Since 1823 Foxcroft Academy’s mission has been to prepare all students for “the great duties of life”; preparation for productive participation in the globalized 21st century economy will also require some form of post-secondary education for the majority of our students. To that end, the Academy’s goal is to provide all students with the academic background necessary for success in post-secondary education. While some students may choose not to go to college, our commitment is to create a system of learning so that every Foxcroft Academy student will have the option to do so. Since its development in the late 1990’s and implementation in 2000 for the graduating class of 2004, the Academy’s standards-based curriculum and grading system has continued the tradition of preparing students for life-long learning and success.

Standards

Within modern curriculum design, standards are descriptors of the core concepts and skills that students are expected to learn within a particular course or subject area. By identifying a standardized set of concepts and skills within courses, the educational experience becomes more consistent, and teachers can provide more detailed diagnostic feedback on student learning. Although it is true to some degree that schools and teachers have always had standards, they may not have always articulated them openly or consistently. Foxcroft Academy, like many other schools around the state, nation, and globe, uses a standards-based curriculum to accomplish several goals:

• To articulate clearly and in detail our expectations on what students must learn
• To provide detailed diagnostic feedback on student learning
• To ensure a basic understanding of core concepts and skills
• To coordinate consistent and effective implementation of the curriculum

Expectations

Articulated standards improve our curriculum by defining the specific content knowledge and skills that must be learned in various subject areas and courses. Another important aspect of our standards-based curriculum is to provide clear descriptions of how students will demonstrate their knowledge and what grade will be earned for different performance levels. Rubric documents are a critical component of standards-based assessment, and provide students with detailed information on what the teacher expects students to be able to do in order to earn a particular grade. Rubrics help students to reach their goals, and also help teachers to provide consistent and detailed feedback for complex assessments that measure student understanding of multiple standards.

Foxcroft Academy expects that students will demonstrate advanced understanding (B- or above) of the majority of the standards in our curriculum. Our curriculum allows for a small number of standards to be understood at the basic level (C- or above). However, because individual standards are, by definition, critical pieces of knowledge and skill, students do not receive credit for completing their coursework if any individual standard is unsatisfactorily understood (D or below). Students must meet performance expectations for standards across mandatory courses in English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Fine Arts, Physical Education, Health, and Computer Science. Students must also meet performance expectations for standards in their elective courses.

Flexibility

Foxcroft Academy recognizes that different students have different academic interests and skills. Mandatory courses, as well as some elective courses, are offered at various levels of study ranging from Advanced Placement to Applied / General. Students are not tracked, and may choose different levels of study for different courses depending upon their interests and skills. Our curriculum also provides support for students who, for one reason or another, find it difficult to demonstrate the expected level of understanding within a course that addresses mandatory standards. Academic support structures include opportunities for replacement assessments, scheduled study halls, the daily conference period, academic support periods, standards completion courses, and make-up courses.