Barbara Jacoby

What Are Students Learning Today?

BY BARBARA P. JACOBY

What are students learning today? The short answer is, “what you learned, but better.”

The Cherokee County School District continues to teach students the same core subjects that you, your parents, your grandparents and many generations before them learned.

Students learn to read and write, and to understand math, science and the world around them. They learn about government and civic responsibilities. They learn about art and music, fitness and nutrition, technology and teamwork.

As they progress to middle and high school, they explore career paths and more life skills. Students not only can choose to take the electives you did — just with new names; for example, home ec is now family and consumer science, and shop is construction — but also can pick from nearly limitless opportunities. These opportunities are made possible by expanding our high school course catalog (www. cherokeek12.net/Content2/courseguide) to encompass college-level courses and numerous career paths, accessing a statewide virtual learning catalog and giving them chances to dual-enroll with universities and technical colleges.

We’re dedicated to preparing graduates for success in college, career and life, which is why we offer such course variety, but the majority of them do pursue fouryear degrees. To meet that need, we offer an ever-widening selection of Advanced Placement courses that prepare students for college’s rigor, and offer the opportunity to earn college credit.

To provide the best education possible, we consistently call upon top teachers to become school administrators, and to join our district Office of Curriculum & Instruction. The experienced educators who make up our curriculum and instruction team develop resources, methods and programs to grow children’s criticalthinking skills, mastery of knowledge for college and career success, and lifelong love of learning. While some of our best teachers choose to stay in the classroom, we’re grateful for those who give up that joy to ensure we provide exemplary teaching and learning support.

Transparency in teaching and learning is a hallmark for our school district. The community at large can view what teachers cover in their lessons — by grade level and by subject — by reviewing the standards and curriculum maps posted on our website (www.cherokeek12. net/administration/curriculuminstruction).

Parents have access to even more information through the Canvas learning management system. Through Canvas, parents can track their child’s lessons and academic progress. If you see that your child scored low on a reading quiz, you can ask him or her about it, and offer support, and you can email the teacher, if further help is needed. We offer more opportunities than ever for students to catch up and stay on track.

New this school year, teachers publish their plans for the coming week on Canvas by Sunday evening, for parents to review. This not only allows you to preview the week’s lessons, but it also helps you be more involved in your child’s learning. On Sunday, you know when your child’s science test is — even if they didn’t tell you — so you can ensure they study the night before, and you can offer to help them.