Academic Excellence

Academic Excellence at Holy Cross Catholic School:

Curriculum:

Holy Cross Elementary School in Springfield, PA develops, offers, integrates, and evaluates educational programs to provide for the optimal growth of all students. The fundamental educational requirements of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, combined with the Philadelphia Archdiocesan Guidelines, form the basis of the curriculum taught to all students from Pre-K to Grade eight.

As educators, we also strive to access available resources to evaluate and assist the individual needs of each student. The Delaware County Intermediate Unit offers support services in the areas of Remediation, Speech, Counseling and Evaluation. 

Assessments:

Students receive report cards on a trimester basis. Current methods of evaluation include formal tests, projects, cooperative learning lessons, class participation, and homework as well as performance-based portfolio assessments. 

TerraNova:

Standardized Testing by way of the TerraNova is also administered in Grades three through seven. TerraNova testing guidelines help with our understanding and evaluation of our curriculum and teachings based on state standards.

These assessments are just one of the many tools we use to learn how our students are progressing toward standards, performing relative to their peers, and what instructional activities can help close achievement gaps. They provide us with important data that will assist us in keeping our students on pace with their class and in mastering appropriate grade-level skills.

Middle States Accreditation:

Another measure of Holy Cross’s commitment to quality education is our accreditation with Middle States Association, Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Middle States is a worldwide leader in accreditation and school improvement. 

Their mission is to, “improve the quality of education in the United States and around the world by assisting schools to achieve excellence through the process of accreditation, by affirming to the public a member school’s trustworthiness and commitment to continuous improvement, by providing the network and resources for the promotion of proven practices.”

Holy Cross School undergoes an intensive process to be accredited by Middle States. The evaluations are a rigorous process where our school community spends two years working internally and with an external team of school evaluators to set goals and measure school performance.