Curriculum Department

Hanover Community School Corporation is committed to aligning your child’s curriculum with Indiana state standards and ensuring that they have the skills necessary to successfully progress year after year. The Curriculum Department and Assistant Superintendent Dr. John Zack are charged with the task of helping teachers ‘map’ curriculum and helping students achieve a minimum of 80% proficiency in skills at each grade level. 

An aligned curriculum determines what each student needs to master at each grade level in order to be successful. Without an aligned curriculum in grades K-12, students would be left with splintered skills and gaps in learning.  Invariably, they would enter a grade level and not have the foundation to be successful. An aligned curriculum ensures that skills mastered in first grade provide students with what they need to be successful in second grade, and the alignment continues from one grade level to the next. By understanding what an elementary school student needs to know when they transition to middle school, and what a middle school student needs to know to transition to high school, it helps teachers realize that they are responsible to their peers, and we are all responsible for one common goal, providing the best education possible for Hanover kids.  

The bottom line for the Curriculum Department is simple; “What do we want our students to learn, how do we know they learned it, and what are we going to do if they didn’t? Maps and formative assessments (short tests) are designed by teachers and, ultimately, teachers will determine how well the maps are working by the performance of their students through short assessments and ISTEP testing. Dr. Zack will assist the teachers in determining what needs to change on the maps at regular intervals. 

Curriculum mapping doesn’t eliminate the creativity of individual teachers, but rather enhances it.  The magic that teachers work in the classroom is what makes teaching a creative art. How teachers deliver instruction in the classroom may be very different in each classroom, and that creativity is encouraged, but with curriculum mapping the expectations are the same at each grade level, and that is at the heart of the 'science' of teaching. 

Dr. John Zack joined the Hanover team as the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction in July of 2026. He brings nearly 30 years of educational experience to Hanover. He served as a special education teacher at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. He was also a Career and Technical Education instructor, department chair, and principal at both the elementary and high school levels.

Most recently, he served as the principal at Highland High School. He holds a doctorate in educational leadership. John is a relationship builder who believes that when staff feel supported, students thrive. He mentioned,” I love supporting the arts, theater, and athletes as students have the opportunity to explore their passions and live them out.”

Dr. Zack’s hopes for Hanover include:

• Growth of student opportunities
• Maintain the look and feel that families have come to know and love
• Keep the amazing Hanover spirit alive

Dr. Zack shared, “I am so very excited to be coming on board at HCSC to help keep the solid tradition of educational excellence alive. Supporting our teachers, students, and building leaders in this endeavor is exciting just to think about.”

Dr. Zack enjoys walking his dog, going for a run, participating in Spartan races and other local road races, reading, and the occasional video game. He has a wife, 6 children, and 8 grandchildren.