Academic Achievement

We focus on research and evidence-based practices in instruction, curriculum development,
student assessment and professional development.

We are committed to providing our students with quality instruction focused on academic progress and achievement. We are also committed to enhancing our students’ social-emotional well-being.

Helping students to acquire a strong foundation for the learning process is a major focus in the primary grades (PreK-3) where we focus on the development of basic skills in reading and math. Learning to read and compute is at the core of our instruction. At the intermediate level (grades 4-6), our educators work to delve more deeply into the core areas of reading comprehension and math problem-solving skills, as well as a more focused emphasis on reading to learn in science and social studies. In addition, students who are identified as gifted receive subject acceleration services in reading and math beginning in grade four. Students in all grades K-6 also receive weekly instruction in art, music, physical education, and technology.

The middle school experience (grades 7-8) provides expanded opportunities in math, science, social studies, and English. Students also have the option to continue their study of the fine arts, health and physical education, technology, career exploration, business education, world language, and STEM electives. In addition, advanced students may earn high school credits in math, English, business, and world language.

Bedford High School (grades 9-12) offers about 180 courses that meet a wide range of student interests and skill levels. In addition to our courses in the core areas, we also offer honors, Advanced Placement, and College Credit Plus options, where students may be able to earn college credits via their high school experience. We offer a multitude of electives for students in the fine arts, world language and health and physical education areas.

Our comprehensive high school experience also offers career and technical opportunities to our students through a consortium agreement with four area high schools. Should students choose, they can opt to take courses within 12 career fields through 22 different programs. This option affords students the opportunity to also earn college credit, as well to receive industry credentials related to their various areas of study. Additionally, the high school houses an alternative education program, COMPASS Academy, which enables students who are not successful in the traditional day-school setting to earn their high school credits in a blended- learning setting. COMPASS Academy offers both day school and evening hours to accommodate student scheduling needs.

Curriculum & Instruction

Mission

Vision

Belief Statements

We believe in...
being committed to the work of eliminating inequities by providing a safe, supportive learning environment
maintaining high expectations for students
fostering each child's full potential by providing support for the social-emotional and academic needs of our students embracing diversity by striving for representation in our programming that proportionately reflects our district's student population
fostering strong and respectful relationships and partnerships with families and communities
developing academic excellence by universally designing, proactively planning and flexibly delivering a variety of rich experiences for our students, promoting respect as a right and a responsibility
Our priorities include:
A district-wide focus on student achievement, especially in reading and math
An emphasis on high quality instruction
District-wide use of data for informed decision-making
High quality professional development

Department Responsibilities

Oversight at Pre-K - 12 instructional programming
Review and selection of textbook and supplemental resources
Professional Development for staff and administrators
Monitoring of continuous student achievement and progress
Integration of instructional technology
Development and oversight of extended day and school year services
Development of K-12 Graded Courses of Study (reviewed every 5 years)
Implementation of classroom instructional initiatives
Supervision of comprehension career and technical offerings, including industry credentialing pathways

The Department of Academic Achievement is responsible for the PreK- 12 curriculum, classroom instruction, and professional development.

The department develops, implements, monitors, and supports all classroom instructional initiatives.

2023-24 BHS Program of Studies

2023-24 HMS Program of Studies

Donation Approval Form

GCOS Checklist

POS Recommendation

ESSER

The Bedford City Schools offer a wide range of programs and services to meet the needs, interests and skill levels of its diverse student population. Our comprehensive education program offers student learning experiences in the core areas of English/language arts, math, science, and social studies in grades PreK-12, as well as a robust choice of electives.

Federal Programs

FEDERAL PROGRAMS - Student Services

The Department of Student Services oversees a variety of instructional programs through the delivery of specialized services. These services include student registration, student attendance, and accounting, student records including custody, health services, programs for gifted students and those on 504 plans, and matters related to student discipline. The staff also oversees the administration of federal grants and programs, such as Title 1, Title IX, and oversight of some district grants.

Questions regarding student records, attendance, registration, discipline, pupil placement, school boundaries, intra-district transfers, home-based instruction for health reasons, health services, and requirements, and related programs may be directed to this department at 440-439-4363.

The Department of Special Education is a federal program that oversees all issues related to students with disabilities in accordance with IDEA. Additional information regarding the department of special education can be found here.

FEDERAL PROGRAMS - Special Education

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) ensures that services to students with disabilities are properly allocated and that it assists in providing educational services, resources and supports for students with disabilities. Up to 15% of IDEA special education funds are also used to support early intervening services for low achieving and at-risk students.

School-aged students (3 through 21 years of age) with disabilities are eligible to receive special education and related services under IDEA Part B. IDEA does not fully fund special education programs and services, instead the funds are used to pay the excess costs to provide FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education) to students with disabilities.

Parents/guardians are encouraged to complete the survey below to provide information about their child’s access to special education services, the quality of the services received, and to provide input on how IDEA Part B funds should be used for students with disabilities.

Bedford City School District Parent Survey

Your answers to the following questions will assist the district in helping parents of students with disabilities to be involved in their children's special education programs.
Your responses are important and remain confidential. Some questions will apply to the school district; others to the school your child attends.
Thank you for your participation.

English Learners Programming

Bedford City Schools provide English Learners (EL) services to all students who qualify for these accommodations based on the Ohio English Language Proficiency Screener (OELPS) and the Ohio English Language Proficiency Assessment (OELPA). We take pride in providing all of our students with an equal opportunity to a rich and diverse educational experience. English Learners will acquire proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing in the English language. Students are taught by state-certified teachers in small group settings, EL classes, or in their regular classrooms, depending on the student's individual needs.

Gifted Services

The Bedford City School District ensures an equal opportunity for all district students to be identified as gifted in the following areas, according to the Gifted Eligibility Guidelines set forth by the Ohio Department of Education:

Superior Cognitive
Specific Academic (Math, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies)
Creative Thinking
Fine Arts

Our gifted services include offering challenging and supportive learning environments to our gifted student where they can develop their gifts and talents to their fullest potential.

NAGC

OAGC

ODE

SENG

Students may be serviced in any of the following ways:

in the regular classroom by qualified teachers, grades K-12
in the regular classroom with push in services from a gifted intervention specialist, grades K-6
subject accelerated instruction by the a gifted intervention specialist in grades 4-6 reading and/or math
whole grade accelerated with the use of the Iowa Acceleration Scale, grades K-12
early entrance to kindergarten
early high school graduation

Resources

Gifted Services Parent Info

Gifted Eligibility Criteria

Gifted Education Parent Referral Form

Mary Ann Root

Faculty Information

Location(s)

ADMIN

Department(s)

Academic Achievement

Title(s)

COORDINATOR OF GIFTED & TALENTED

Contact Information

(Primary)

School Phone

440-439-1500 ext 3333

K-12 Literacy

THIRD GRADE READING GUARANTEE

The ability to read is the foundation of learning. Research shows that children who are not reading at a third-grade level by the end of grade 3 are likely to have trouble learning in all classroom subjects in higher grades. Click on the resources below to learn how to help your child.

Ohio Department of Education - Third Grade Reading Guarantee

Family Resources

K-6 LITERACY INITIATIVES

Bedford City Schools work to increase student achievement and growth through research-based instructional materials, as well as the implementation of ongoing high quality professional development for staff members. The curriculum department emphasizes and promotes creativity and the use of technology throughout instructional methods in order to reach, engage and differentiate for all students within the Bedford City School District.

K-6 CURRICULUM RESOURCES AND LINKS:

HAGGERTY

WONDERS

FUNDATIONS

The Traits Writing Program

Ohio State Standards

7-12 LITERACY INITIATIVES

Great Books is an engaging program that includes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry selections—supports differentiated instruction through literature and activities that resonate with middle school students.

Word Within the Word is intended as a weekly effort, built on a cumulative basis from Volume I. Every test reinforces every list. Through constant review, students build ever-increasing familiarity.

Magic Lens is based on four-level sentence analysis—an analysis of parts of speech, parts of sentence, phrases, and clauses, which teaches students complex grammar relationships.

The Traits Writing Program works to create engaged, enthusiastic writers. The program provides engaging mentor text to connect reading and writing, to develop critical thinking skills for all students.
http://www.scholastic.com/traitswriting/

SpringBoard involves an in-depth study of one novel and one play, with an emphasis on close reading and literary analysis. Every course is divided into themed units. Each grade-level course features a novel unit and a drama unit, with a variety of text types in the remaining units.

Ohio State Standards
http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Learning-in-Ohio

K-12 Math

K-12 MATH INITIATIVES

The vision of the Bedford City Schools K-12 Mathematics Program is to ensure that all students will become mathematically literate and articulate. Within our rigorous mathematics curriculum, all students have an equal opportunity to learn in a supportive environment as they develop their conceptual knowledge and further extend their understanding.

Through their studies, students will acquire an appreciation for the beauty and usefulness of mathematics and statistics. Students will see themselves as capable lifelong learners and doers of mathematics, possessing the quantitative skills needed to succeed in our digital age; prepared to solve problems they have never seen before or that may not even exist today.

INSTRUCTIONAL GOALS FOR K-12 MATHEMATICS

The following program goals are for all students. They are applicable to various students at varying times and to different degrees, depending upon the class in which the student is enrolled. These goals are based on the Standards for Mathematical Practice in Ohio’s Learning Standards.

EUREKA MATH GRADES K-8We use the Eureka Math curriculum in grades K-8. It was built around the core principle that students need to know more than just what works when solving a problem—they need to understand why it works. The curriculum goes beyond facts and formulas, teaching students to think about math conceptually. This helps students become not merely literate, but fluent in mathematics.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

CPM GRADES 7-12

We use CPM in our Algebra, Geometry and 6th Grade Accelerated Math courses. CPM’s mission is to empower mathematics students by engaging all students in learning mathematics through problem-solving, reasoning, and communication. CPM teaching strategies focus on how students best learn and retain mathematics, Teaching strategies rely on the recommendations on the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, are based solidly on the methodological research in teaching mathematics, The research-based principles that guide the course are:

(Taken from https://cpm.org/why-cpm)

CPM Resources

CPM Parent Support Website

CPM Parent Tips

CPM Homework Help

DESMOS CALCULATOR

COLLEGE CREDIT PLUS (CCP)

The mathematics department offers College Algebra and Precalculus here at Bedford High School through an agreement with Lorain County Community College. Students enrolling in these courses are able to earn high school and college credits at the same time. Please see Bedford CCP and the Program of Studies for additional information.

The student will be confident in his/her mathematical ability due to a strong foundation of conceptual understanding.
The student will develop flexible strategies to compute accurately.
The student will be a persevering mathematical problem-solver.
The student will reason mathematically.
The student will communicate mathematically.
The student will value mathematics as a life skill and understand its relevance in their lives.

Students should engage in problem-based lessons structured around a core idea
Guided by a knowledgeable teacher, students should interact in groups to foster mathematical discourse
Practice with concepts and procedures should be spaced over time; that is, mastery comes over time.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) PROGRAM

Bedford High School offers students the opportunity to take AP Statistics, AP Calculus AB, and/or AP Computer Science Principles. These rigorous, college-level courses offered through the College Board allow students to potentially earn college credit based upon their AP exam grade. Additional information is available on College Board’s website and in the Program of Studies.