Catholic Schools Week provides an opportunity to highlight the academics of the schools in our Diocese and the academic progress they are all making.
Catholic schools offering adaptive and intervention-based learning
“We need to highlight how all our schools strive to create an environment for learning and achievement,” said Karen Rolston, Assistant Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Allentown. “Our culture is based on the student, and we focus on the whole child.” The goal of the schools within the Diocese is to help students with their emotional, psychological, and spiritual well-being while also helping them perform academically.
With each school aiming to help create a well-rounded student, the schools work to assist students beyond their K-12 schooling and to prepare all students of high school age for college. Within these goals, schools are working on intervention-based tools to assist students in areas in which they might struggle or underperform.
To plan these interventions, the diocesan schools have been using STAR testing, which is an innovative form of testing to determine where students are both excelling and struggling.
“We use that information to help guide us as to what curriculums should be put in place so that students have the ability to succeed in whatever it is that they choose to do once they leave our building,” said Rolston.
All the schools have seen progress with the implementation of this testing, with one of the most impressive being Holy Infancy School, Bethlehem. This STAR testing helps identify students’ strengths and challenges, and educators use this data to adapt the curriculum. This ensures that every student receives personalized instruction to maximize their academic growth and success.
In addition to this type of adaptive curriculum, the Diocese also offers the Aquinas Program to assist students who have learning differences and may need additional support.
The Aquinas Program is offered in elementary and high schools across the Diocese: St. Anne School, Bethlehem; St. John Vianney Regional School, Allentown; Good Shepherd Catholic School, Northampton; Notre Dame High School, Easton; and Berks Catholic High School, Reading.
Catholic schools offering innovative STEM programs
Beyond this innovative and predictive intervention-based learning, the Diocese is also expanding its STEM programs.
“All the elementary schools in the Diocese are creating a STEM lab and science labs,” said Rolston. “[The elementary STEM labs] are all starting this fall, so we're expecting the goal is to not just meet what the state standards are, but to go beyond it.”
With this level of academic rigor, Rolston stated that the hope is to not only help the student until they are 18, but to set them up for success even after they graduate from a diocesan school.
Several schools already have STEM labs, many of which are elementary schools. “Notre Dame of Bethlehem has an outstanding STEM program, and their students have earned many science awards,” said Rolston. In addition to these elementary schools, at the high school level, Bethlehem Catholic High School has a STEM program that has recently participated in the Science as a Path to Wonder Workshop presented by the Collegium Institute held through University of Pennsylvania.
Catholic schools foster a love for science, literacy, and collaboration
While STEM is an excellent way for students to develop their skills, schools like Immaculate Conception Academy, Douglassville are motivating sixth grade students to participate in science fairs. Through this collaborative event, students were broken into two groups based on their interests: one focused on earth science and the other on rocketry.
“These students have collaborated over the past few months to design experiments and document findings, and to meet project deadlines. They’ve navigated the challenges of group work, including balancing commitments, making concessions, and holding one another responsible," said Debra Petras, Advancement Director at Immaculate Conception Academy.
Outside of the science fairs, students are encouraged in their literacy skills as well. To foster a love for reading, schools are trying creative approaches to help students find what they like to read. Holy Guardian Angels Regional School, Reading, for example, recently purchased a book vending machine for students to use as an incentive-based program.
It is important to highlight during Catholic Schools Week that, above all, the diocesan schools work to also develop the students spiritually in the Catholic faith, which is something that only the diocesan schools are capable of. All this progress allows for strong academic rigor complemented by faith-based learning.
We are teaching the whole person,” said Rolston. “So, as far as their mental health and spirituality, they will have faith to help them through life and will have different strategies for overcoming obstacles—both because of our expectations and because of our faith development.”
Photo: Facebook, Book Vending Machine, Holy Guardian Angels Regional School, Reading.
Be Jennifer Russell
