Instructional and School Methods

In order to accomplish every students’ success, Higley Traditional Academy uses methods that set them apart from other schools and into the heart of traditional education.

“What’s that sound?”- Spalding reading
What sounds like a musical song filling the classroom with young voices repeating after a very distinct voice? This is a teacher instructing students in Spalding. The Spalding reading method is a form of phonics. “In the Spalding method, children are explicitly taught manipulation tasks such as isolating, segmenting, and blending phonemes; identifying beginning, ending, and substituting phonemes in spoken words. Children are also taught the symbols that represent the speech sounds,” the Spalding Education International website reports.

What’s the result?
“Each and every member of our staff is committed to student success. Having completed comprehensive, professional development in the Spalding Reading Method, our highly qualified teachers are prepared to deliver rigorous instruction using proven instructional practices in an environment that is challenging, supportive and positive,” said Caryn Bacon, principal of Higley Traditional Academy. The Higley Traditional Academy’s curriculum fulfills the Arizona academic requirements and continues Higley’s 100-plus years of academic excellence in preparing students for middle school, high school, college and careers.

Focus on academics
The required dress code contributes to Higley Traditional Academy’s academic environment. Just as dress codes address professional standards in the workplace, HTA’s dress code promotes the purpose of academics. It is both the parents’ and the child’s responsibility to ensure compliance with these standards.