Our Curriculum
Daily Instruction
PK-6th grades are self-contained classrooms. Our 7th & 8th grade, or Jr. High, students are on a block schedule and receive instruction from four separate teachers based on subject. All students attend weekly special area classes that consist of: Art, Music, Computer, Spanish, and Physical Education.
Daily Writer’s Workshop
Built on the best practices and proven framework of writing instruction, we immerse our students in powerful daily units of study based on the research of Lucy Calkins. We engage our students in daily writing about real and imaged experiences and events using effective technique, well chosen details, and well structured event sequence.
Daily Guided Reading Groups
Our teachers understand the importance of differentiation and provide our students with highly targeted, scaffolded, small-group reading instruction designed to propel students toward developing reading proficiency.
Response to Intervention (RTI)
A one-hour block is provided four to five times a week in all grades, where the instruction of new content stops and each student is provided instruction based on their individual needs. The classroom teacher, the school’s classroom interventionist, as well as, other paraprofessionals are available to work with small groups of students to either remediate skills, facilitate independent practice, or to extend learning.
Chromebook One-to-One Program
Students in grades 6th–8th are issued a Chromebook for learning. The program allows students to expand their critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills through digital resources. The program also promotes students creative thinking, as students are challenged to apply and demonstrate knowledge by producing digital products.
Phonics Dance
Our Pre-K-2nd grade students participate in daily Phonics Dance, a researched based/brain based program designed to provide a daily spiral approach to phonics. Children are introduced to community learning by using movement, chants, and rhymes to become familiar with the variant sounds that are part of our language.
Differentiated Instruction
We recognize that all students learn in different ways. For all subjects, especially Reading and Math, learning skills and standards are assessed before and during the learning process in order to determine appropriate instructional needs for each student. Also, teachers learn and take into consideration each student’s learning style(s) in order to differentiate instruction.
Peer Learning Groups
Neuroscience research suggests that the brain seeks social interaction. Therefore, instead of students being mere spectators in the classroom, our teachers design and facilitate instruction that allow students to seek relevance and meaning of content through peer collaborative groups.
STEMscopes
Inquiry-based science program that combines digital resources, supplemental print, and hands-on kits in order to increase student engagement, rigor, and student achievement.
STAR Assessment
A reading and math diagnostic is administered to every student three times a year in order for our teachers to determine where students may need remediation prior to regular units of study. The diagnostic is also used to determine where students may need extensions in learning.
NWEA MAP
The NWEA (Northwest Evaluation Association) MAP Test (Measures of Academic Progress) is a computer based adaptive achievement and growth test. This assessment creates a personalized assessment experience by adapting to each student’s learning level - precisely measuring progress and growth for each individual student. Its structure is cross-grade, which provides measurement of students who perform on, above, and below grade level. As required by the Archdiocese of Louisville, all 3rd - 8th graders take Growth Reading, Language, and Math assessments in the fall and spring.
In addition, St. Rita’s students in Kindergarten through 2nd grade as required by the Archdiocese of Louisville take the reading fluency assessment. A benchmark and/or progress monitoring assessment that measures Lexile, reading comprehension, and fluency when it comes to oral reading. Reading Fluency measures reading ability and helps determine whether a student is “learning to read” or “reading to learn.” All K-2 students take the Reading Fluency test in the fall term and the winter term.
MAP Assessment data is used to assist in instructional planning, school initiatives, and individualized learning plans for students. Growth results are provided to parents following the spring testing window.