We teach our students about the importance of education, and we aim to help them in every way we can to enjoy learning.

At Festival Foothills Elementary School, we teach the Arizona Academic Standards. The Arizona Standards will ensure your child has the academic knowledge and skills to be successful in college, career, and life. Academic standards set the expectation for what students need to know and be able to do in each grade and subject. They form the foundation of what teachers teach and students learn in the classroom.
 
The new standards are important because they will not only improve what your child learns, but how he learns by teaching critical-thinking, problem solving, and effective communication skills. They will also better prepare your child to compete for the jobs of the future with students from around the world.

The new standards and future assessments will also be consistent across states, which means that as families move to a new state or to a new school district, their teachers will be able to better assess your child’s abilities and know where he/she may need support in a way that is not possible now.

Arizona K-12 Academic Standards - English Language Arts

Arizona K-12 Academic Standards - Mathematics

Teachers follow the set state curriculum standards for each subject matter. Check out a listing of all state standards.

To learn more, visit the Arizona Department of Education. Also, check out Parents' Guide for Student Success.

District Formative Assessments (DFA)
We use weekly or bi-weekly, mini-formatives to determine if students have mastered the essential standard taught during that learning period. We base instructional groupings as well as recommendations for extra tutoring on the outcomes of these assessments.

Below is the Xello Curriculum for review.  You can find out more by going to their website here.

Festival Foothills Elementary staff is committed to working in partnership with you to ensure that your child receives the best education possible. The Arizona State Legislature also recognizes the importance of ensuring that your child and every child have acquired the basic skills necessary to be a contributing member of our community.

With that in mind, the legislature passed House Bill 2732 in 2010, which requires all students in third grade by 2013-2014 to be reading proficiently before being promoted to 4th grade. Specifically the law states:

“A requirement that a pupil not be promoted from third grade if the pupil obtains a score on the reading portion of the AIMS test, or successor test, that demonstrates that the pupil is reading far below the third grade level.”

Students currently enrolled in kindergarten, first, second and third grades are under the requirements of this legislation. We encourage you to continue to work collaboratively with your child’s teacher to ensure that he/she is acquiring all the skills and strategies he/she will need to be a successful reader. Your child’s teacher will continue to provide you with timely updates on his/her reading progress. If you would like additional information regarding your child’s progress, please contact your child’s teacher.

We look forward to working together to ensure that your child and every child at Festival Foothills Elementary becomes a proficient and successful reader.

For more information about “Move on When Reading,” please go to the Arizona Department of Education’s website.

Move on When Reading English

 Move on When Reading Spanish