi-media services to member Catholic Schools throughout the Bay Area. CTN’s mission is to provide multi-media services to teachers and students in member Catholic schools and enhance student learning by facilitating the integration of technology into the curriculum. Educational and religious video programs are broadcast via microwave to member schools.

2.A summary of services is as follows:

  • CTN offers a streaming video service that enables member schools to have access to over 15,000 video clips via the internet. Video can be streamed live in the classroom or used as a preview before downloading a clip. Once a clip is downloaded it may be accessed at any time and incorporated into multiple applications such as Word or PowerPoint. This service brings every subject alive in any educational environment.
  • Teacher –centered video programming with a selection of videos that enhance the core-curriculum being taught in the classroom.
  • Assistance for teachers in navigating the internet as they try new approaches to teaching and learning.
  • A wide variety of Online Catholic activities and lesson plans to make it easier for the classroom teacher to find Faith-based resources.

3.The video catalog and monthly on-screen updates are available at school sites and via the website at You may also call 650-326-7850 for a tour and more information.

C.WCEA/WASC

1.All schools in the Diocese of San Jose are accredited by WCEA/WASC accrediting commissions.

2.The WCEA/WASC accreditation office requires that every school articulate and evaluate in-depth one area of the curriculum each year. Schools should follow the Department of Education's cycle for curriculum review and utilize the forms provided by the education department for the in-depth study.

D.Technology

1.Computers should be integrated as learning tools throughout the curriculum in each subject area, consistent with overall Diocesan Curriculum Guidelines.

2.Teachers at every grade level and in all subject areas should recognize and take advantage of the computer as a powerful and concrete tool for teaching critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.

3.The use of media should be incorporated into all subject areas as appropriate. Technology hardware and software, and the Internet are available for integration in all subjects.

II.Schedules and Time Allotments

A.Regular School Day Schedule

1.Length: The regular school day timetable must include opening and closing exercises and the required number of minutes of actual classroom instruction enumerated on the Time Allotment Chart which is included in the Elementary Curriculum Guidelines.

2.School Hours: The opening and dismissal times for the regular school day are determined at each school after taking into consideration mandatory time requirements for instruction, appropriate recess and lunch periods, and other local factors.

B.Time Allotments

1.The time allotments specified in the Diocesan Chart are to be followed; however, at grade levels where the program is departmentalized, minor adjustments may be made in individualized subjects to accommodate modular or period scheduling as long as the total instructional minutes for the school day are retained.

2.Literature, writing, grammar, phonics, spelling and handwriting should be blocked together to form the Language Arts Core. In a departmentalized middle school this means two consecutive periods daily taught by the same teacher.

3.In grades six, seven and eight, fine arts may be integrated into the core curriculum.

C.Exceptions to the Regular School Day

1.Minimum School Days

a.A minimum day includes the following time allotments:

  • Kindergarten - 180 minutes
  • Grades 1 to 3 - 230 minutes
  • Grades 4 to 8 - 240 minutes

The minimum time allotments do not include recess or the lunch period. The 180 minutes required for kindergarten may include a short recess.

b.Minimum days may be declared only on the authorization of the Superintendent. General regulations are stated in the Calendar Guidelines.

Authorized minimum days include the following:

  • the first two days of the school year
  • the last two days of the school year
  • the 3rd WEDNESDAY of each month for IN-SERVICE (All schools will dismiss no later than 12:30 p.m. on the 3rd Wednesday.)
  • the day preceding the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays
  • Holy Thursday
  • a maximum of five days at the end of the first quarter and at the mid-point of the first trimester if parent-teacher conferences are held and the parents of every child are scheduled
  • the days (six) authorized for a school engaged in the WCEA/WASC Self-Evaluation process.

2.Early Dismissal

a.The regular school day may be shortened by sixty minutes, termed early dismissal, for the following purposes.

a.The regular monthly faculty meeting

OR

b.Special faculty meetings that meet the following criteria:

(l)The purpose of the Special Faculty Meeting is to provide planning time for some specific project or purpose.

(2)To provide this time for special faculty meetings, schools are permitted to shorten the regular school day by sixty minutes one day a week. This may not be done by decreasing the total required instructional time per week. The sixty minutes allowed for the special early dismissal must be redistributed over the other four days of the school week by adding fifteen minutes instruction time to each day.

(3)The entire faculty must participate in the project program.

(4)Both the dates and specific purposes of each meeting must be kept on file.

3.Minimum Days and Early Dismissal should be indicated on the school calendar which is published at the beginning of the year and distributed to all who would be affected by a change in the school schedule, i.e., parents, police department, Chapter I officials, etc.

III.Intervention – Monitoring Progress

  • Also located in the ERIM Handbook

A.Process

1.Schools must have an effective, rigorous, proven intervention program as part of their comprehensive plan for instruction, with an emphasis on early intervention for children by mid-first grade.

2.The first level of intervention is the classroom with a powerful program of rich language and instruction. Diagnostic information collected daily, weekly, and monthly by the teacher will indicate which children are beginning to struggle and lag behind their peers. Differentiated instruction by the teacher should be a first response. Providing extra help for the lowest-performing students can be done in several ways. Examples of in-class interventions include organizing one-on-one and small-group work by the teacher, collecting diagnostic information more frequently, providing guided reading instruction five times a week for some children and two or three times for others working on level, and enlisting extra tutorial help from instructional aides and cross-age tutors, parents, or community members.

3.A second level of intervention occurs outside of class. Participation in such intervention often is preceded by more formal diagnostic measures and assessments conducted by specialists or by a Student Study Team process. Such help always involves parents as partners to the degree they can participate. Home activities should include extra reading, writing and high-quality conversations with parents and older siblings. Other sources for intervention include: pullout, before and after school programs, and summer programs. Summer programs provide a particularly strong opportunity for more intensive instruction for the lowest achieving students to allow them to proceed with their group or class to the next level.

4.Teachers should have a comprehensive plan for low achieving students in all grades. This plan may occur at either the first or second level of intervention depending on need. Parents should be included in planning and supporting the intervention.

B.Procedure

1.In grades one through three, students requiring intervention in reading should be served through the Early Reading Intervention Model(ERIM) that is required by the Department of Education.

This is a program of small group instruction that is provided for students four or five times a week in addition to the regular language arts program. The lowest ten percent of students in reading in first grade should be in this intervention program. All students in grades two and three who score at or below the 30th percentile on the reading portion of the fall ITBS (or the lowest ten percent, if there are no students below the 30th percentile) should be served through the Early Reading Intervention Model.

2.All students in the ERIM model are assessed in the spring using running records to determine student achievement. Teachers should report year-end progress and recommendations to the Diocese, to parents, to the following year’s teacher and to the school administration.

3.All first through third grade teachers and aides are required to attend the Diocesan training workshop.

C.Formative (on-going) Assessment

1.Running records should be taken on all KINDERGARTENERS during the second semester.

2.Running records should be taken on all FIRST graders at the beginning of the year and quarterly thereafter. Students not on grade level should be assessed more frequently.

3.Running records should be taken on all SECOND graders at the beginning of the school year and quarterly thereafter. Students not on grade level should be assessed more frequently.

4.Running records should be taken on all THIRD graders scoring below the 30th percentile at the beginning of the year and quarterly thereafter

  1. Summative Assessment and Year End Reporting

1.KINDERGARTEN: year end reporting sheet that includes running record level and writing proficiency of all students.

Kindergarteners should be able to read a Level C book (Reading a-z) by June. They should be able to write three sentences by June.

Writing Proficiency Benchmarks for Kindergarten:

Students will be able to write three sentences on the same subject.

Correct spelling is not part of this benchmark.

Refer to the following examples to determine proficiency.

Proficient – We observe some vowels. Ending punctuation is evident.

mi dog is blk an wit.

he lks t lk mi fz.

he lks to jmp on m.

(My dog is black and white.

He likes to lick my face.

He likes to jump on me.)

Not Proficient – We do not observe any vowels. The student is unable to write more than one sentence. The easiest word (dog) has the sounds in the wrong order. Ending punctuation is not evident.

mi gd z bk wt

(My dog is black and white.)

  1. FIRST GRADE: year end reporting sheet that includes running record level and writing proficiency of all students. First graders should be able to read a Reading Recovery Level 16 book by June with 95% accuracy and good comprehension. (See correlation chart to match with other leveling systems.) They should be able to write a five sentence paragraph with topic sentence, three supporting sentences, and a closing sentence by June.

3.SECOND GRADE: year end reporting sheet that includes running record level of all students and ITBS scores for all students who have scored below the 30th percentile on the fall ITBS. Second graders should be able to read a Reading Recovery Level 21 book by June with 95% accuracy and good comprehension. (See correlation chart to match with other leveling systems.)

4.THIRD GRADE: year end reporting sheet that includes running record level and ITBS scores of all students who have scored below the 30th percentile on the fall ITBS Third graders should be able to read a Reading Recovery Level 23 book by June with 95% accuracy and good comprehension. (See correlation chart to match with other leveling systems.)

5.Students in grades 4 - 8 identified for intervention may be retested in the spring of that school year.

  1. Resources

All schools should have an objective tool for administering and scoring running records.

These include:

Reading A – Z

Rigby PM Benchmark

DRA by Pearson Learning

  1. End of Year Assessment Reporting

KINDERGARTEN - END OF YEAR REPORT

School Name: Date:

Teacher Name:

All students should be assessed and their scores reported.

Student Name / Guided Reading Level / Writing
Proficient / Not Proficient

*** Please circle which assessment tool was used:

RigbyDRAReading A-ZOther:

FIRST GRADE - END OF YEAR REPORT

School Name: Date:

Teacher Name:

All students should be assessed and their scores reported.

* / Student Name / Guided Reading Level / Writing
Proficient / Not Proficient

* Please check the students who have been in the Early Reading Intervention Model.

*** Please circle which assessment tool was used:

RigbyDRAReading A-ZOther:

SECOND GRADE - END OF YEAR REPORT

School Name: Date:

Teacher Name:

All students should be assessed for guided reading

* / Student Name
(Entire Class) / Guided Reading Level / ITBS Scores (students below the 30th percentile)
Fall / Spring
Total Reading / Total Comprehension / Total Reading / Total Comprehension

* Please check the students who have been in the Early Reading Intervention Model.

*** Please circle which assessment tool was used:

RigbyDRAReading A-ZOther:

THIRD GRADE - END OF YEAR REPORT

School Name: Date:

Teacher Name:

For students scoring below the 30th percentile on the fall ITBS on reading and/or comprehension please do the following:

  1. A running record and identify student level of reading
  1. Record fall and spring ITBS scores in total reading and/or total comprehension

Student Name / Guided Reading Level / ITBS Scores
Fall / Spring
Total Reading / Total Comprehension / Total Reading / Total Comprehension

*** Please circle which assessment tool was used:

RigbyDRAReading A-ZOther:

  1. Homework

Homework planned to meet the needs of the students has an essential place in the educational program. Homework should be assigned:

  • To reinforce and practice concepts and skills that have been presented in class
  • To foster the student’s creativity and discipline through enrichment projects or research
  • To prepare students for a new concept
  • To train the student to work independently and to accept responsibility for completing the task.

Parents shall be informed concerning the schools homework policy.

  1. Time Allotments. The amount of time different students in the same grade spend doing homework will vary. However, the following table provides guidelines for the amount of time the typical elementary students should spend daily on homework.

Grades 1 and 2 – 30 minutes

Grades 3 and 4 – 30-60 minutes

Grades 5 and 6 – 45-90 minutes

Grades 7 and 8 – 60-120 Minutes

  1. Homework Schedules. Apart from make-up work and long term assignments, homework should not be scheduled over weekends or vacations in the elementary grades, and it should be a reasonable amount in the middle and secondary grades.

Wherever students have several teachers, a cooperative faculty plan for assignments shall be prepared and approved by the local administrator.

Indepth Cycle

Each year every elementary school in the Diocese is asked to complete an Indepth Study of a subject area designated by the Department of Education. The cycle of the studies is as follows:

2007-08Social Studies

2008-09Language Arts

2009-10Language Arts

2009-11

Adoption Cycle

The California State Curriculum Commission recently approved a new seven-year textbook adoption cycle. The following chart shows the chronology of adoption through the year 2009.

2007-08Math

2008-09Reading/Language Arts

2009-10Health Standards

2010-11Science and Health Framework – evaluation criteria

2011-12History, Social Studies, and Foreign Language Adopted

10/18/2018– General Guidelines1