Our Academics
Deeply rooted in our Catholic faith, interculturally appropriate, and inspiring excellence in Catholic education.
Our diocesan teachers and administrators worked tirelessly to develop both the Framework for Teaching and the Consensus Curriculum. The documents were then reviewed by local experts in education and theology. This combination of experts ensures our teaching and learning is rooted in the Catholic faith, is interculturally appropriate for our diocese, and provides educational best practices to inspire excellence in Catholic education. The final review was completed by Most Reverend Barry Knestout, Bishop of Richmond, and Mrs. Kelly Lazzara, Superintendent of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Richmond.
In sharing these documents with you, we invite you to explore how our Catholic schools strive to provide our students with an outstanding education, one that achieves our mission of developing and nurturing the spiritual, intellectual, social, and emotional growth of each student in the spirit of the Gospels and the teachings of the Catholic Church.
The Diocese of Richmond has developed a framework for teaching centered on our Catholic faith and adapted from The Danielson Group’s Framework for Teaching (2022). This adopted framework provides a common language for discussing teaching practices within our Catholic schools. It is a research-informed model that allows the teacher to align learning goals with classroom activities. The Framework outlines the components of effective teaching and identifies a teacher’s professional responsibilities.
Our framework contains five domains: Catholic Identity, Planning and Preparation, Learning Environments, Learning Experiences, and Principled Teaching. These domains provide a common language when describing teaching and learning within the diocese.
OUR FRAMEWORK FOR TEACHING
This adopted framework provides a common language for discussing teaching practices within our Catholic schools across the Diocese of Richmond.
Additionally, the Diocese of Richmond is pleased to share our curriculum standards, the Consensus Curriculum. The Consensus Curriculum defines the academic expectations and shapes the classroom instruction throughout our Catholic schools. These standards express the skills and content students are expected to demonstrate within courses and across grades. They provide normative targets for student performance. When a student has successfully completed a grade level or course, he or she will have demonstrated competence in the knowledge, skills, or attitudes required of that course or grade level. We have created the Consensus Curriculum to express the Catholic identity within our curriculum and to articulate the profile of a graduate of our diocesan schools.
The sources used to create our standards vary by content area, but each is rooted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Additionally, the curriculum standards from various dioceses and national organizations of educators; guidelines from Virginia and other states; and material from professional organizations were used as references.
OUR CONSENSUS CURRICULUM
This document defines the academic expectations and shapes the classroom instruction throughout our Catholic schools.
