Curriculum and Instruction
 Teachers work collaboratively to review standards.
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Dr. Susan Davis, Director of Elementary Schools
Mr. Patrick Franklin, Assistant Superintendent
Habersham County Schools' Curriculum Department focuses on the system mission of Success for ALL Students. Our department supports our school staff as they deliver a rigorous curriculum based on current research and which responds to data collected and analyzed in our system. We combine efforts with our teachers and administrators to provide training based on their needs. We believe that teachers are the inventors of work that engages students and that the teacher is the the most powerful force in student learning. Habersham County's K-12 curriculum is based on the Georgia Standards of Excellence.
Literacy
The English Language Arts Curriculum is a process designed to introduce students to core concepts that are further developed and expanded as students progress through each grade level. This process allows students to develop the skills necessary to: 1) comprehend and interpret texts, including written as well as audio and visual texts; 2) compose a variety of types of texts, including those critical to the workplace; 3) effectively communicate and interact with others in group situations; and 4) effectively communicate information through different modes of presentation. The English Language Arts curriculum integrates the processes of reading, writing, and listening/speaking/viewing in order to help students effectively communicate and interpret information in a variety of modes. Habersham County uses a balanced literacy framework that begins with strong instruction with clear, precise language that models for students what will be expected of them with the use of exemplars of product and process, including mentor text, use of technology, etc. Students benefit from work in both reading and writing that is MODELED & SHARED first!
Click Here for English Language Arts Georgia Standards of Excellence.
Please see our Instructional Frameworks on the Documents page.
Please see our word lists on the Documents page.
Mathematics (Elementary)
The Georgia Mathematics Curriculum focuses on actively engaging the students in the development of mathematical understanding by using manipulatives and a variety of representations, working independently and cooperatively to solve problems, estimating and computing efficiently, and conducting investigations and recording findings. Students will apply mathematics concepts and skills in the context of authentic problems problems and for the students to understand concepts rather than merely follow a sequence of procedures. In mathematics classrooms, students will learn to think critically in a mathematical way with an understanding that there are many different ways to a solution and sometimes more than one right answer in applied mathematics. Georgia Standards of Excellence place a greater emphasis on problem solving, reasoning, representation, connections, and communication.
English Language Arts (Secondary)
Literacy in the 21st century has been redefined as our ever-changing and rapidly-advancing culture meets the challenge to define college and career readiness. Suddenly, the skills and understandings students are expected to demonstrate in English Language Arts have wide applicability outside the classroom or workplace. Students who meet the new Georgia Standards of Excellence actively engage in the close, critical reading that is at the heart of understanding and enjoying complex works of literature in digital and print media. Students who meet these challenging standards develop skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening which become the foundation for creative and purposeful communication.
Graduation Requirements
New graduation requirements were adopted for students who entered ninth grade during the fall of 2008-2009 and thereafter. All current ninth graders will complete the same requirements to earn a regular diploma. The expectation is for all students to have the same rigorous content that will lead to better preparation for post-secondary/college and career readiness. All students will choose both academic and career tech courses that can include Advanced Placement, dual enrollment, joint enrollment, industry certification and courses leading to pathway completion in technical/career areas, visual art, theatre, music, and/or journalism.
New Requirements:
4 units of English, Mathematics, and Science*; (4th science unit can be used to meet career pathway requirements)
3 units of Social Studies (4 for Habersham County students);
3 CTAE and/or Modern Language/Latin and/or Fine Arts;
1 Health/PE;
4 elective units (8 for Habersham County students);
23 Total Units Required (27 for Habersham County)
*Students who enrolled in 9th grade prior to 2008-09 will follow previous graduation requirement rules.
Testing
Habersham County administers all state-mandated assessments.