Academics » Curriculum

Curriculum

As stated in our Strategic Plan, St. Rita students will be joyful learners who endeavor to meet the academic, social, practical, and spiritual challenges of 21st-century life.  Below are a few highlights of how our curriculum is structured to meet this objective, followed by a summary of our curriculum and its purpose and philosophy.
 
  • Our Dean structure allows our Dean of Curriculum to focus on innovations in curriculum, exceeding the minimum standards set by the Diocese and inherently giving each St. Rita student an enhanced classroom curriculum.
  • Each student receives 80 minutes of ELAR (English, Reading, Spelling, Writing & Library) and Math EVERYDAY through our innovative Block Scheduling.
  • Our faculty includes one Instructional Specialist for 1st and 2nd grade and one for 3rd and 4th to focus on small group instruction. 1st through 4th grade also has a Reading Specialist on staff.  We offer a similar structure in middle school, with a dedicated math specialist and a dedicated ELAR specialist for 5th & 6th and two more for 7th & 8th.
  • Spanish is included as a regular academic subject in 7th and 8th grade.
  • All students in grades K-8 have access to class time in our Makerspace lab and our STREAM Lab.
  • Our Guidance Department includes 3 trained counselors for unparalleled student and parent support.
  • Our middle school students may choose to work toward an Honors certificate in Language Arts or Math.
  • Qualifying middle school students may take part in our Advanced Academics Program. 
  • Our extensive elective offerings allow our middle school exposure to a variety of subjects of interest to them, and our block scheduling means that our students are able to experience 8 electives over the course of a year. For a list of examples of electives currently being offered in various quarters this year, please CLICK HERE.
  • Our faculty includes three teachers for LOTE (Languages other than English) instruction allowing us to offer electives in different languages in addition to Spanish such as Mandarin, Latin, French, and World Languages.
 
For specific questions on our Curriculum, please contact our Dean of Curriculum, Mrs. Sue Hazzard, at [email protected]