Hominy Valley Elementary

Together Everyone Achieves More

The teachers and staff at Hominy Valley are dedicated to providing the best education to all students. Our teachers are highly qualified to teach the subjects of which they are responsible. We follow curriculum guidelines provided by the state of North Carolina and the district of Buncombe County Schools. Our curriculum is rigorous and conceptual-based. Students are provided intervention and enrichment time daily based on various types of assessments in reading, math, and writing. All staff at Hominy Valley work together to ensure that every student is achieving and will have the necessary skills to be career- and college-ready.

The math program that we use is Investigations in Number, Data and Space. This program is a constructivist approach to mathematics that enables our students to construct meaning to the areas of the content. We facilitate and guide our students in a manner that fosters deep conceptual understanding of the content as they develop their own procedures for solving problems. We stress that there are multiple ways to solve problems. This encourages students to understand the meaning of the mathematics, rather than memorization of a procedure.

Our reading program is research-based and is a Balanced Literacy Approach. Students are formally assessed several times throughout the year. In grades K-3, students are assessed individually using a state-adopted assessment system. Students are then provided instruction to meet their needs using reading text that meets their individual ability level. The data gathered from the individual assessments and from informal assessments from the teacher is also used to decide what areas students will be given intervention or enrichment instruction in the Intervention/Enrichment block of the day. In grade 4, students are assessed formally three times a year using the Benchmark Assessment System. Teachers use the data from these assessments to appropriately place students in reading text. Teachers in grade 4 continually assess informally in accordance with guidelines from the county to ensure that students are growing in their reading capacity.

Within the Balanced Literacy approach, students read in small groups with the teacher, they read text independently that is appropriate for their reading ability, participate in Teacher Directed Reading, and Interactive Read Aloud. Within this program, students are reading throughout the day, being exposed to grade-level text as well as text that are appropriate for the student, either above or below grade level.

Writing and spelling are important components within our curriculum. They are incorporated throughout the day in all subjects. Direct writing instruction is provided daily following the Writer’s Workshop model. Students are expected to do various types of writing to enable them to write effectively and become career- and college-ready. In grades K-1, spelling is taught through the program of Fundations. Students work with letter recognition, letter sounds, and letter patterns. Letter formation is also a key component of this program. Students in grades 2-4 use Words Their Way for spelling instruction. This program allows teachers to identify spelling weaknesses and strengths and helps to individualize the spelling program for the students. Students are placed in groups according to identified needs. This research–based program incorporates phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction.

Science and Social Studies are concept-based and taught weekly through the reading program, the computer labs and research assignments, and through designated times throughout the week for hands-on investigations.

Special services are provided for students with disabilities, programs for the academically gifted students, and ESL students. All student needs are addressed through tutoring, counseling, and mentoring.

Hominy Valley follows the curriculum of the North Carolina State Standards as set forth by the state of North Carolina. More information can be found on the NCDPI website: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/curriculum/

We want to thank you for taking an interest in our school and we welcome the opportunity to answer any further questions that you may have or to be of any further assistance.