Middle School

ALL students at the middle school level are required to take a year-long, daily English language arts class.  The class curriculum was designed by teachers and based on the identification of Priority and Supporting standards outlined in the Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for English Language Arts.  All curriculum is aligned with the four identified standard areas:

Writing

Speaking and Listening

Reading: Literature

Reading: Informational

For a description of our middle school courses, please visit the USD 497 Middle School Course Descriptions.

High School

Students are required to enroll in English in 9th, 10th, and 11th grades.  It is recommended that students take an elective(s) English language arts class in grade 12.  The curriculum for each class was designed by teachers and based on the identification of Priority and Supporting Standards outlined in the Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for English Language Arts. 

To be considered a Kansas Regents Scholar, a student must take four years of English language arts.  For more information about the Kansas Regents Scholar program, please visit Kansas Regents.  

All curriculum is aligned with the four identified standard areas:

Writing

Speaking and Listening

Reading: Literature

Reading: Informational

For a description of our high school English language arts courses, please visit USD 497 High School Course Descriptions.

District Equity Policy

Priority Standards

The term Priority Standard refers to a subset of learning standards that educators have determined to be the highest priority or most important for students to learn. Priority Standards were selected from the Kansas College and Career Ready Standards for English Language Arts at the district level by curriculum leaders and teacher leadership committees. Other standards become Supporting Standards and "these become the instructional scaffolds to help students understand and attain the more rigorous and comprehensive Priority Standards".

Choosing Priority Standards using the R.E.A.L. criteria

Larry Ainsworth on Priority Standards

Kansas Assessment Program information for Families

The Kansas Assessment Program (KAP), a program of the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE), fulfills a mandate from the Kansas Legislature. KAP provides general education assessments, alternate assessments, career and technical education assessments, and an English language proficiency assessment. Each year, students in grades 3-8 and grade 10 are assessed in English language arts and Mathematics. A science assessment is provided in grades 5, 8, and 11.

Common Formative Assessments (Larry Ainsworth)

• Aligned pre- and post-assessments within units of study
• Collaboratively designed by a grade-level or course-level team
• Administered to students by each participating teacher throughout school year
• Assess student understanding of unit learning intentions (derived from selected standards)
• Questions directly match levels of cognitive rigor of unit learning intentions
• Success criteria explicitly describe what students are to include in their responses
• Valuable feedback shows what students currently know and still need to learn
• Provide a clear lens through which teachers see their instructional impact on student learning

District Common Assessments

• Align with Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), formative assessment work (Common Formative Assessments)
• Align with the year-end Kansas State Assessments
• Measure mastery of standards
• Inform instructional adjustments