Core Curriculum

When possible, students are assigned in groups to teams for their core subjects. This means that approximately one hundred and thirty students of a single grade level are assigned to a single team of two to five teachers who teach the core subjects. These teachers cooperate by meeting during a team planning period when they discuss students’ instructional needs, plan upcoming activities, divide the core block of time according to subject needs, and integrate the curricular areas. Teacher teams integrate subjects when appropriate by designing learning experiences which emphasize the interdependence of curricula, perhaps through projects, common skill instruction, related concepts, or thematic units. Although students are assigned to specific teams, teachers within the team regroup students as appropriate for particular instructional activities. Teachers make such regrouping decisions during team meetings, basing their decisions on the needs and progress of individual students. Students who need remediation in particular skill areas receive remediation during the core period of time or through other courses and/or programs.