Language Arts Course of Study

Philosophy

The Olentangy Local School District is committed to providing leadership and support services to staff that will facilitate maximum learning for every child.

Assumptions:

1. Set high standards with strong support for English language arts achievement for all students
2. Present literary skills needed to make a successful transition to post-secondary education, the workplace and daily life
3. Reflect sound applications of research on our practice as our students progress in language arts
4. Assume an integrated approach to language learning that is interactive and engaging

The Ohio Department of Education encourages districts to align their programs with standards to ensure all of Ohio’s students reach their full potential. Our core beliefs outline our plan for using standards to define what students should know and be able to do in language arts.

Core Beliefs:

1. Standards are needed to prepare students for present and future literacy.
2. Standards articulate a shared vision of what students should attain in English language arts and what we can do to ensure the vision is realized.
3. Standards are necessary to promote high educational expectations for all students

We believe every Olentangy student should have access to a challenging standards-based curriculum and should demonstrate progress every year. The knowledge and skills defined in the Ohio standards are within the reach of all students. Students with disabilities should have Individual Education Plans aligned state standards and Olentangy curriculum. Well-defined curriculum expectations ensure parents, teachers, and administrators will be able to monitor all students’ development.

Mapping

Curriculum at Olentangy is developed through a technique called mapping. This three-step process included any teacher or administrator that would like to participate, the board of education and a representative community committee. The maps are aligned and clearly articulate high expectations for our students. Simply, the maps describe exactly what Olentangy students should know and do in a particular subject at each grade level. The maps are concise (one page per grade level or subject) and easy for any stakeholder to read. The maps are designed this way to allow for greater depth of teaching and student understanding. The maps are the adopted curriculum for the district and guide classroom instruction.

Adopted 9/23/2003
Revised 6/2005