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ACADEMICS

We believe...

that every child has the capacity to learn and is best served by “direct instruction” in the basic skills—reading, math and writing. Our approach has been affirmed by many studies conducted by the U.S. Department of Education. The proven success of our program is rooted in:

• An intensive "phonics-first" reading program, beginning in kindergarten

• Ability grouping of students in reading and math

• Mastery-based learning which requires teaching, testing, re-teaching and re-testing until students master material at the 85% level

• Minimized homework requiring only: practice in reading; study of review sheets with answers provided; and, memorization of math facts

All instruction at Happy Valley School meets and exceeds state standards for Arizona. We use the following curriculum materials:

• Our own copyrighted phonics and math enrichment programs

• McGuffey Readers

• Harcourt Publishers for reading, math, health, social studies, and spelling

• Saxon Math in selected classes

Testing:

Happy Valley students take the same standardized tests required of all pupils in other public schools in Arizona.

Happy Valley students also take the WRAT (Wide Range Ability Test) upon entry for initial placement, and again at the end of each school year to measure student progress.

View AIMS, TerraNova and WRAT information: