The curriculum is an important way an independent school provides an enriching experience for its students. Last year, the school's academic leaders, including division heads and department leaders, created a new process for reviewing and improving the pre-K through grade 12 curriculum. The Curriculum Review Process that we initiated is a five-year cycle. While all areas of the school do annual curriculum reviews, one or two departments carry out in-depth evaluations each year. These evaluations include a review of current offerings and an analysis of strengths and challenges.
Ensuring the implementation of the curriculum reviews is just one of the functions of the new Academic Council at Trinity School. This group pulls together the subject leaders of our K-12 academic departments. This year the Academic Council, consists of:
Tiffany Butts BA Elementary Education, San Angelo State University; Certified Academic Language Therapist. Educational Support Services, Lower School
Holly Cloud, BS Human Growth and Development, Texas Tech University. Educational Support Services, Middle and Upper School
Kodi Dixon BA History, Sul Ross State University. Physical Education
Paige Gates BA Art, University of Texas Permian Basin; MAE Art Education, Texas Tech University. Visual and Performing Arts
Terry Little BS Social Studies, University of Texas at Austin; MA History University of Texas Permian Basin History and Social Studies
Melissa McHale BS, Biological Engineering, Mississippi State University; MS, Biological Engineering, Duke University; PhD Biological Engineering, Rice University. Science and Technology
Nancy Pannell BA English, University of Texas at Austin. English and Language Arts
Janeth Ruiz Garcia BA Spanish,University of Texas Permian Basin. World Languages
Carly Vollet BS Mathematics, Portland State University; MS Mathematics, Portland State University. Mathematics
These individuals work with their respective departments to ensure vertical alignment (minimizing redundancy or gaps in content) as well as horizontal integration, or finding ways to create cross disciplinary student experiences.
Additionally, these academic leaders are working on such initiatives as
improving our faculty professional development program
exploring and recommending appropriate innovation
implementing best practices in applying standards, creating authentic assessments, and practicing effective pedagogy.
All of this put together means that we are actively working toward living into our school’s mission:
Trinity School is a college preparatory community that provides a nurturing environment to enrich the mind, strengthen the body, enliven the soul, and inspire servant leadership.
and our educational philosophy:
Excellence in academics at Trinity School is rooted in building the potential of each child through an academic culture which values creativity, critical thinking, and perseverance. Through excellent instruction, development of solid foundational skills, and opportunities to create and apply knowledge, Trinity School provides an environment where children learn, grow, and become a positive transforming influence. Trinity creates lifelong learners prepared for college and life beyond in a world not yet defined. Trinity School values a challenging academic environment that also focuses on developing students’ personal maturity and emotional intelligence through their experiences on and off campus. Trinity aims to better the world by equipping students to influence the future.
These are just a few of the dedicated individuals at Trinity who go "above and beyond" in order to enrich the learning experiences of all students at the school.