Instructional Program :: Math :: Language Arts :: Environmental Science :: Technology :: RenWeb

The Instructional Program seeks to provide systematic and meaningful support for Dekalb Academy of Technology and Environment as employees live out the mission statement:

….. to educate a student population about the essential need to consider environmental ramifications of technology and other business decisions, via a hands-on, community-oriented instructional curriculum. The School will improve student achievement via a curriculum which:

• Recognizes the important link between technology and the environment
  
• Promotes higher order thinking skills – critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision making
  
• Motivates students by offering a real world context for learning
  
• Engages learners in investigative, hands-on/minds-on, student-centered, and cooperative activities between industry and environmental groups
  
• Advances educational reform goals
  
• Correlates to state and national academic standards
  
• Considers the environment in its totality, i.e., the co-existence of business and the environment
  
• Promotes continuous lifelong learning

Introduction of Math Program

The Everyday Mathematics program is celebrating 20 years of research and development and offering schools results unmatched by any other elementary/middle school mathematics program. This results-oriented program is the program of choice for nearly 3 million students in the United States alone. Everyday Mathematics was developed by the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP) in conjunction with feedback from education specialists, administrators, and classroom teachers to enable children in elementary grades to learn more mathematical content and become life-long mathematical thinkers. The program entails higher level thinking skills and the “Constructivist” learning approach. Students are often times engaged in hands-on learning opportunities with activities that reinforce math algorithms and problem solving processes. Everyday Mathematics is proud to introduce a program revision that offers new student components and additional technology components to support both teachers and students.

Introduction of Scott Foresman Reading Program

The Academy has selected the Scott Foresman Reading Program, which meets the objectives of the Georgia Performance Standards for English/Language Arts. Correlation references are in the Teacher’s Edition and associated Student Edition pages. Scott Foresman Reading is a comprehensive, scientifically based reading program that aligns to the five critical areas of instruction identified by Reading First: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, and Text Comprehension. Scott Foresman is proud to introduce a totally new and systematic reading program for Kindergarten through Grade 8. The goal of the program is to develop independent readers, articulate writers and speakers, and discerning listeners and viewers.

Four elements: literature, phonics, accountability, and management all link to every teacher’s number one classroom goal of reading independence for every student. Reading independence is at the heart of instruction and the heart of Scott Foresman Reading.

Introduction to Environmental Sciences

All students at Dekalb Academy of Technology and Environment learn about the natural world in their classrooms, but our highly trained faculty and staff enrich the curriculum with frequent trips into the outdoors. Our proximity to the historic Arabia Mountain, Stone Mountain, and our 8 acres of green space give us the unique opportunity to engage all of our children in the wonders surrounding the school. Each excursion into the environment is focused on enhancing and providing depth to classroom lessons. Our goal is to guide our students to become responsible stewards of the environment and to develop and appreciation for the natural world. Parents, teachers, volunteers and a Naturalist-in-Residence from the Arabia Mountain and Fern bank Museum all contribute to the success of this program, which began in 2005.

I hope that this has been helpful in summarizing what we have to offer next year. Remember, this is a limited review of the programs and procedures under way. During the beginning of school, you will have an opportunity to explore many new programs and highlights of the academy. We look forward to seeing all of you the next school year. Our aim is to ensure that your standards as well as our standards are achieved with excellence, commitment, and pride!

FOSS Science Program

The FOSS program is correlated to human cognitive development. The activities are matched to the way students think at different times in their lives. The research that guides the FOSS developers indicates that humans proceed systematically through predictable, describable years, and that students learn science best from direct experiences in which they describe, sort, and organize observations about objects and organisms. Upper elementary students construct more advanced concepts by classifying, testing, experimenting, and determining cause and effect relationships among objects, organisms, and systems.

FOSS investigations are carefully crafted to guarantee that the cognitive demands placed on students are appropriate for their cognitive abilities. Developmental appropriateness and in-depth exposure to the subject matter with multiple experiences give FOSS its “horizontal curriculum” character (numerous activities that provide a great variety of experiences at a cognitive level) as opposed to a “vertical curriculum” design (activities that attempt to take students to inappropriately complex and abstract levels of understanding). A horizontal curriculum provides challenges for all students and results in a much deeper understanding of the subject.

Focus: Technological Awareness

The focus of technology education at the elementary level is to develop a technological awareness and to reinforce learning. The school child with technology experiences shall…

• Explore how people create, use, and control technology.
• Apply knowledge in mathematics, language arts, social studies, science, health, and fine arts in solving problems associated with technology.
• Use tools and materials to explore personal interests with technology.
• Exhibit self-confidence through the use of technology.

Introduction of Technology

Dekalb Academy teachers use technology in the classroom and computer lab to implement curricula in the program of studies. By incorporating technology in lessons and units, students are motivated to solve authentic problems, learn interactively, and share their newly formed understandings. Technology education experiences at the Academy are designed to help children learn and achieve the educational goals of the total school program. These experiences orient pupils to technology, develop psychomotor skill, and provide the basis for informed attitudes about technology’s influence on society. Technology-based activities, integrated into the total school curriculum, motivate pupils and reinforce learning while pupils gain a technological awareness.

Ren Web

Ren Web is the integrated software system that allows parents and students to review current grades, attendance, and behavior reports. Teachers also have the opportunity of posting lesson plans (objectives, standards, etc.) for your review. School updates and newsletter alerts are also posted. All that is required to access this info is your current e-mail address. This is a great way to stay involved in the day to day happenings of your school.