Nurturing Young Minds
From the moment your child steps into our classrooms, we will nurture and support their individual learning needs. Every child learns in different ways and every child needs different supports to achieve academic excellence. The Sioux City Community Schools blend strong academic programs with caring staff to ensure all students believe in their talents and skills, achieve academic excellence, and succeed in reaching their full potential.
Parent Engagement
You were your child’s first teacher and your continued engagement is vital to student success.
- Talk to your child about what is happening in school. At the end of the school day, ask your child open-ended questions about the day. You can ask general questions like, “What was the best part of your day, today?” or you can ask specific questions about subjects or lessons.
- Make sure your child gets enough sleep. Research shows, elementary-aged children need 9-11 hours of sleep each night for optimal learning.
- Stay connected with the school. Engage with your child’s teacher when you have questions. Read the school newsletter, which is emailed the first week of each month. Attend conferences. Make sure the school has your current contact information so you receive all emails, text messages, and phone calls. Check the website, Facebook, and/or Twitter for timely updates.
Curriculum
The Sioux City Community School District uses standards-based grading in elementary school. This format means an academic standard is set for each subject area. These standards are defined by a statement developed to describe what all students should know (content) and be able to do (skills) in academic subjects.
A standards-based report card is a tool to accurately communicate to parents and guardians the progress that their child is making on learning the essential standards for each grade level, from transitional kindergarten through sixth grade. These standards were identified by district teachers as the foundational knowledge and skills that students need to master in order to be successful in the next grade level.
Read the Parent/Guardian Guide for Standards-Based Report Cards (PDF)
Core Academics
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Science
- Social Studies
Specials
- Art
- Counseling
- Music
- Physical Education
Small-Group, Skills-Based Instruction
Our core instruction must include opportunities for whole-group and small-group instruction. Each classroom is filled with students who possess and demonstrate different skills and strategies at a variety of levels. Whole-group instruction is necessary to teach essential literacy skills and strategies that are expected of all students in a grade level. With small-group, skills-based instruction, students receive explicit instruction and guided practice in specific skills they need to develop to advance their reading and writing. The teacher is able to differentiate learning for each child and provide students with instruction that will allow them to grow.