Curriculum

The Department of Curriculum members lead teams of teachers through the curriculum design and development process as well as identify supporting resources in the areas of English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Fine Arts, Wellness, and Foreign Language. Designing curriculum is a multi-step, ongoing, and cyclical process. 

Our purpose is to ensure that all students in D303 receive a valid and reliable curriculum that contributes towards their personal and academic learning and development, while supporting access to innovative learning experiences.  

Priority standards are the essential learnings within a grade level, content area, or course. Educators have determined that skills meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Endurance. Concepts or skills that last beyond one grade or course.
• Leverage. Material that has crossover applications within and across content areas.
• Readiness for the next level of learning. Prerequisite concepts and skills that learners need to enter a new grade level or course of study.
• External exam requirements. Material that is assessed on year-end summative assessments.

The Illinois State Learning Standards are comprehensive and identify more skills and content that can be reasonably learned at a deep level within one school. While all grade-level standards will be addressed, the skills and concepts identified in the priority standards will be emphasized. The priority standards ensure instruction focuses on the most critical skills and content for academic success.

Linked here you will find the K-12 priority standards for ELA and Math.