CURRICULUM STATEMENT
The school’s philosophy is the foundation from which the administration and faculty make decisions. From an understanding of the purpose and goals of the school curriculum decisions are made and instructional methodologies are implemented.

The members of the school community believe that children learn best in an atmosphere of trust, respect, and openness:

  • Where students are treated as individuals with unique potentials and needs
  • Where creativity and participation are encouraged and individuals are challenged
  • Where there is diversity in educational methodology in order to optimize the learning experience
  • Where self-discipline is the goal of order and structure.
  • Where students are formed into life-long learners.
  • We believe these characteristics are reflected in our curriculum goals.

Core Curriculum    

  • Language arts: reading, writing, vocabulary, spelling, oral communications, handwriting
  • Math
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Social Studies
  • Learning Center Enrichment
  • Spanish
  • Information Technology & Library Skills
  • Music
  • Art
  • Physical Education

Standardized Testing

Each fall, Our Lady of the Pillar students take the Iowa Assessments®.

  • Students are tested in the following general areas: reading, writing expression, math, computation, science, social studies, and vocabulary.
    Students in grades 2-8 are also tested in spelling, capitalization and punctuation.
  • The reading, written expression, vocabulary, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, mathematics, and computation tests have all been aligned to the Common Core State Standards.
  • Students in grades 4, 6, and 8 are also given the Cognitive Abilities Test or the CogAt®. The CogAt assesses students’ abilities in reasoning and problem solving using verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal (spatial) symbols.

Test scores are nationally standardized and are compared with other schools throughout the Archdiocese. IOWA Assessment results are utilized to enhance classroom instruction. Our Lady of the Pillar School’s standardized test scores are typically 10-20 points above the average scores for Archdiocesan schools.