Academics

Students at East Pennsboro Elementary School and West Creek Hills Elementary School follow the same curriculum for all subject areas. A strong emphasis is placed on reading and math skills, with interventions being provided for students who need it. 

 

Our elementary schools utilize Child Study Teams in order to ensure all students who are not making academic or social/emotional progress are reviewed by a team of professionals at the school, inclusive of the school principals, guidance counselor, school psychologist, behavior specialist, math specialists, and reading specialists. Together, we review student data, work samples, and anecdotal notes and observations in order to provide timely interventions tailored to the student. These interventions are monitored and follow up discussions are held to continue or revise goals. Over time, if further study of student progress is needed, the school may refer the student for a multi-disciplinary evaluation by the school psychologist. This process involves the school team, inclusive of the parent, in order to make the best decisions possible regarding the student. 

 

There are four, nine-week marking periods during the school year. Students receive report cards at the end of each nine-week period. Individual parent-teacher conferences are scheduled for all students in the month of November to discuss academic progress. 

The purpose of the elementary report card is to provide a clear and accurate description of each child’s progress in the following areas:

At the elementary level, the focus is on the student performance over multiple opportunities, not simply the grading and averaging of tests and quizzes. Specified learning goals applied to all students, provide consistent targets for students to meet. Standards provide a focus for aligning curriculum, instruction, and assessment. They are the general categories that organize knowledge within a discipline. Each local school district in Pennsylvania develops curriculum aligned to the PA Standards. In East Pennsboro Area School District, the local curriculum exceeds the PA Standards in many areas.

Through the identification of clear benchmarks, a student’s knowledge and skills are measured on a continual basis, challenging students to perform at their highest level of potential. Teachers collect evidence of a child’s achievement through careful observations, the examination of the student’s work, discussions, projects, performance tasks, quizzes, and tests. Teachers record information about each child’s progress on a frequent basis, analyze and compile that information, and finally use the data to evaluate each child’s progress and plan for future instruction.