CATALINA FOOTHILLS SCHOOL DISTRICT

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Summer Curriculum Review
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Our Mission

The Science Department at Catalina Foothills High School provides a rigorous, college-preparatory curriculum with an emphasis on encouraging curiosity, exploring scientific questions, and promoting the critical and creative thinking skills necessary to navigate a changing world shaped by science and technology. Work is done in the classroom, the laboratory and in the field, using authentic, meaningful structures to engage, motivate and encourage student growth and understanding.

Classrooms are student-centered, with students engaged in activities that incorporate and require analytical thinking -- including systems thinking and data analysis. Scientific inquiry involves integration and use of higher-level cognitive skills, as well as other 21st century skills such as leadership, teamwork, self-direction, organization, digital communication, and cultural competence. Students participate in independent and collaborative investigations using sophisticated laboratory equipment, library and technological resources, and media equipment.

Reflecting Foothills commitment to STEM education – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math -- the department offers 20 different science courses, enabling students to meet the three-year science requirement in ways that interest and challenge them. Academic offerings include four AP courses; standard and honors-level courses in biology, chemistry and physics; as well as anatomy & physiology, astronomy, two levels of field science, a four-year environmental science pathway, and a three-year engineering pathway that includes the University of Arizona’s course, Engineering 102.

Several courses and classrooms have been enhanced through JTED – the Joint Technological Education District -- enabling the flourishing of a fully-equipped anatomy & physiology lab, chemistry forensics studies, and authentic engineering projects in which students use resources including a 3-D printer, and professional engineering software and hardware packages using state-of-the art equipment.

STEM education benefits from extensive resources at Catalina Foothills High School that include a fully wireless campus, student computers and tablets, and 21st century classrooms housing interactive electronics and digital communication devices for teachers and students. Three full-time staff members are dedicated to technical support for teachers and students, including a specialist in integrating technology with curriculum in the classroom. Well-equipped laboratories enable practical study of biology, biotechnology, anatomy & physiology, environmental studies, and the physical sciences.

All instructors in the science department are highly qualified instructors, meaning that they have met specified educational and training requirements, including having an undergraduate degree in their area of expertise. Many instructors have a Master’s Degree or Doctorate, and all are required to regularly participate in professional development classes to train in effective, research-based teaching teaching methods.

Literacy is a major emphasis at Catalina Foothills, and all science programs have embedded purposeful instruction and assessment in the reading and writing skills necessary for success in authentic applications of the study of science. Teachers work in groups and individually with a full-time literacy coach to assure that students demonstrate skills that will enable them to succeed in a world that demands that they continually analyze complex information and be able to communicate ideas effectively.

A student’s science experiences do not end in the classroom. There are several clubs for students to extend and enjoy their interests in science. Student Clubs include Science Olympiad, which has won the state championship six years in a row and performed well at nationals; Robotics – a competitive design engineering team; and HOSA – a national club of future health professionals.

Our Faculty

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