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Norfolk’s Catholic schools use new teaching approach

The four Catholic schools in Norfolk have launched a pilot project to strengthen the educational experience of every student through differentiated instruction, a teaching approach based on the principles of gifted and talented education.

The project begins this fall at the four Catholic elementary schools: Christ the King, Holy Trinity, Saint Patrick School, and Saint Pius X.

These schools enroll approximately 1,200 students. During the 2008-09 school year, differentiated instruction will be incorporated into the social studies curriculum of all grade levels.

In the following school year, the program will be expanded to include the science and religion curricula.

The goal of this initiative is to help students reach their academic potential by providing classroom instruction that recognizes each student’s academic readiness, background knowledge, learning style, talents, and interests. Differentiated instruction, which is the basis for most gifted and talented programs, places the student at the center of the learning process and tailors instruction to address each student’s individual needs.

“Our mandate as Catholic educators is to teach as Jesus taught. With our focus on this vision, our goal is to have classrooms that reflect a child-centered environment,” said Miriam Cotton, Assistant Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Richmond.

“Ultimately, our goal is to apply best practices in order to maximize the learning power of our students.”

At the beginning of each new unit of studies, teachers will survey each student to determine his or her understanding of social studies content and interest in various learning activities.

Teachers will use these student assessments to plan content, presentation of information, learning activities, and other aspects of the social studies curriculum. They may use whole-class, small-group, and individual instruction, as well as student-choice activities, to provide each child with the best pathway to learning.

“A classroom where learners are provided with equal opportunity to learn, but are not expected to learn the same curriculum in the same way at the same time exemplifies an effectively differentiated classroom,” said Dr. Deborah Alberti, who serves as an educational consultant on this project.

The schools have collaborated on every aspect of the project, with organizational support from the Diocese of Richmond’s Office of Catholic Schools and the Mid-Atlantic Catholic Schools Consortium (MACSC) and financial support from The Raskob Foundation for Catholic Activities.

“This innovative partnership between the diocesan and private Catholic schools in Norfolk will serve as an inspiration and a model for Catholic schools throughout the diocese and the region,” said Mary Ellen Hrutka, Executive Director of the MACSC.

Working together, the four schools conducted a teacher training program during the summer. In June 2008, a team of eight teachers (two from each school) attended the Summer Institute held by the Center for Gifted Education at the College of William and Mary.

These teachers now serve as resource personnel for all four schools and as founding members of a planned network of gifted and talented teachers in the Norfolk Catholic schools.

On August 18, more than 100 teachers and administrators from the schools participated in a city-wide professional development conference, which introduced the pilot project and prepared teachers to implement differentiated instruction in their classrooms.

Following this conference, each school held a follow-up training session for its teachers during the in-service week.

“Providing an effective support system for our teachers is a commitment of everyone involved in this project,” Ms. Cotton said.

“This project will be an ongoing initiative having an outcome of building the expertise of teachers so that they will become trainers for other teachers.”

The evaluation of the project’s pilot year will inform the plans for subsequent years, including program design, funding, and evaluation.

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