General educational goals for students in the Discovery Program (relating to the Core Values of SCCS)
1. We will identify gifts and talents in an equitable way to help students recognize, develop, and use their gifts and talents to serve God and others.
2. We will use a variety of student data to determine appropriate and effective curriculum and instruction for high-ability learners inTK-8th grade.
3. We will help children to grow in their calling as disciples of Jesus Christ, inviting them into God’s story now as kingdom-builders.
4. We will expose high-ability learners to engaging, rigorous, and meaningful learning opportunities based on various assessments to develop their skills, potential, and talents for contribution to God’s world and those who live in it.
5. We will provide a distinctively Christian environment that will respect all students and their gifts and reinforce the child’s confidence in his/her potential for contribution to God’s world and those who live in it.
6. We will embrace and celebrate all students’ diverse cultural backgrounds and languages, modeling the acceptance of Christ to all people.
7. We will assist children in gaining an understanding of their abilities and limitations as unique image bearers of God.
8. We will provide opportunities for students to serve others by humbly sharing their knowledge and abilities through Formational Learning Experiences in an authentic way to an appropriate audience, including product-based and performance-based projects and real-life experiences.
9. We will use a variety of tools and strategies to challenge students’ thinking and inquiry skills, including creative, critical, fluent, flexible, and higher-level thinking skills.
10. We will use a variety of tools and strategies to build skills in problem solving and productive thinking, encouraging original solutions and authentic responses.
11. We will provide support and encouragement that addresses the unique social and emotional challenges of gifted students.
12. We will provide opportunities for developing various forms of leadership and communication skills through collaboration and presentation as students prepare to serve others in our world.
13. We will provide students with appropriate activities and feedback to promote perseverance, student engagement, risk-taking, and accepting mistakes as learning opportunities.
14. We will provide students with the appropriate tools and resources they need to develop their gifts and talents.
Specific Goals for the Discovery Program
Each student in the Discovery Program is seen as a unique, covenant child of God. Therefore, each student’s strengths, weaknesses, and needs will be evaluated on an individual basis and an appropriate program of instruction will be designed to meet those needs. Differentiated curriculum, that is aligned to the Iowa Core, will be used to provide students with opportunities to be enriched and challenged, as needed.
Mrs. De Smith's Deep Hope
My Deep Hope for my students is that they will accept themselves for who they are and how God made them, and that they will be motivated to develop their talents and skills to honor God and serve others as they live into God's story.