Departments of Curriculum & Instruction

It takes nearly a dozen departments and hundreds of talented, qualified individuals to design, develop and implement the curriculum of the Jersey City Board of Education. These departments include:

• Assessment/Testing & Restructured Schools coordinates the state and federal assessments that measure students’ growth and progress, and the extent to which they have mastered the New Jersey Core Curriculum Standards. The department works with teaching staff in all of our schools to assist students and families preparing for standardized testing, and to understand the progress of our students and schools.

• Bilingual/ESL & World Languages is committed to providing the students of the most diverse City in New Jersey with initiatives that help them to communicate competently, and to become more understanding of the world’s people by learning more about other cultures.

• Health & Physical Education works to help students understand the importance of personal health for a lifetime of wellness, and to bolster that understanding through programs that contribute to their organic development, physical fitness and safety.

• Language Arts is dedicated to providing our children with the strong foundation they need for success in learning—the tools and teaching that will help them to become successful readers! Our Language Arts programs are specialized by age and grade, and include the “Balanced Blocks” and “Reading First” programs for our youngest students in K-2. Our programs for Grades 3-12 provide the instruction needed for developing proficiency in reading, writing, speaking, listening and viewing.

• Library Media specialists promote, inspire, and guide students to develop a love of reading, a quest for knowledge, and a thirst for lifelong learning. Ongoing programs in all of our schools encourage literacy and facilitate research while addressing a variety of learning needs.

• Mathematics endeavors to instruct and motivate all students to become logical and critical thinkers, complex problem solvers and lifelong learners through the power and utility of mathematics and computer science.

• Professional Development has one goal: to assist in improving student achievement. To accomplish this, the department has developed and implemented a plan that accommodates teachers’ needs throughout all of the phases of their professional careers.

• Programs that Maximize Potential provides curriculum and initiatives to extend, expand and enrich learning opportunities for exceptionally able students. The department focuses on identifying and meeting the needs of these students, and designs and implements programs that are unique to the students’ abilities and their grade levels.

• Science helps our students meet the scientific and technological challenges of this new millennium by providing students AND teachers with appropriate educational opportunities via classroom and laboratory instruction, and extended classroom experiences.

• Social Studies offers students opportunities to explore the people, places and ideas that have formed the world as we know it today. The innovative and diverse programs utilized by the department help students develop a better understanding of one another and of other cultures and traditions, so they are more prepared to take their places as tomorrow’s leaders.

• Visual & Performing Arts provides comprehensive instruction for students from kindergarten through high school. Based upon the belief that the visual and performing arts are vital components of our students’ overall education, art, music, drama, and of the history and culture of the arts are integrated into studies at every grade level.