Curriculum & Course Information
Curriculum, Defined.
In Elkhart Community Schools, curriculum is defined as the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to be taught and learned. The curriculum is the substance of what is taught, written, and assessed.
 How Our Curriculum is Developed
Elkhart Community Schools has a long and excellent history of curricular development and revision accomplished by its own instructional staff, administrators, and parents working together with subject area specialists in the Curriculum and Instruction department. Following the Indiana Instructional Materials Adoption Cycle, curricular revision committees meet on a perpetual calendar to align instruction with the Indiana Academic Standards, research instructional best practices, and update the content and supporting materials used by teachers and students in every ECS classroom.
Beginning in 2007, the electronic data portal was made available to ECS teachers and principals enabling each to view composite performance data regarding standardized assessments and local assessments. Data provided to teachers on their classroom portal is updated every 24 hours.
Instructional Materials Adoption Cycle
Online Curriculum Guides
Graduation Requirements
Middle School Academic Requirements
Advanced Placement Courses
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How do teachers teach the curriculum?
A. How teachers teach differs from school to school and from classroom to classroom in order to meet the needs of all our students. What teachers teach will be the same across all of our schools and at each grade level.
Q. How will I know how my child is performing?
A. Student learning is tested or assessed in a variety of ways, by each teacher and by the school corporation. You can receive information on your child's progress by talking with your child and by looking at the schoolwork she/he brings home. Parent/teacher conferences also provide opportunities to discuss your student's academic performance. In addition, report cards are distributed a minimum of four times each academic year to all students' parents or guardians.
Q. How will I know ECS is really doing a good job helping my child learn?
A. We use standardized tests as part of Indiana's statewide academic assessments (GQE and ISTEP+) and by our own local decision to monitor student progress (NWEA). GQE and ISTEP+ tests are aligned with the Indiana Academic Standards. ISTEP+ results in the categories "pass" and "pass+" indicate adequate knowledge comprehension and skills acquisition matched to the grade-level Indiana Academic Standards in each subject tested (currently reading, language arts, and math). The ISTEP+ is taken by students in grades three through 8. End-of-course-assessments in algebra I and English 10 serve as the Graduate Qualifying Exam (GQE).
Contact Us
For more information, contact the ECS Curriculum and Instruction department.
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