The Diocese of Jackson continuously works to revise and update our curriculum so that it remains academically rigorous and meets or exceeds state and national standards. Not only do we strive to provide high caliber academic programs, we also strive to weave the teachings of the church into our curriculum to ensure that we are remaining true to our Catholic Identity.
Through collaborative professional development workshops, teachers work to familiarize themselves with the standards they are to teach in their classrooms and work to ensure that everything we teach is vertically aligned with the goal of providing our students with a well-rounded education. Our curriculum is designed to reach the whole child by addressing their spiritual, social, emotional, physical, and academic needs.
Our schools follow a unique set of curriculum standards that are rigorous while also being developmentally appropriate. Through a collaborative process, our teachers and administrators have learned from the best pieces of different standards and programs and created a comprehensive guide for our teachers. The standards our schools utilize not only meet and exceed the rigor of state or national standards, but also provide concrete examples of how to integrate our Catholic faith through scripture, Gospel values, and church history and teachings.
The standards serve as a road map for what students will be able to do as they move from one grade to another, but our teachers are given the autonomy to teach in the way that best fits their own teaching style, the learning style of their students, and the unique culture of their individual schools. We provide accountability through our standards, but also allow for creativity and innovation from both our teachers and students.
In the Diocese of Jackson our curriculum is taught in the light of Christ. We recognize that all learners are unique and are given different talents.
In an effort to strengthen each students’ unique gifts, teachers utilize a variety of traditional teaching methods combined with hands-on learning experiences to reach all learners and learning styles. Teachers provide differentiated instruction to meet learners where they are by providing support to those who struggle and challenging higher-level thinkers.
Our teachers participate in a variety of professional development opportunities. They are encouraged to stay on the forefront of educational research and practices to ensure that they are meeting the ever-evolving needs of our students.
To measure the growth of our students in their core academic subjects, the Diocese of Jackson utilizes the ACT Aspire Testing System. Each spring students are tested in English, reading, mathematics, science, and writing.
The ACT Aspire system is aligned to national standards and focuses on college and career readiness in the twenty-first century. Students in the Diocese of Jackson have consistently outperformed the national average across multiple grade-levels and subjects. A comprehensive comparison of the Diocese’s of Jackson’s performance to the national averages can be found below.
In addition to ACT Aspire, teachers throughout the diocese use a wide variety of both summative and formative assessments at the local level to monitor student progress and understanding throughout the year. Teachers utilize performance assessments to give students opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of a concept by challenging them to apply what they have learned to complete a given task.
While standardized tests are one way we measure student progress we also ensure that students are given a variety of opportunities to demonstrate and apply their knowledge and real-world scenarios.