2016-2017
f ox c hapel a rea s chool d istrict s tate of the s chools
New Curriculum Designed
to Maximize Learning
B
ecause the needs of students are constantly changing, the Fox Chapel Area
School District curriculum is reviewed and revised on a regular basis. In recent
years, the areas of English Language Arts (ELA), math, science, and the gifted
curriculum have all had major revisions. In 2016-2017 new elementary ELA and
STEAM curricula were approved and are being implemented during the 2017-
2018 school year. A new ELA curriculum was implemented for sixth graders in
2016-2017 and was piloted for seventh and eighth grade during that same school
year. It is being fully implemented during the 2017-2018 school year.
Math Lab Allows Students to Dive Deeper
into Math Concepts
Math Lab was added to the math course curriculum to enhance student
learning as part of the high school’s Algebra I course. It is a two-day a
week, half-credit course that is taken simultaneously with algebra in a lab
environment and is a hands-on way of learning algebraic concepts.
Th e curriculum runs parallel to the Algebra I course, according to math teacher
Justin Guadagni. “But we narrow the scope and dive deeper into topics at a more
conceptual and applicable level,” he said. Th e format “is purely a collaborative
environment with each student in the group playing a specifi c role. Th ey
experience one rich task each day to complete in their group and have one to two
refl ection prompts to respond to for homework.”
Capstones Encourage Students to Th ink Critically
and Solve Challenges
Th e elementary gifted program is designed to enrich the studies of gifted and high-
performing learners. During the 2016-2017 school year, the district implemented
a new gifted curriculum divided into three capstone experiences that provides
students with a cross-curricular, project-based approach to learning.
Each of the three capstones encourages students to connect their projects to
real-world issues or problems, according to Ashley Nestor, Ed.D., executive
director of elementary education and instruction. Th e fi rst is the ELA-based
creative connections and participants wrote and published their own books.
Th e second is innovative inquiry in which students worked on a series of design
challenges. Th e third is the math-based application avenue in which students
worked on a stock market
challenge or data analysis
project. Each multifaceted
assignment was designed
to encourage students
to think critically, solve
challenging problems, and
develop 21 st century skills
such as thinking fl exibly,
creating and innovating,
persisting, and working
collaboratively.
24 Fox Chapel Area