Tatum ISD Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
Tatum Independent School District guarantees “Excellence" by developing a comprehensive educational program with a wide range of academic and elective courses beginning at the pre-kindergarten/primary level and continuing through to high school. Tatum ISD is committed to developing its own curriculum, instruction and assessments to ensure that every child is successful. The intent of our district’s curriculum is to accomplish the following:
· Relevant and engaging academic experiences,
· Rigorous assessments that are aligned to the state standards,
· Targeted interventions when children fail to learn,
· Creative and meaningful extension opportunities that prepare all children for a college / career future.
Once per 6 weeks our teachers administer common assessments to gauge mastery of learning standards that were taught during the 6 week period. For students who excel, enrichment opportunities are offered. When students fail to learn, our teachers create prescriptive supports to help struggling students learn.
Tatum ISD Career and Technical Education Program (CTE)
Preparing every child for their future begins now. At Tatum ISD, “Every Child Matters and Every Day Counts”. Our job is to offer every student a wide variety of courses and endorsement pathways that will help them reach their college or career potential. We are very excited to report that in our first year of implementing House Bill 5, THS offers all 5 endorsement pathways.
· Business and Industry
· Health Science
· Public Service
· Multi-Disciplinary
· STEM
In every CTE course that is taught, the goal is to prepare every student for a CTE certification, post-secondary coursework or a career in a workforce area of demand. With partnerships with Kilgore College and other higher education institutions, THS students have a program that will prepare them for life.
Tatum ISD Gifted and Talented Program (G/T)
Tatum ISD provides a well-balanced Gifted and Talented curriculum to all students. Identification of G/T students begins in the spring of a child’s kindergarten education and is continued throughout the senior year. Students are nominated either by a parent, educator or the student themselves. The student’s abilities are assessed through formal and informal instruments to determine eligibility.
Tatum ISD English as a Second Language (ESL)
Tatum Independent School District prides itself in the rich diversity of its student body. Students who speak a language other than English are identified for services and receive language acquisition supports on a daily basis. In grades PK-5, students receive supports in a pull-out setting. In grades 6-8, students receive supports in their English classroom, and in high school, students receive supports through an elective class. The success of students in the ESL program is measured through two of the following measures:
· TELPAS – Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System
· STAAR – State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness
· OLPT – Oral Language Proficiency Test
· iStation – Reading assessment in grades K-2
The exit criteria requires Limited English Proficient (LEP) students to score fluently in the English language in 4 areas:
· Listening
· Speaking
· Reading
· Writing
The goal is for all ESL students to gain the necessary skills to exit the ESL program after 3 years of support from Tatum ISD.