Welcome to the Office of

Curriculum & Instruction

Welcome to the Office of Curriculum and Instruction. It is a priority of the Oneonta City School District to ensure that our students receive meaningful instruction and challenging learning experiences from Kindergarten through 12th grade through alignment with the NY State Next Generation Learning Standards. Yes, New York is transitioning away from Common Core but not entirely abandoning them. For more information on the Next Generation English Language Arts, Science, and Mathematics Learning Standards please visit the several links provided. Also, please find information links for the amended learning standards in the Arts. 

It is our mission to graduate students prepared for whatever their “next” is. To accomplish this, we must create educational environments that are conducive to teaching and to learning. Effective teaching depends on challenging curriculum, responsive instruction and informative assessment. Below is an overview of how the Oneonta City School District seeks to provide the building blocks for successful learning.

The Oneonta City School District provides a rich and varied curriculum. The current K-12 core curriculum is derived from the New York State Education Department standards in mathematics, English Language Arts, social studies, foreign language, the arts, technology and physical education. The Regents core is expanded at the secondary level with advanced and Advanced Placement opportunities at the high school combined with a tremendous variety of elective offerings. In addition to the substantial core curriculum we include a variety of other programs, such as: award winning instrumental and vocal music, interscholastic sports, foreign language beginning in the middle school, and a variety of elective and exploratory courses in the high school.

Our teachers incorporate a host of instructional strategies in order to bring our curriculum to every student in ways that are meaningful to them. As such, our instructional approach is flexible enough to respond to the needs of children who learn in different ways. Making instruction relevant to our students is vital. Approaching instruction in a manner that addresses differences in students’ prior knowledge, personal interests and their strengths and weaknesses is our quest. The Oneonta City School District provides a robust special education program and academic support services. We also provide targeted instructional support in key skill areas such as reading and writing.

We are committed to developing a wide range of instructional techniques and incorporating both existing and emerging technologies as appropriate to address the needs of all students. Collaborative student support teams in our three elementary schools, our middle school, and our CORE Team in the high school routinely collaborate and discuss students and how best to meet their needs both academically, socially, and behaviorally. These collective opportunities along with departmental, faculty, and curricular meetings contribute to making instruction as well as our District’s entire product responsive to the varied needs and interests of all students.

New York State requires that we formally assess our students in third through twelfth grade. The assessments include: ELA and math assessments (grades 3-8), science (4th and 8th) and Regents exams (at the secondary level). Advanced Placement tests are taken mostly by students who participate in AP courses, and most students take either the SAT or ACT (or both) as part of the college application process. In addition to these assessments, teachers  monitor students informally, as part of routine instructional practices. In reality, it is these more routine and frequent assessment opportunities that are used during instruction that inform teachers and provides them with what they need to best meet the needs of their students.

We will continue to research, review, and revamp our instructional product so that we can best serve our students and do our part to make their “next” as fulfilling as possible.