General Curriculum Information

Because of our school’s emphasis on appropriating academic time for achieving and exceeding state academic curricular standards, the expectation of the students is to master and exceed district and state standards in each curricular area. All Liberty’ School’s curriculum is aligned with the district curriculum and the Arizona State Standards. Grade level packets of the aligned standards are shared and discussed with parents at Curriculum Night each fall.

MATHEMATICS--Mathematics is taught daily and receives a great deal of emphasis. The program uses oral drill, written practice sheets and stresses memorization of math facts. Metric and modern math terms are included.

LITERATURE AND PHONICS--Literature and phonics are a daily part of the curriculum. The literature program has a strong phonics base, emphasized by a daily written and oral drill. Literature selections include classics and literature sets with wholesome ideals. The Writing Road to Reading is the text used for the Spalding Method phonics program.

PENMANSHIP--A standardized handwriting program is taught in grades K - 8, with cursive writing introduced no later than third grade, based on the child's ability. Neatness and legibility of penmanship are stressed through daily drill. To prepare students for filling out forms, an annual review of printing is conducted. The Writing Road to Reading is the text for handwriting.

SPELLING--The Spalding Method, a solid phonetics-based program, which consistently teaches spelling rules, is part of the language arts curriculum. Spelling is also emphasized in daily writing.

RECITATIONS--Each student in grades 1 - 8 will memorize and recite for the teacher, one selection of either prose or poetry at least once a grading period.

ENGLISH and COMPOSITION--The English program includes daily practice and drill in fundamental grammar and its rules and usage. Each Liberty student is expected to be able to express himself in a grammatically correct manner that emphasizes clarity of thought and preciseness in spelling and penmanship. A variety of writing experience is provided at each grade level including creative writing and poetry.

SOCIAL STUDIES—the social studies curriculum emphasizes the study of geography and history, but also includes the study of civics and economics as they fit into the curriculum. Memorization of important geographic and historical data is required. Current events are also presented.

SCIENCE--The science program includes physical, biological and earth sciences. Physical and Life sciences are taught in the seventh and eighth grade program.

HEALTH/SAFETY--Emphasis is on good health habits, nutrition, general safety rules, and first-aid.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION--Each child in grades 1-8 participates in a structured physical education program unless excused for medical reasons. The physical education program is designed to teach your child important physical skill development that will carry over in day-to-day life and help promote good health.

ART--Art appreciation is part of the basic program. Art is used to emphasize holidays and seasons and where appropriate is incorporated into other areas of study. Art activities are kept to a minimum and emphasize traditional art concepts. In grades K-5, Art is organized by our Volunteer Art Moms.

MUSIC--A structured general music and music appreciation program is taught in grades 1-5. Students in grades 6-8 will have the opportunity to sign up for band or chorus.

EXTRA READING AND BOOK REPORTS

We encourage our children to read every day for the pleasure of reading. We believe that it is reasonable to expect that all of our students will be able to read at least 25 age-appropriate books throughout the course of the school year, in addition to the books read as part of the instructional program. Students in grades 3 through 6 are required to write one major book report per 9-week grading period. Students in grades 7 and 8 are required to write two major book reports per year.                                                               

FIELD TRIPS

Depending on available funds and LAC advisement, each grade level will have the option of one academic bus field trip per year and one academic walking trip per year.

SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES

The goal of the special education program is to promote

 the development and implementation of quality education for children with disabilities.

Liberty Traditional School has special education services for students with learning disabilities or speech and language impairments. Full speech and language services are provided. In keeping with our traditional school philosophy, resource pullouts for students are kept to a minimum with teaching staff implementing individualized strategies in the regular classroom. All assessments for special education are done only after parental permission is given.

Testing is provided to identify students for Gifted and Talented programs per parental request. Liberty provides accelerated curriculum for all students. It is the parent’s responsibility to provide additional enrichment activities for their students. The teacher will assist by making suggestions and keeping the parent informed of the curriculum. The weight of responsibility falls on the parent and student.

Learning at Home

HOMEWORK POLICY

Homework is a central theme at Liberty Traditional School. It has three major purposes:

To teach personal responsibility and time management skills.

To provide additional review and reinforcement of skills and concepts taught at school.

To keep parents informed about what their children are studying.

Parent responsibilities concerning homework are as follows:

To provide a time and a place free from distraction for homework.

To sign the daily homework planners or papers, whether completed or not, review the child's work and provide encouragement. If homework is not complete, please provide a short written explanation with the signature.

To communicate with the teacher if a problem occurs.

Below is the minimum as well as the maximum time guidelines for homework for which parents should plan. The appropriate times by grade level are as follows:

                                    Minimum                     Maximum

            Kdg.                10 minutes                   15 minutes

            1st                   15 minutes                   30 minutes

             2nd                  20 minutes                   45 minutes

             3rd                   30 minutes                   60 minutes

             4th                   30 minutes                   75 minutes

             5th                   30 minutes                   90 minutes

             6th                   30 minutes                   90 minutes

             7th                   45 minutes                   90 minutes

             8th                  45 minutes                   90 minutes                           

Parents should insist that the students dedicate at least the minimum amount of time to some academic study at home. Reading is the recommended activity for that time if the homework from school is not enough to take up the minimum amount of time.

Parents should also teach their children that if they do not finish their daily work in class that unfinished class work is in addition to the actual homework and is not a part of the actual homework time. Therefore, reports, projects and unfinished daily work could account for some students spending more than the maximum amount of time stated, including weekends. Regular school attendance and the student’s personal responsibility will ensure that this does not happen often.

All students, K - 8, receive homework four nights per week, Monday through Thursday. Homework will be directly related to the daily instruction. Daily work and or make-up work not completed is not considered homework but must be completed by the next day. Standards of neatness and accuracy are to be maintained regardless of the subject matter area.

Students should be taught regularly that they are responsible for their homework. Students who have problems with incomplete homework may be referred for disciplinary action.

All students are expected to read out loud or be read to for a minimum of 10 minutes each night as part of their homework time.

Missing Work Policy for Grades 6 – 8

Students who fail to turn in an assignment on time will automatically receive a BIP. (Teachers may decide not to give this BIP if the student has a signed note from the parent or if the missing work is due to an excused absence.)
 

Students who receive a BIP for a missing assignment are still required to complete the work.
 

The student then has one school day to turn in the missing assignment and will receive no more than half credit for it.
 

Any missing assignment turned in after that time will receive NO credit.
 

Teachers may alter this late work policy for specific assignments if they wish.

Assignment Headings for Grades 6 – 8

In every class, students will put the following heading on ALL assignments:

In designated upper corner:   First and Last Name

                                          Date

                                          Period

                                          Subject

Centered on first line: Assignment Title including page number