The curricular foundation for grades K-5 is the "Success for All" program as designed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University. This program has been successfully implemented in schools around the country and validated as effective based on scientifically proven research. (Show Me the Evidence! Proven and Promising Programs for American Schools; Slavin, Robert E. and Fashola, Olatokumbo S., Corwin Press, Inc., 1998). "Success for All" focuses on reading.
The goal of "Success For All Roots & Wings" is to provide all students with learning experiences that enable them to attain reading proficiency at or above grade level by third grade and to maintain success throughout the elementary grades. Achieving this goal provides all students with the foundation they need to succeed in the later grades, and eventually leads to higher rates of graduation from high school, improved literacy at all levels, and greater opportunities for success in adulthood.
The program structure and components are based on two main principles: (1) students need to be successful the first time they are taught and (2) schools should organize all possible resources, including tutors and family support, to ensure student success.
The kindergarten component, Early Learning, provides an experiential and child-centered curriculum that gives children a needed foundation for success in elementary school. Kindergarten classrooms are print-rich environments which provide students with a wealth of materials and opportunities to develop confidently and successfully as emerging readers and writers.
Children in grades 1-6 are assessed at the beginning of the year, and are reassessed every nine weeks to determine their reading fluency and comprehension. During the 90 minutes of reading instruction, students are grouped across grade levels according to their present level of performance in reading. Such grouping ensures that students receive appropriate targeted instruction, allowing them maximum growth during each nine-week session. Furthermore, teachers can increase the time spent in direct instruction and reduce the time spent on seat work.
Students reading at the first grade level participate in the Roots Program. This program is based on research that illustrates the need for students to learn to read in meaningful contexts and at the same time to have a systematic presentation of word attack skills. The idea in a Reading Roots lesson is to teach the same sound discriminations many ways, to involve many sensory modalities, and to maintain students’ active engagement, enthusiasm, and interest in the lesson.
Students reading at the second through fifth grade levels participate in the Wings Program. The focus of the Reading Wings curriculum is primarily on building comprehension, thinking skills, fluency, and pleasure in reading. Students in each reading class are assigned to four to five member cooperative learning teams. Teams choose team names and sit together, working with partners within the team on some activities. Scores on the tests, writing activities, book reports and adherence to Cooperative Learning Standards contribute to a team score. Teams earn recognition based on a preset standard.
After review of the nine-week assessments, students are regrouped where necessary.
If students are struggling at their current level of assignment, tutoring services from non-instructional staff may be provided for 20 minutes per day. The non-instructional staff members receive training on a very regimented program designed to support the student at their current level of instruction. When a child is not making progress, a family support team meeting will be arranged bringing all stakeholders (parent, teacher, administrator, tutor, and student) to the table to discuss and develop interventions.
At LJPS we use Houghton Mifflin/Harcourt’s Go Math’s comprehensive math program in grades K – 5. The Go Math program supports the New Generation Sunshine State standards, the NCTM (National Council for Teachers of Mathematics) focal points, and the Common Core Math standards.
Go Math provides the opportunity for lifelong learning skills for student in the 21st century by developing informational and communication skills, higher order thinking skills, problem solving skills, independent learning, and real-world connections. This program emphasizes the New Generation Sunshine State standard’s Big Ideas and depth of understanding through interactive lessons, research-based instructional approaches, best practices, and differentiated instructional resources to ensure success for all students.
Go Math also has an extensive online component with daily lesson reinforcement, practice, games, instructional videos, online tools, and links to resources. The online component can be accessed at www.thinkcentral.com with a provided username and password.
Language Arts, Spelling, and Handwriting are taught at every level, with emphasis on the writing process, quality work, and student challenge.
Science and social studies are taught at all grade levels, using a combination of traditional instruction and theme-based learning. Teachers meet regularly as grade level teams and multi-grade teams to plan instruction for every grade.
All students have 30 minutes of PE daily with the traditional physical education curriculum (except middle school band students). In addition, elementary students attend Music, Art, Drama and Technology once per week.