"Great Expectations...

                                                                                             The Best Is Yet To Come!"

In 2001, the North Allegheny School Board approved twelve recommendations for the Communication Arts/English Curriculum grades K-12.   After more than three years of study and research, involving more than fifty teachers, the curriculum was developed in alignment with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s eight Academic Standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening.  Included within the recommendations was the adoption of a balanced framework for consistent literacy instruction in grades 6-7.

The sixth and seventh grade curriculums are based on two elements,  a literature-based textbook and novel study.  Holt, Reinhart and Winston's, Elements of Literature is the text used in the sixth grade.  The seventh grade uses Adventures for Readers also by Holt, Reinhart and Winston. Anecdotes, stories, and media provide the motivation for learning and have  helped establish the literary framework of this series.  The student-centered approach makes this literature meaningful to students and relevant to their lives and experiences.  The sixth grade series also features a web site that students can  use to discover more about the selections in the text  by going to Holt, Reinhart and Winston and entering the keyword: LEO 6-1. 

Novel study comprises the second component of the middle school curriculum.  Teachers can  select from a wide variety of novels centered around the theme of "Survival". Novels are read both inside and outside the classroom with skill and enrichment work available to supplement the reading.  

A Reading Specialist is available in each middle school building to support any identified students.   Teachers, parents, or students themselves may seek an assessment of a student’s reading ability.  Data collected usually includes classroom performance, curriculum-based assessments, standardized testing results, and diagnostic inventories. Remedial reading classes are taught by the Reading Specialists.  Students experiencing difficulties are given the opportunity to improve reading and study skills in a small group setting.