Curriculum & Instruction
Cherokee County Schools is committed to excellence in our schools and classrooms. We believe that in every classroom there should be a highly effective teacher and high expectations set for every student from Kindergarten to 12th Grade. The district curriculum offers a balance of educational experiences designed to positively impact all students' interests and academic progress based on NC state standards. Cherokee County Schools strive to provide programs of excellence to meet the needs of a diverse student population. Enrichment opportunities abound for all students.
Cherokee County Schools Curriculum and Instruction
Mrs. Ruby Cutshaw
Director Curriculum & Instruction, Instructional Support
(828) 837-2722 ext. 2430
Instructional Support Team
Holly McKellar, K - 2 Literacy Instructional Coach
Mary White, 3 - 12 Instructional Coach
Jenna West, K - 12 Instructional Coach
Michelle Marr, NCDPI Early Literacy Specialist
Melissa Reid, AIG Support Coach
Cherokee County Schools follow the North Carolina State Curriculum and Standard Course of Study to meet the needs of students and to prepare them for 21st Century skills. The North Carolina Course of Study requirements consists of the Occupational, Career Prep, College Tech Prep, and College/University Prep Courses of Study. These represent a compilation of programs of study and essential knowledge and skills for each content area.
Instructional Design: Cherokee County Schools
- Stage 1: High Performance; connecting standards to instruction to provide a path to effective teaching and high-performing classrooms.
- Stage 2: Rigorous Instruction; teachers focus on rigor, learning activities, grade-level assignments, and assessments.
- Stage 3: Accelerated Learning; catching kids up and helping them perform at grade level. The third stage is all about ensuring students are successful so they enjoy a whole year’s worth of growth.
District Curriculum: The district curriculum offers a balance of educational experiences designed to positively impact all students' interests and academic progress.
- Wit and Wisdom, Grades K-8 English Language Arts
- Fundations, K - 2 Phonics
- Heggerty, K - 2 Phonemic Awareness
- Ready Math, Grades K-8 Math Curriculum
- enVision Integrated Math, Grade 9 - 12 Math Curriculum
- Edmentum Courseware
Cherokee County Schools strive to provide programs of excellence to meet the needs of a diverse student population. Enrichment opportunities abound for all students. Activities such as project-based learning, portfolios, Literacy Nights, Field Trips, Dual Enrollment, Learn and Earn courses, NC Virtual Public Schools, Advanced Placement, Honors courses, Student Government, and Career and Technical Education Clubs are among the opportunities students have to explore and apply higher order thinking skills.
Learning Management System: Cherokee County Schools provides the Canvas Learning Management System Platform for organizing, planning, and delivering course content to students in grades K-12
Student Achievement and Testing: Cherokee County Schools follow the NC Department of Public Instructions' directives for assessing student achievement through End-of-Grade and End-of-Course exams as well as performing comprehensive student assessments throughout the year. On-going monitoring of student performance is imperative to ensure student achievement and mastery.
- iReady Assessments, Grade K-8 district progress monitoring, and diagnostic tools
- ExactPath, 9-12 district progress monitoring, and diagnostic tool; also secondary K-8 district progress monitoring and diagnostic tool for Tier 2 and 3 support.
- Education Value-Added Assessment System: Cherokee County Schools utilize the Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS) funded through the NC Department of Public Instruction. EVAAS allows administrators to quickly identify students' proficiency levels and to project the amount of growth needed to achieve proficiency. The EVAAS database allows schools to determine their expected rate of academic progress.
Staff Development: Teachers are encouraged to be life-long learners, earning CEUs each license renewal cycle. Grade-level and content-specific professional development meetings support and inform teachers.