Full Rising Rams Curriculum Dive: Summary

David T. Howard Sixth-Grade Curriculum Discussion

Tekeshia led a discussion on the sixth-grade curriculum at David T. Howard, involving various content leads and administrators. She informed parents that the accelerated math program would continue, but there would be no enhanced math option in the following year. The team discussed the daily structure of the curriculum, focusing on advisory classes, social-emotional learning platforms, and the use of one-to-one devices. The English language arts curriculum was elaborated upon by Abbi, with a focus on writing, narrative, informational, and argumentative texts, as well as reading and vocabulary acquisition. Various assessments, including formative and summative assessments, and the MAP growth testing conducted quarterly, were also discussed.

Curriculum Units and Math Course Overview

Abbi introduced various units of study in their curriculum, including a narrative writing unit based on Roald Dahl's memoirs, a unit on the yellow fever pandemic, and a unit exploring the hero's journey in literature. Courtney, a math teacher, shared her goals for promoting equality and making a difference. She outlined the prerequisites and units covered in a sixth-grade math course, emphasizing the importance of foundational knowledge in multiplication, division, and fractions. She also detailed the various units covered, including statistics, rate ratios, proportional relationships, expressions, inequalities, area and volume, and rational exploration. Courtney highlighted the accelerated math course, which extends to seventh-grade standards and delves more in-depth into topics.

District-Level Class Placement Criteria and Curriculum

Courtney discussed the district-level criteria for class placements and assessment types. Patrick then introduced the social studies curriculum for sixth and seventh grades, detailing the regions of the world studied, skills developed, and the use of various assessments and teaching methods. He also highlighted the use of data to inform teaching, grouping, and assignment modifications. Lastly, Spence introduced the two new offerings in science for sixth grade, describing the traditional Earth science class and the advanced Earth systems class. He emphasized the use of various assessment methods in both classes.

Earth Systems Class and Accelerated Math

Spence described Earth Systems class as a more rigorous high school class with mandatory science fairs, offering students a high school science elective credit upon completion. Nicole clarified that gifted students receive at least two gifted classes, and accelerated math and high school Earth systems count as GATE classes. They also discussed the criteria and placement process for the accelerated math program. Lastly, they discussed the workload for students in accelerated math and science, and the availability of extracurricular activities such as visual arts, music, drama, and dance.

Howard School Parent Organizations and Summer Bridge Program

Renee discussed the various parent organizations and encouraged new Howard students, particularly those entering sixth grade, to register. An upcoming event, "Fun on the Field," was announced, and the mandatory Summer Bridge Program for new students was discussed, emphasizing its importance in helping students adjust to the school environment. There was also a discussion about the Summer Bridge program's dates and the availability of recordings on the David T. Howard Youtube channel. The team agreed to correct any errors on the program's form, and it was decided that the team would reconvene the following morning.