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Curriculum
Please take a moment to review
our school design and provide us with your comments (for example, what do you like about
it, what could be done differently, how could
we better meet our mission). Your comments will
be considerd for incorporation into our school design.
See
below for key elements of our charter application and please provide feedback
on our design.
Educational Program Overview
We will be devoting space here to an overview
of our school program. More details will be added as our
team finalizes the curriculum and schedule for the
school.
ICS will be a model
school that provides a number of innovative features
proven to increase learning outcomes and engagement in
school for both struggling and high achieving students. ICS will
incorporate the following aspects to help all of our students to
achieve to high academic and non-academic standards:
·
Modified school day
- school day begins at 8:30am and will continue until 4 pm, to
provide students with extended project based learning and
individualized learning opportunities, and to provide time for
students to attend internships in local businesses.
·
The school will
operate for 190 days each
year.
·
Personalized
curriculum - Each student’s program will be tailored to their
individual strengths and areas of need, based on diagnostic
assessments at the beginning of each school year. Those needs will
be matched with the goals and objectives of their grade level and
the school. Students, parents, teachers and advisors meet to develop
an individual learning plan, and meet regularly to review the
student’s progress relative to the plan. The Learning Plans and
curriculum will facilitate development of the Knowledge and Skills
for University Success (KSUS) standards for college preparedness by
the Association of American Universities (Conley, D., 2003,
Understanding University Success, Philadelphia: Pew Charitable
Trusts).
·
Business and
Entrepreneurship academy - Career academies have been successful in
engaging students who would otherwise be indifferent to or lost from
school. The program will involve partnerships with employers, the
community, and local colleges, who bring resources from outside the
school to improve student motivation and achievement. They will
include a Business curriculum, Project-based learning and
cross-curricular study, Internships, and Business themed enrichment
activities.
·
Computer-based,
individualized learning - students will access Pearson Digital
Learning’s NovaNET comprehensive online courseware. NovaNet is a
research-based program (Pearson Digital Learning, 2003,NovaNET
Courseware for Grades 6-12: Developed, Validated, and Refined by
Research).
·
Business
internships and mentorships in areas of students'
interest,
·
Satellite learning
pods - Teachers and students in upper grades who cannot
attend the regular school program may participate in self-selected
groups on individual and small group projects away
from the central school campus. Classes are taught
to satellite students directly and in "virtual classrooms" with
highly qualified teachers.
·
Individual and
small group tutoring - tutorials for all students at least 3
times a week. They provide dedicated time to complete
homework, meet with teachers, work with tutors, use
computer-based learning, and engage in test preparation
·
Hands-on, project
based learning - Project Based Learning is a
“systematic teaching method that engages students in
learning knowledge and skills through an extended inquiry
process structured around complex, authentic
questions, and carefully designed products and tasks” (retrieved
11/1/05 from http://www.bie.org/pbl/pblhandbook/intro.php).
PBL will encompass a
spectrum ranging from brief projects of one or two weeks in one
classroom to year-long, interdisciplinary projects in
"satellite" classrooms.
·
Student and parent
input into decision-making - students will be involved in
planning their learning using individual learning
plans
·
Common planning
time for all teachers -
Common planning time will
be provided weekly, and will largely follow the Child Review
model of Pat Carini (Carini and Himley, Eds, 2000, From
Another Angle: Children's Strengths and School Standards,
New
York: Teacher’s College
Press). Planning time
focuses on addressing needs and creating supports for
individual students.
·
Continual
professional development for all teachers, administrators and
support staff. – to cover all aspects of ICS’ unique
curriculum, including Project Based Learning, technology enriched
learning and Individualized Learning
Plans.
These
characteristics of our school are explained further
below:
Specific, measurable school
goals: The school is
accountable to parents, the William Penn District and its students
through commitment to helping its students to achieve a wide range
of academic and non-academic goals.
Small school and class
size: the entire school
will only serve 360 students, creating an intimate, family-type
atmosphere with individual attention given to the goals and needs of
each student. Class sizes will also be small, with an average of
only 20 students per teacher, in largely seminar-style classes.
College
preparation: All of our students will be fully prepared for
lifelong learning, and to attend higher education institutions after
graduating from ICS. The skills and knowledge required for mastery
of each course will be fully aligned with the Knowledge and Skills
for University Success developed by the Association of American
Universities (Conley, D., 2003, Understanding University
Success, Philadelphia: Pew Charitable Trusts). The KSUS
standards are the result of a two-year study in which more than 400
faculty and staff members from twenty research universities
participated in extensive coursework reviews designed to identify
what students must do to succeed in entry-level courses at their
institutions. National academic content standards documents were
analyzed and used for comparison. Multiple peer reviews were
employed to hone the standards and ensure their validity, and
consultants with expertise in standards development contributed
suggestions for improvement.
The standards reflect the skills and knowledge students must
possess to succeed in college without having to take remedial
courses.
Based on the KSUS standards
and other college preparatory program research and recommendations,
the hallmarks of our curriculum are as
follows:
·
More time
on task – To make better
use of the limited time students spend in a high school and ensure
that our graduates meet the admissions requirements common to
selective universities, all students will be required to take math,
English, science, and social studies courses in all four years at
ICS, plus a minimum 2 levels of
language
·
Focus on
Creativity, Critical thinking and Problem
solving – All of our students will be shown and will be
required to show the elements of reasoning essential for posing,
investigating, analyzing and evaluating problems that are central to
success in their lives as teenagers, in later careers and in college
(National Center on Education and the Economy, 2006, Tough Times
or Tough Choices, Report of the New Commission on the Skills of the
American Workforce).
These habits of mind are critical thinking, analytic
thinking, and problem solving, an inquisitive nature and interest in
taking advantage of what a college has to offer, creativity,
openness to many possible futures, and ability to cope with
frustrating and ambiguous learning tasks. Other skills will include the ability to express
oneself in writing and orally in a clear and convincing fashion, to
discern the relative importance and credibility of various sources
of information, to draw inferences and reach conclusions
independently, and to use technology as a tool to assist in the
learning process. These
goals will be common to all courses and will be synthesized in the
Project Based Learning (detailed further later in the proposal) in
which all students will participate.
·
Linkages to
College – Finally, all students will have exposure to
college, not just through college fairs and other admissions
activities, but through AP classes. Students will be required to produce entry level
college work in their senior coursework, and demonstrate work at the
college entry level in their Senior Projects. Tutors from local
colleges will also be provided to work with students at the school,
giving them first hand experience with the requirements and benefits
of college life.
Highly disciplined environment-
ICS students will learn
in an environment that is safe, orderly and where respect for school
staff and fellow classmates is paramount. A clear code of conduct
will state explicitly the consequences of disruptive or
disrespectful behavior, and will be enforced by the CEO. The
founders of ICS understand the research that shows that an orderly
environment where students feel safe is most conducive for learning.
Students and staff will be taught to be proactive in creating a
disciplined environment, drawing heavily on Vygostky’s social
learning theory (Vygotsky, L.S. (1962). Thought and Language.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press). Self-discipline will be
taught as a set of skills to be mastered in all areas, and will be
guided by Vygotsky’s theories (which will inform the learning
environment throughout the school), and by a related discipline
method called The Responsible Thinking Process (Ford, E. E. (1997).
Discipline for home and school book one (2nd ed.).
Scottsdale, AZ: Brandt). Using the Responsible Thinking
Process (RTP), teachers and students focus their actions on optimum
outcomes for the environment that they are in- in this case,
establishing the best conditions for academic learning. RTP helps
students to control their own actions in the midst of confusing and
distracting elements that are the inevitable consequence of social
interaction.
Frequent communication with parents
The support and
involvement of parents is essential for us to meet the mission of
our school. Parents are the child’s first teacher, and must work
with the school to continue to set the educational and behavioral
achievements of their child as they work their way through high
school and on to higher learning. They provide the home conditions
that support academic learning (rest, diet, stress relief, comfort),
provide inspiration and stimulation to children’s development, and
reinforce all of the academic learning and social habits that are
taught in the school. They are expected to spend time in the school,
supporting and monitoring their own child’s learning, as well as the
learning of others. Teachers will communicate with parents through
the World Wide Web, by telephone, in person, and in paper
communications that are brought home and back to school by the
students. Families and students’ home cultures are celebrated in the
school, with frequent open houses and social gatherings to allow
families and school staff to socialize outside of the regular
academic day.
High graduation standards ICS will require all
graduating students to demonstrate proficiency in academics, to
master at least 80% of the material in all required subject areas,
to complete a senior project that synthesizes their learning, to
successfully complete a 24-30 week long internship at a related
business, and to attend school regularly (at least 90% of the time).
All students will be required to achieve a score of “proficient” on
the PSSA in Reading, Writing and Mathematics, or its
equivalent in order to graduate from the school.
Varied, Individualized
Instruction ICS will
implement the concept of Learning for Mastery as envisioned by
Bloom, which requires multiple methods of instruction to ensure that
each student has an opportunity to learn the skills and content of
the subject matter. Lectures, tutorials, computer-based learning,
project based learning, seminars and group discussions will all be
used with students to promote student learning. Vygotsky’s interactional
learning theory will guide the entire instructional program, as
teachers create classroom environments that promote critical
thinking, analysis and evaluation.
Internships and Real world
experience In addition
to creating a real or simulated business as an integral part of
their learning program beginning in their Freshman year, all
students will complete a required internship related to the school’s
mission in their Senior year. The internships will be developed with
local small businesses, matching as closely as possible the needs of
the business with the skills and interests of the students. Student
internships will be part of the students’ school day (in the
afternoon), and will form the basis of their senior projects. In
addition, students will develop workplace skills as outlined by the
SCANS commission (e.g., basic academic and communication skills,
higher order thinking skills, technology skills, affective and
social skills). Students will also participate in frequent guest
workshops and travel to hear speakers from a variety of industries.
Students will learn how to become leaders by working with leaders
inside and outside of
school.
Integral learning
technologies ICS
students will utilize technology in every aspect of their program
exploring both widely used and promising new technologies while
developing both their academic and workplace skills. All students
will become proficient in the new (2007) National Educational
Technology Standards (NETS-S) created by the International Society
for Technology Education (ISTE). To that end, students will use a
variety of computer software to create, plan, implement, and analyze
projects, to conduct online and offline research, and to collaborate
with their peers and with industry professionals. The school
will:
·
Have a strong
emphasis on uses of media for communication, student work and
long-term projects, and community interaction
·
Give students
advantage in an ever-increasing, technologically dependent
world
·
Provide Media
rich delivery of content and lessons will appeal to range of student
learning styles
·
Give students
access to software to include the iWorks suite (Pages, Numbers,
Keynote),for word processing, data management and presentations, and
the iLife suite (iPhoto, iMovie, .Mac Web Gallery, GarageBand, iWeb,
iDVD), for complete digital authoring in various--yet
essential—media, and Logic Pro, an award winning sequencing and
audio application for music creation and
production
·
Provide
documentation cameras in every
classroom
·
Give students
access to Interactive Mobile Learning Labs, including: Apple iPod
Learning Lab, Apple Mobile Learning Lab, and Digital Media Creation
Kit
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