What We Believe

Relationships are the foundation of any quality educational pursuit. We believe that all relationships should be centered on mutual respect, knowledge of each individual’s personal goals and aspirations, and each individuals educational as well as personal strengths and weaknesses. Our teachers must first and foremost understand each of their students as individuals and as human beings. Each student has a variety of experiences, knowledge, and individual skills that make them unique as individual learners. All teachers must start from this foundation in order to provide relevant, rigorous learning for all students. Significant relationships are not unique to only student and teacher relationships but must also be nurtured between fellow teachers within academies and content areas but also through interdisciplinary structures. Castle View also actively promotes meaningful relationship and mutual respect between athlete’s coaches, sponsors, organizations, boosters, parents and members of the greater school community.

Relevance connects what students learn to the skills they practice in real-life situations. By engaging every student in learning we can dramatically reduce the number of dropouts and allow students to acquire the skills they need to be successful and contributing citizens. Expanding the scope of extended learning opportunities through internships is a practical way to make this connection and ensure that students are engaged in their education. It is highly recommended that every CVHS student participate in our extremely successful Internship program to enhance their learning experience.

The Academy model allows student to make a choice of an academy and to select an educational pathway that is relevant to their individual interest. Within the academy structure we expect each teacher to design and align curriculum, instruction and assessment to meet the unique interests of the students that are in their academy. The challenge for educators is to engage each student, showing relevance while at the same time keeping the students’ horizons broad, because we know that we cannot predict today what may or may not be relevant in students’ later lives.

Rigor is something that every student deserves in a course of study that allows him or her to learn in a deep, meaningful and practical way. Achieving this requires high standards that clearly identify and describe what is expected of students across the curriculum. Such standards serve as a common target for students, staff and parents. High standards should address character and emotional development as well as academic growth. They should apply to all programs, including Career and Technical Education programs. They should apply to all students, not just those in certain academic tracks. Standards should address not only academic knowledge but also everyday life skills such as problem-solving, team building, and time management.

1.0 Douglas County School District students acquire the knowledge and abilities to be responsible citizens who contribute to our society.

1.1 Students are able to think critically, using reason and logic when facing decisions about what to believe or do.
Students will:
• Identify alternatives
• Consider creative solutions
• Marshal relevant evidence
• Judge the credibility of sources
• Analyze and synthesize credible evidence
• Define terms in their appropriate context
• Identify and evaluate assumptions, reasons, and conclusions
• Ask appropriate clarifying questions
• Develop and defend a well-reasoned position
• Construct appropriate tests or experiments
• Draw conclusions that are justified

1.2 Students embrace universal ethical principles such as honesty, integrity and justice.
• Students demonstrate behavior that respects the rule of law.
• Students demonstrate altruistic responsibility to their family, fellow citizens, and global community.
• Students critically evaluate short- and long-term consequences when making personal free-will choices.

1.3 Students demonstrate the self-motivation and resourcefulness to continue their learning.

1.4 Students apply what they have learned. They go beyond merely knowing to using their knowledge and skills productively.

1.5 Students develop and demonstrate Leadership skills. They are influential in creating a vision of what the future can be.

1.6 Students take ownership and accept responsibility for their well being. Students have the knowledge, skills, and ability to make educated choices concerning their social, emotional, and physical health. Students demonstrate:
• acceptable social interactions based upon respect for self, others, and property
• positive self-esteem through achievement
• proper nutrition, exercise, and healthy physical development

1.7 Students demonstrate the essential skills of reading, writing, listening, speaking, and numeracy.

1.8 Students have an understanding of a core body of knowledge in:
1.8.1 Science, including:
a. The fundamentals of physical sciences, life sciences, earth and space sciences.
1.8.2 Information Literacy, including:

21st Century Professional Development

Highlights ways teachers can seize opportunities for integrating 21st century skills, tools and teaching strategies into their classroom practice — and help them identify what activities they can replace/de-emphasize.
Balances direct instruction with project-oriented teaching methods
Illustrates how a deeper understanding of subject matter can actually enhance problem-solving, critical thinking, and other 21st century skills.
Enables 21st century professional learning communities for teachers that models the kinds of classroom learning that best promotes 21st century skills for students. Cultivates teachers’ ability to identify students’ particular learning styles, intelligences, strengths and weaknesses
Helps teachers develop their abilities to use various strategies (such as formative assessments) to reach diverse students and to create environments that support differentiated teaching and learning
Supports the continuous evaluation of students’ 21st century skills development. Encourages knowledge sharing among communities of practitioners, using face-to-face, virtual and blended communications
Uses a scaleable and sustainable model of professional development

21st Century Curriculum & Instruction

Teaches 21st century skills discretely in the context of core subjects and 21st century interdisciplinary themes. Focuses on providing opportunities for applying 21st century skills across content areas and for a competency-based approach to learning. Enables innovative learning methods that integrate the use of supportive technologies, inquiry- and problem-based approaches and higher order thinking skills. Encourages the integration of community resources beyond school walls

21st Century Standards

Focuses on 21st century skills, content knowledge and expertise.
Builds understanding across and among core subjects as well as 21st century interdisciplinary themes. Emphasizes deep understanding rather than shallow knowledge. Engages students with the real world data, tools, and experts they will encounter in college, on the job, and in life--students learn best when actively engaged in solving meaningful problems. Allows for multiple measures of mastery. Supports a balance of assessments, including high-quality standardized testing along with effective classroom formative and summative assessments.
Emphasizes useful feedback on student performance that is embedded into everyday learning. Requires a balance of technology-enhanced, formative and summative assessments that measure student mastery of 21st century skills. Enables development of portfolios of student work that demonstrate mastery of 21st century skills to educators and prospective employers. Enables a balanced portfolio of measures to assess the educational system’s effectiveness at reaching high levels of student competency in 21st century skills.

21st Century Learning and Innovation Skills

Learning and innovation skills increasingly are being recognized as the skills that separate students who are prepared for increasingly complex life and work environments in the 21st century, and those who are not. A focus on creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration is essential to prepare students for the future.

21st Century Creativity and Innovation

Demonstrating originality and inventiveness in work. Developing, implementing and communicating new ideas to others. Being open and responsive to new and diverse perspectives. Acting on creative ideas to make a tangible and useful contribution to the domain in which the innovation occurs.

21st Century Communication and Collaboration

Articulating thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively through speaking and writing. Demonstrating ability to work effectively with diverse teams
Exercising flexibility and willingness to be helpful in making necessary compromises to accomplish a common goal. Assuming shared responsibility for collaborative work.

Core Subjects and 21st Century Themes

Mastery of core subjects and 21st century themes is essential for students in the 21st century. Core subjects include:

English, reading or language arts
World languages
Arts
Mathematics
Economics
Science
Geography
History
Government and Civics


In addition to these subjects, we believe schools must move beyond a focus on basic competency in core subjects to promoting understanding of academic content at much higher levels by weaving 21st century interdisciplinary themes into core subjects:

21st Century Global Awareness

Using 21st century skills to understand and address global issues
Learning from and working collaboratively with individuals representing diverse cultures, religions and lifestyles in a spirit of mutual respect and open dialogue in personal, work and community contexts
Understanding other nations and cultures, including the use of non-English languages

21st Century Financial, Economic, Business &
Entrepreneurial Literacy

Knowing how to make appropriate personal economic choices
Understanding the role of the economy in society
Using entrepreneurial skills to enhance workplace productivity and career options

21st Century Civic Literacy

Participating effectively in civic life through knowing how to stay informed and understanding governmental processes
Exercising the rights and obligations of citizenship at local, state, national and global levels
Understanding the local and global implications of civic decisions

21st Century Health Literacy

Obtaining, interpreting and understanding basic health information and services and using such information and services in ways that are health enhancing. Understanding preventive physical and mental health measures, including proper diet, nutrition, exercise, risk avoidance and stress reduction. Using available information to make appropriate health-related decisions. Establishing and monitoring personal and family health goals. Understanding national and international public health and safety issues.

21st Century Information, Media and Technology Skills

People in the 21st century live in a technology and media-suffused environment, marked by access to an abundance of information, rapid changes in technology tools, and the ability to collaborate and make individual contributions on an unprecedented scale. To be effective in the 21st century, citizens and workers must be able to exhibit a range of functional and critical thinking skills related to information, media and technology.

21st Century Media Literacy

Understanding how media messages are constructed, for what purposes and using which tools, characteristics and conventions.
Examining how individuals interpret messages differently, how values and points of view are included or excluded and how media can influence beliefs and behaviors. Possessing a fundamental understanding of the ethical/legal issues surrounding the access and use of information.

21st Century ICT Literacy

Using digital technology, communication tools and/or networks appropriately to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, and create information in order to function in a knowledge economy
Using technology as a tool to research, organize, evaluate and communicate information, and the possession of a fundamental understanding of the ethical/legal issues surrounding the access and use of information

21st Century Life and Career Skills

Today’s life and work environments require far more than thinking skills and content knowledge. The ability to navigate the complex life and work environments in the globally competitive information age requires students to pay rigorous attention to developing adequate life and career skills.

Flexibility & Adaptability

Adapting to varied roles and responsibilities. Working effectively in a climate of ambiguity and changing priorities. Initiative & Self-Direction
Monitoring one’s own understanding and learning needs. Going beyond basic mastery of skills and/or curriculum to explore and expand one’s own learning and opportunities to gain expertise. Demonstrating initiative to advance skill levels towards a professional level. Defining, prioritizing and completing tasks without direct oversight. Utilizing time efficiently and managing workload. Demonstrating commitment to learning as a lifelong process

Social & Cross-Cultural Skills

Working appropriately and productively with others. Leveraging the collective intelligence of groups when appropriate. Bridging cultural differences and using differing perspectives to increase innovation and the quality of work.

Productivity & Accountability

Setting and meeting high standards and goals for delivering quality work on time. Demonstrating diligence and a positive work ethic (e.g., being punctual and reliable)

Leadership & Responsibility

Using interpersonal and problem-solving skills to influence and guide others toward a goal. Leveraging strengths of others to accomplish a common goal. Demonstrating integrity and ethical behavior
Acting responsibly with the interests of the larger community in mind

4x4 Block Schedule

Castle View High School has adopted the 4x4 block or a straight block which we believe best supports our focus on the 3 R’s. The 4x4 block requires a student to be registered into only four classes at a time. The 4x4 supports our 3 R’s by allowing students to focus on a smaller number of courses at one time and lowers teacher/student loads to approximately 90 students. This allows for students and teachers to develop more significant relationships by creating smaller learning communities. The 4x4 block promotes rigor by allowing our students to concentrate on a smaller number of courses at one time allowing learning to be taken to deeper levels of understanding and application.

The 4x4 block schedule at Castle View High School is unique in the Douglas County School District and has been created to increase educational opportunities and student learning while teaching subjects at deeper levels. This type of class schedule supports the academy structure at our school. By utilizing this schedule, we have also increased the elective possibilities during the high school career thus affording our students to select those electives that are more relevant to them as learners.

In the block schedule at CVHS, a student will earn 8 credits in a school year. This allows a student room in his or her schedule to take two more semester-length or four more quarter-length electives each year. In the Castle View 4X4 block schedule, a .5 credit class will meet for 85 minutes each day and be completed in 9 weeks. A 1.0 credit class will meet 85 minutes daily and be completed in 18 weeks. For example, in a traditional high school schedule, a Spanish class would last a full year and would meet every day for 50 minutes or every other day for 90 minutes. At CVHS, that same Spanish class will be completed in 18 weeks. As a freshman, the student may decide to take Spanish I in their first semester and Spanish II in the second semester. In the sophomore year, the student may then decide to take Spanish III in their first semester and Spanish IV in their second semester. By the end of their sophomore year a student will have earned 4 credits of Spanish. During the junior and senior year, the student will be able to take higher-level Spanish courses or another language altogether. Again this supports our goal of providing both relevance and rigor for all of our students. This type of personal acceleration would not be possible in a traditional schedule.

While the 4x4 allows our students to focus on a smaller number of classes at one time, and allows students to accelerate their progress through courses, it is also necessary to provide classes that are year long in duration. Classes such as student government, yearbook, webteam, newspaper and some performing arts classes are scheduled in an alternating block process. Courses required to meet for the entire year will be specifically noted in the registration materials. Students taking a yearlong course will have to select from a menu of courses that are solely available opposite the yearlong course. For example, a student who registers for student government would have a choice of other alternating block classes such as yearbook, or other similar courses. CVHS uses period 2 to create this alternating block opportunity for the designated year long classes.