The Board recognizes the responsibility for the quality of the educational program of the schools and directs the competencies, standards, curriculum, and assessments be evaluated, adapted, and developed on a continuing basis.

The competencies, standards, curriculum, and assessments of the Douglas County School District shall be consistent with written goals, objectives, and identified pupil needs. They will be designed to develop individual talents and interests and provide for continuous learning through effective articulation, and shall encourage the utilization of community resources. The curriculum shall include programs and services of school-level library/media facilities and class text collections which support the educational programs; educational programs and services for all students with differing abilities; compensatory education programs for students; career awareness and technical education; and educational opportunities for academically talented students.

The Douglas County School District curriculum is based on District Competency Objectives and Common Core State Standards in Math and English Language Arts. Science, Social Studies, and other content areas can be found on the Nevada Department of Education's website.  Some of the district wide interventions, or extended learning opportunities, for our students include math and reading camps, summer school, and site competency seminars.

Many learning opportunities for the district’s teachers enhance instructional practice within the schools. The Professional Development Center (PDC) has been the central location for teacher learning for over 20 years. PDC provides a thorough Induction and Mentoring program for all educators new to the district. The PDC staff developers bring the very best research-based instructional practices to the teachers by way of site-based training and follow up, courses and workshops at the Center, and with a variety of other professional learning formats. The Northwestern Regional Professional Development Program is another valuable professional learning forum for educators. This state funded program works directly with site trainers within the schools and provides professional development events at the sites and across the region.

It is critical that teachers stay informed about what their students know and are able to do so that instruction can be modified to meet the needs of all students. There are many forms of assessment that provide such information to the students, their parents, and their teachers. Classroom level assessment directly informs instruction, district Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) measure individual student growth, state Criterion Reference Tests check student learning of state standards, district writing assessments help provide a comprehensive view of student learning.

District Policies and Regulations provide guidance to stakeholders about educational practices including textbook selection, grading, assessment use, and so on. The district receives funding from a variety of local, state, and federal grants to support many of our programs.