Curriculum

The Instructional Program- Students in grades 1-4 work in self-contained classrooms. Teachers may exchange classes for a particular subject or project. The students have special teachers for music, art, and physical education during the week. Students in grades 5-6 have departmental structure. The teachers in these grades specialize in a particular area of the curriculum.

Diocesan Course of Study- Our curriculum parallels the Ohio State Standards. The Diocese of Toledo uses the state standards and infuses the faith in each content area. Check out the Ohio Academic Content Standards on the Ohio Department of Education webpage. All schools in the Diocese of Toledo participate in performance and achievement tests as well as a writing competency test (grade 6) and an assessment of religious knowledge (grades 5, 8 and 12).

Guidance- Norwalk Catholic School employs a guidance counselor for our school. Any student or parent may request counselor services or be recommended for service by a teacher or administrator. The guidance counselor visits each classroom throughout the year. Many community building and/or character building activities are done at these times.

Library- Our library is under the direction of a certified librarian or teacher, it is open to all students grades 1-6. Each class visits the library once a week to check out books and other materials. Students are encouraged to return books on time. If a book is damaged please inform the library. Any book over 30 days overdue must be paid for.

Music & Art- We consider these to be important to the aesthetic growth of every student. Grade 5 students may take up instrumental music. The Elementary has a complete art program for students in grade 1-6.

Physical Education- Each student is required to be present and participate actively in the program. An excuse from this class must be in writing from the parent. Repeated absences will be accepted only upon recommendation of a doctor.

Remedial Programs- Through auxiliary, state, and federal funds, some of our students receive assistance in the academic skills through remedial teachers. Enrollment in these classes is based on testing, teacher recommendation, and parental approval.

Spanish- offered to grades K-12. (German is offered in the JH/HS for grades 7-12.)

Speech- Children who display definite speech, language and/or hearing deficiencies will receive corrective instruction through our speech and hearing therapist. Progress is monitored regularly to establish new goals.

State Requirements- Our school holds the same charter from the Ohio State Dept. of Education as other non-public and public schools. Therefore, the curriculum meets all standards of the State of Ohio. Teachers employed by Norwalk Catholic School hold a valid teaching certificate of the State of Ohio. Minimum time allotments for each subject are in compliance with the State of Ohio.

Textbooks- Norwalk Catholic faculty members participate in a full textbook review when selecting a series for each content area. The textbooks are checked for alignment to the standards, reading level, differentiation of instruction and for presentation (text, graphs and pictorial).