Curriculum
Sara Ortiz, Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Learning
Ann Dadich, Secretary
Phone: 516-237-2010
Address:
2400 Jericho Turnpike, Garden City Park, NY 11040
Mineola's Curriculum
#KnowTheWhy
In 2017, the Mineola Union Free School District conducted a systematic curriculum review to determine the effect rapid technological advances would have on K-12 school systems. Superintendent, Dr. Michael Nagler was determined that any new curriculum would include the following:
- Alignment to NYS Learning Standards
- Allow students to “own the learning” through more opportunities for learner choice in the way they demonstrated their understanding and the path in which they take to get there
- The ability to share any district designed curriculum or resource with other K-12 systems
- Reinforce systems of thinking and problem solving
- Instill the belief that learning is a life-long process
The Integrated Curriculum
Mineola UFSD uses an interdisciplinary approach to delivering high-quality curriculum to all learners. The Integrated Curriculum (K-7) is complex, vibrant and nuanced. To promote an equitable and excellent learning experience the Integrated Curriculum incorporates elements of design thinking, advanced literacy, and multiculturalism. To truly embody the Mineola’s mission and to further inspire students to make a difference, Mineola’s units of study focus on essential questions, incorporate learner choice, and provide enrichment opportunities that align to and extend the Next Generation ELA and Science Standards as well as the NYS Social Studies Framework standards.
Mineola’s Integrated Curriculum cultivates knowledge by integrating the content areas of History, Science, Geography and English Language Arts. These four major areas of study coalesce under a theme-based conceptual umbrella guided by essential questions such as ‘How is one’s story shaped by his/her culture and geography?’ Learners consider the essential question throughout the units via articles, literature, various texts that promote diverse perspectives and multimedia from a variety of disciplines. Learners explore and experience content as it comes to life through coding, outdoor learning opportunities, STEM related activities, and interest-based learning tasks. All of these opportunities allow learners to demonstrate their knowledge in a myriad of ways, and provide learners with agency, choice and self-determination.
Deliberate to the design of Mineola's Integrated Curriculum are opportunities for Mineola's learners to engage in the 21st Century learning skills, the 4 C's (critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication) throughout each unit. Units culminate with a demonstration of understanding in creative ways through an Application of Knowledge Assessment. These performance-based assessments ignite excitement and passion in Mineola’s learners as they employ design thinking, become active participants in a diverse democracy, solve real-world problems, and act as agents of change. Learners as young as 5 are taught that they, too, have a voice and that their voice is important in affecting change.
Curricula Designed by Educational Publishers
Mineola uses several curricula designed by educational publishers as well as our Integrated Curriculum. Much learning requires systematic and explicit instruction for specific skill development (i.e. decoding or mathematics) and Mineola has vetted the many available options to find the best fits for our learners and community. Mineola uses a committee approach to selecting curricula wherein faculty and administrators work together to research evidenced-based curriculum and develop an implementation plan with training prior to roll out. These curricula are highlighted in the Curriculum Charts and examples are listed below.
- Literacy: Heggerty, Fundations, Geodes, Lectoesritura (DL only)
- Mathematics: Math Expressions
- Science: Knowing Science