Elementary Curriculum
Welcome to our MCS Elementary Curriculum page. We hope the information provided on this page will help answer any questions you might have about elementary curriculum and instruction.
Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE)
The mission of Murray County Schools is centered on providing students with a solid academic foundation in English Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies. Students will also receive exposure to art, music, technology, health, and physical education. We work to challenge our students through a variety of research-based strategies and instructional methods. Students in kindergarten through fifth grade receive instruction based upon the Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE). Please click on the quick links below to learn more about our K-5 standards.
Elementary Grading Scale/Report Cards
Students will be issued report cards each 8-week grading period. It is the student’s responsibility to bring the report card home. Incomplete grades must be made up within 5 school days after the completion of each term. The grading scale is as follows:
Grades K-2
N Not Evident
P Progressing Towards Mastery/Needs Improvement
M Satisfactory
X Not Currently Assessed
Grades 3-5
A=90-100 B=80-89 C=70-79 F=69 and below
Participation areas, including art, music, and PE are assessed on the following scale:
I Incomplete
P Pass
F Fail
Honor and Star Honor Roll
Honor rolls and star honor rolls will be published at the end of each grading period. Students are eligible for the star honor roll if grades are A or above in all classes. If a student makes a B or above in all courses, he/she will be listed on the honor roll. Conduct is not used when determining honor rolls.
Infinite Campus Parent Portal
Infinite Campus Parent Portal gives parents online access to their child’s grades, attendance, and updated enrollment information. The head of household must present a photo ID at the student’s school to receive the access code for this service.
Elementary Literacy
Literacy is at the core of our instruction each day. We teach the Georgia Standards of Excellence using a variety of research-based practices, curriculum pieces, and assessments.
Upcoming ESE Standards Changes
The Georgia Standards of Excellence require that students gain, evaluate, and present increasingly complex information, ideas and evidence through listening and speaking as well as through media. The standards recognize that students must be able to use formal English in their writing and speaking but that they must also be able to make informed, skillful choices among the many ways to express themselves through language. It is important to note the impact of the standards on classroom instruction: building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction; reading, writing and speaking grounded in evidence from the text, both literary and informational; and regular practice with complex text and its academic language. The GSE will remain the standards for instruction through the 2024-2025 school year, and the newly adopted K-12 Georgia Standards of English Language Arts will be fully implemented during the 2025-2026 school year.
Click here to get more information about the new standards and their implementation:
Georgia Department of Education ELA Standards
New Dyslexia Law & Implementation
The definition of dyslexia adopted by the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) states: “Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.”
As of May 2019, Governor Kemp signed Senate Bill 48 into law. SB48 provides for identification of and support for students in kindergarten through third grade with dyslexia.
Click here to get more information about the new law and its implementation:
Georgia Department of Education Dyslexia Information
Elementary Mathematics
Math instruction is a big part of our instruction each day in Murray County Schools. We teach the Georgia Standards of Excellence using a variety of research-based instructional strategies, curriculum pieces, and assessments.
New Math Standards for 2023-2024
The State Board of Education approved State School Superintendent Richard Woods’ recommendation to adopt Georgia’s K-12 Mathematics Standards. The 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years have been dedicated to teacher training on the new standards, with implementation in the classroom with students to follow in 2023-2024.
The new standards are Georgia-developed. They were drafted by mathematics teachers in Georgia with input from educational leaders, parents, students, business and industry leaders, and community members. They are designed to provide a strong foundation, to be clear and understandable, and to present a reasonable amount of content each year.
Click here for more information about our new math standards:
Georgia Department of Education New Math Standards
