> Programs > Curriculum
Our founders had a vision that all students, regardless of zip code, deserve access to a free, high-quality rigorous education that prepares them for a successful, productive life as a contributing member of our global society. All Sonoran Schools are learning environments that challenge every student, support every student, and where every student can succeed.
Our schools are also environments where success is not solely defined by academics but where we nurture academic, intellectual, and social-emotional growth. Our focus on STEM does not come at the expense of fine arts or P.E. and we ensure students are given regular opportunities to explore, learning more about themselves and the world they live in. Field trips, classroom enrichment programs such as art, and a wide variety of after-school clubs and programs support the core academic curriculum at Sonoran Schools.
Reading and Writing (Language Arts)
Mathematics
Science
Social Studies
Computer Science
Physical Education
Art
Music
Language Arts
Mathematics
Science: 6th grade Earth Science; 7th grade Life Science; 8th grade Physical science
Physical Education
Social Studies
Computer Science: 7th grade
Curriculum Enrichment (varies by school and grade):
– Art
– Music
– Character Education
– Computer Science (grades 6 and 8)
– World Language
Mathematics: 4 years
Language Arts: 4 years
Science: 3 years
Social Studies: 3 years
Required Electives:
P.E. (1 year); Fine Arts (1 year); World Language (2 years);
Technology/Engineering (2 years)
General Electives: 2 years
Electives vary by school and year. Elective options include:
– American Sign Language
– Art
– Psychology
– Astronomy
– Business Law
– Chinese
– Tutoring
– Engineering
– Journalism
– Sports and Entertainment Marketing
– Web Authoring
Instructional software is a resource used by teachers and schools to integrate technology into classroom learning and enhance the learning process. Software provides a different opportunity to engage students in their own learning, whether learning new content, practicing skills or concepts learned, or evaluating their subject knowledge. Instructional software also facilitates all students gaining familiarity and proficiency with hardware, such as iPads and Chromebooks, thus ensuring digital literacy, a skill that is a fundamental need in today’s society.
Education software generally supports broader goals. An example of education software used by Sonoran Schools is Infinite Campus. This software is used by schools to record items such as attendance, behavior, grades, and immunizations but it also provides parents with 24/7 access to their student’s information, which allows for schools and parents to truly partner in a child’s education.
The following software programs are core to all Sonoran Schools, although many other software programs are used by individual teachers, grades, or schools based on the educator’s determination of their efficacy in classroom instruction and parental engagement.
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Code.org, launched in 2013, provides schools across the country, including all Sonoran Schools, with curriculum and online instructional modules to teach computer coding. Sonoran Schools utilize Code.org to teach our K-8 computer coding lessons.
CodeHS is an interactive online learning platform offering computer science and programming
instruction for schools and individual learners. CodeHS is focused on spreading access to and
knowledge of computer science by offering online instructional materials supported by remote
tutors. At Sonoran Schools, it is used in grades six through eight.
Infinite Campus is the student information system (SIS) used by Sonoran Schools. It is a Web-based system that allows educators, parents, and students access to information from anywhere at any time. The systems serves as a district-wide data warehouse that allows parents to view their student's school record and academic data with an easy-to-use Web portal and mobile application.
Learning.com provides K-12 solutions to help students, teachers, and schools excel in a digital world. At Sonoran Schools, we equip our students with the digital literacy skills needed for online assessments, college, and the workforce using learning.com’s award-winning digital literacy solutions. Learning.com is a core instructional software that we use for our K-5 computer science courses.
MATHia gives every student their very own math coach. Using sophisticated AI technology to
adapt at a very detailed, skill-by-skill level, MATHia personalizes the learning and keeps
students engaged with customized just-in-time feedback and contextual hints.
STEMScopes, is used by Sonoran Schools for our K-5 science curriculum. An online,
comprehensive, and hands-on science curriculum, it was created by teachers for teachers. Originally developed by Rice University, this Next Generation Science Standards-aligned online
curriculum serves schools across the nation. It is project-based and designed as a student-centered 5E - Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate - learning model approach.
i-Ready Diagnostic & Instruction combines a valid and reliable growth measure for math and reading and individualized instruction into a single online product. Sonoran Schools uses i-Ready Diagnostic to place students, predict mastery on statewide assessments, monitor student growth, measure teacher effectiveness, and determine eligibility for our RTI and Title 1 programs. All K-3rd grade students take the i-Ready Diagnostic three times a year. Students admitted to our RTI and Title 1 programs for reading intervention use i-Ready Instruction as an additional support tool to improve their skills.
