Pocantico Hills
Middle School Staff
 English Language Arts:
6th Grade: Mrs. Maureen
Tucker
7th & 8th Grade: Mrs.
Stephanie DiMartino
 Social Studies:
6th Grade: Mrs. Maureen
Tucker
7th & 8th Grade: Mrs. Mary
Flannery
 Mathematics:
6th Grade: Mr. Al Sancton
7th Grade: Mr. Joseph Stutz
8th Grade: Mr. Al Sancton,
Mr. Joseph Stutz
 Science:
6th Grade: Mr. Al Sancton
7th & 8th Grade: Mr. Vince
Cook
 Foreign Language:
Spanish: Mrs. Ann Mancini
French: Ms. Marilyn Sable
 Special Education Staff:
Mrs. Madeline McDougal
Ms. Loretta McCarthy
Ms. Felicia Peterson
Mrs. Barbara Quinn
Mrs. Karen Smith
Mrs. Eileen Vail
Pocantico Hills
Middle School
Mission
Statement
The Pocantico Hills Middle School staff believes
that each student is a complex and unique
individual. We are committed to helping all our
children realize their complete personal
potentials—academic, creative, emotional. We
will ask all our students to stretch themselves
and we will help them to discover the rewards of
working hard.
We will establish a learning community built on
mutual respect and compassion. We will
encourage all students in our care to become
productive, empathetic members of this
community and of society at large and so, we
will help them develop into educated, honest,
fair, kind and self-disciplined young adults.
CURRICULUM MAPPING
GOALS/OBJECTIVES
 Re-examination of New York State English Language
Arts learning standards and existing Pocantico Hills
Middle School content area curriculum
 Creation of draft documents that visually align current
middle school content area instruction with established
state ELA learning standards
 Establish criteria for future curriculum development that
will build on existing instructional structures
MAPPING PROCEDURES
 Examination and outline of existing curriculum and
instructional practices in all content areas
 Alignment of content area curriculum and instruction
with established state ELA learning standards
 Creation of draft documents highlighting the specific
ways in which middle school instruction and
assessment instruments incorporate state ELA learning
standards
CURRICULUM MAPPING
OUTCOMES/FINDINGS

Middle school content area instruction is currently aligned with the
established state ELA learning standards through reading, writing,
listening and speaking across the curriculum

Middle school content area instruction incorporates a range of reading,
writing, speaking and listening instructional strategies designed to meet
the needs of all students by creating a community of active learners

Middle school content area instruction encourages academic and
individual growth within this community through a variety of learning
experiences

Middle school content area instruction across the curriculum provides
Pocantico Hills students with solid preparation for high school level work
STANDARD I
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for
information and understanding
As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts,
and ideas, discover relationships, concepts and
generalizations; and use knowledge generated from
oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As
speakers and writers, they will use oral and written
language to acquire, interpret, apply and transmit
information.
Students read, write and listen for
information in mathematics.
 Student generated
geometry posters
demonstrate ELA
learning standards
as applied to
middle school
mathematics
Reading and writing for information in
sixth grade science.
 Using a range of
sources, students
created and
presented research
posters.
Reading, Writing, Listening & Speaking for
Information in 6th Grade ELA.
Seventh grade scientists research and
report on their favorite animals.
STANDARD 2
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for literary
response and expression.
Students will read and listen to oral, written, and
electronically produced texts and performances, relate
texts and performances to their own lives, and develop
an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and
cultural dimensions the texts and performances
represent. As speakers and writers, students will use
oral and written language for self-expression and
artistic creation.
Addressing ELA Standard 2 in Spanish
class.
 Seventh graders
composed odes in
Spanish, using the
work of Chilean poet,
Pablo Neruda
In foreign language, students flex their
creative muscles.
Students explore literary expression and
response through poetry in sixth grade ELA.
Students create primary source documents
in Social Studies 7 & 8
Students write creatively in English 7.
 A variety of weekly
Writer’s Notebook
assignments allows
students to
experiment with
written language for
self-expression
STANDARD 3
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for critical
analysis and evaluation.
As listeners and readers, students will analyze
experiences, ideas, information and issues presented
by others using a variety of established criteria. As
speakers and writers, students will present, in oral and
written language and from a variety of perspectives,
their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas,
information and issues.
Meeting Standard 3 in English 8: the
critical lens essay and a personal essay
Social Studies students analyze and
respond critically to issues via examination
of editorial cartoons
Laboratory work demands critical analysis
 Through
experimentation and
direct observation,
students record data
and draw valid
conclusions
Sixth graders make a “pitch” at Stone
Barns
STANDARD 4
 Students will read, write, listen and speak for social
interaction.
Students will use oral and written language for effective
social communication with a wide variety of people. As
readers and listeners, they will use the social
communications of others to enrich their understanding
of people and their lives.
In both Social Studies 7 and English 8,
students effectively use language for social
interaction, as debaters and letter writers.
Response to scientific content in popular cinema
as an example of listening, speaking and writing
for social interaction in Mr. Cook’s science class.
 Students watched
the video Lornenzo’s
Oil
 Students took notes
and responded to the
scientific content and
social issues raised
by the film
Role of Special Education
 To provide strategies that help students
meet the standards
 To accommodate different learning styles
 To work as a team member in adapting
curriculum
 To employ best practices in meeting the
needs of all children
Meeting the Standards
Best Practices
Assistive
Technology/
Quickpads
Study Skills/
Ellis Outlines/
Graphic Organizers/
Inspiration software
Multi-modal
Instruction/
addressing
Different learning
styles
New York State
Mathematics
Standards/Assessments
Content Strands





Number Sense Operations
Geometry
Measurement
Statistics/Probability
Algebra
General Observations
 Content is generally less varied in topics
in grades Pre K-4 than in the current
Core Curriculum
 Content in grades 5-8 has significantly
more Algebra and Geometry than in the
current core Curriculum
General Observations
(continued)
 Grade seven and eight content has been
dramatically modified
 Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra 2 and
Trig have replaced Math A and Math B
Assessment Information
Grades 3-8
 Assessments will be scheduled for March
of each school year
 The assessment test will cover content
from the April of the prior year.
 Each grade’s curriculum is organized into
a Pre-March/Post-March list
High School
 Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2 Trig
 Three math credits required for
graduation
 Algebra regents scheduled for June 07
 Algebra receives a maximum of 2 credits
 Geometry regents scheduled for June 08
 Graduation requirement - one regents
exam in math
Things to do
 Familiarize teachers with the new math
standards
 coordinate curriculum across grade
levels
 establish a math steering committee