What do students learn?
Teachers have been writing curriculum in various subject areas in the Southern Tioga School District for the last several years. This curriculum is focused on the PA Core Standards, best practice, and our district vision and guiding principles. While the resources used by teachers may vary, the course concepts and sequences of instruction are uniform. Class time is dedicated to English language arts (ELA), mathematics, and science, and social studies is emphasized in the nonfiction text aspect of reading. Outside of the academic core, students engage in art, music, physical education, and library/media lessons on a weekly basis.
How is student learning measured?
At Liberty Elementary School, it is of utmost importance that students learn. Teachers measure learning through various formative assessments on a daily basis to obtain feedback from students on whether or not they are understanding concepts. Additionally, teachers give more formal assessments in the form of projects, writing assignments, presentations, and classroom tests to more formally determine their students’ achievement and growth.
Report cards are sent home three times a year. Report cards are sent home shortly after each grading period has ended. We also compose Parent Square messages to notify parents and families to check grades using our online Sapphire Student Information System at the midpoint of each grading period.
In the elementary, various screening tools are utilized to determine basic language and social skills. DIBELS reading assessments are also used to monitor student progress in reading.
Classroom Diagnostic Tools (CDTs) are given periodically in grades 3, 4, 5, and 6 to assist staff members with making adjustments to instruction involving the mathematics, English language arts, and science curricula.
Achieve 3000 is used to monitor student growth and provide complementary independent learning for students in grades 5 and 6 in the ELA classroom.
In the spring, all students in grades 3, 4, 5, and 6 take the PSSA English language arts and mathematics tests, and students in grade 4 will also take the science PSSA. The results of these tests are used to chart individual growth and achievement of each student from year to year.