By LINDA KELLETT

C-S-E News Staff

ST. JOHNSVILLE — Starting this year, St. Johnsville students will be getting more instruction in the three R’s — reading and ‘riting and ‘rithmetic — as the state’s mandate pertaining to the adoption of the Common Core Curriculum kicks in.

That’s according to school administrators, who have been working with teachers far in advance of the anticipated change in order to prepare them for the accompanying new standards and assessments.

In a message that appears on the district website, http://sjcsd.org, D.H. Robbins Principal Christopher Fatta noted that the common core curriculum and “data-driven instruction” — based on lots of tests — “are designed to improve student learning.”

He wrote, “The common core also requires teachers to make some changes in the curriculum, such as math becoming more focused on concepts and English Language Arts using more informational text, such as science or historical documents (non-fiction) and less literature based text (fictional documents).”

At the junior and senior high school level, Principal Greg Sova last week said the change involves “taking the curriculum and narrowing it down to its finest points for mastery. It will be done with teams,” which include other teachers, building principals and the superintendent.

He said students will also help other students. “Students who pick up the material quickly will work with other students,” Sova said.

Additionally, each and every teacher will be providing instruction for English Language Arts and math. There will still be specialized instruction, he said, but it will dovetail with what’s being taught in other classes.

For example, the tech teacher will continue to work on projects, but in his lesson plan, he’ll be working on vocabulary words, using measurements,” formulas and the like introduced in other classes.

In essence, it’s a multi-disciplinary approach to learning.

Sova said in addition to changes in the curriculum, Regents exams and ELA and math assessments will also be changing. “That’s another concern for teachers. They also have the [state-mandated] Annual Professional Performance Plan,” which is tied to their students’ performance on those tests, Sova said.

Sova noted the curriculum adjustments will not have an impact on course offerings, which are essentially the same as last year. The district is still offering advanced placement courses in English, U.S. history and biology; and new distance learning offerings continue to grow. He said seven classes are now offered in that forum.

The common core modifications are less likely to warrant the attention of students than a hike in the cost of student meals.

At the D.H. Robbins School, Fatta noted student breakfasts are $1.00, lunch is $1.60, milk is still $.50, and reduced breakfast and lunch prices are still 25 cents each.

Another change is the district’s contract with the Fort Plain School District to provide transportation services.

Fatta wrote, “Our school district is contracting most of our transportation services with [Fort Plain], so do not be surprised when you see different buses and drivers this year; pick-up and drop-times should remain consistent with last year’s schedule.”

An additional district-wide change is the implementation of revised, age-appropriate codes of conduct drawn up in accordance with the state’s Dignity for All Students Act.

Fatta said the act is “designed to increase respect and tolerance among students.”

As noted on the state Education Department website, www.p12.nysed.gov, the act “seeks to provide the [s]tate’s public elementary and secondary school students with a safe and supportive environment free from discrimination, intimidation, taunting, harassment, and bullying on school property, a school bus and/or at a school function.”

The act also addresses cyber-bullying, and each schools’ code of conduct clearly spells out consequences of violations.

Sova noted that it’s going to be a “year of change” for everyone; however, “when we see the students’ smiling faces, it’ll calm everybody — because we’re doing it for them.”