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Curriculum Framework

South Carolina high school students face many challenges – higher education standards, increasing college entrance requirements, and growing workforce demands. For students to be successful, high schools must provide a curriculum that is challenging and relevant. They must also offer a sequence of courses to assist students in becoming passionate, lifelong learners.

A framework for curriculum planning aids students and their parents in this process. An effective curriculum framework must have high standards and expectations for all students, a rigorous curriculum that prepares them for post-secondary education and engaging instructional strategies designed to help students learn important concepts and ideas in depth. The Kershaw County School District Curriculum Framework includes a rigorous curriculum design and a requirement that each student develop a challenging Individual Graduation Plan. Working with their parents, counselors and teachers, students develop plans that include academic as well a profession-related courses. Their plans also identify extended learning opportunities that are designed to prepare students for transition to post-secondary education and the workplace.

Kershaw County School District strives to provide a comprehensive curriculum to address the individual needs of all of our students. The framework design allows for an integrated, multi-dimensional approach to planning that helps students become successful learners for high school and beyond. The framework provides a structure for planning and communicating high expectations.

A comprehensive curriculum framework includes the following elements:

  • Clusters of Study
  • Majors within each cluster of study
  • Individual Graduation Plan
  • Recommended curriculum for an IGP
  • Standardized IGP form

A cluster of study is a means of organizing instruction and student experiences around broad categories that encompass virtually all occupations from entry level through professional levels. Clusters of study provide a way to organize and tailor course work and learning experiences around areas of interests. Clusters of study are designed to provide a seamless transition from high school study to post-secondary study and/or the workforce. There are 16 national clusters of study as a means of organizing curriculum. They are:

  • Agriculture Education
  • Architecture & Construction
  • Arts, A/V Technology & Communication
  • Business Management & Administration
  • Education & Training
  • Finance
  • Government & Public Administration
  • Health Science Education
  • Hospitality & Tourism
  • Human Services
  • Information Technology
  • Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security
  • Manufacturing
  • Marketing
  • Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
  • Transportation, Distribution & Logistics

A cluster of study has several majors. A major consists of a number of required units of study in that area. It is recommended that students take at least one course at the highest level offered. Students are required to select a cluster of study prior to the tenth grade. By the end of the tenth grade, students are required to select a major, focusing their academic and elective interest in a specific area. With careful planning some students may complete more than one major.

Students can change a cluster or major if their interests change. Students are never locked into a specific cluster or major. Although students need to declare a major by the end of the tenth grade, completion of a major is not a requirement for a South Carolina High School Diploma.

An Individual Graduation Plan (IGP) is a document used to assist students and their parents in exploring educational and professional possibilities and in making appropriate secondary and post-secondary decisions. It can be modified over time as the student’s interests and skills develop or change. The IGP is based on the student’s academic record, work and general life experiences, and the results of assessments, such as career inventories and achievement tests. On a yearly basis, the IGP should be modified to include courses required for graduation, courses required for a specific major, elective chosen related to a specific major, and extended learning opportunities related to the major.

A student who completes a major as defined in the Curriculum Framework will “walk” at graduation with a white cord. Students may be completers in more than one major in a cluster, or more than one major in multiple clusters but will only earn one cord. Students who graduate with College or Career Ready Status will graduate with a Silver Cord. Senior transcripts and Individual Graduation plans will be reviewed to identify qualifying students.