Dear ACS Friends and Families,
Happy New Year and
welcome back to ACS! I hope you all had a wonderful,
restful winter break. I know
the ACS staff and I enjoyed the break but now we
are ready to get back into the swing of school. The
first semester went by so quickly, I’m amazed
we are already in the second semester and 2008.
Currently
the Governing Board, Kendra Peters, and I are working
on renewing our charter contract with
Douglas County School District. This charter contract
is
revised and renewed every 5 years. Our contract is due for renewal for the 2008/2009
school year. We will be in negotiations until March at which time our contract
will be reviewed and accepted by the DCSD Board of Education.
To find out more
about the charter process and happenings at ACS,
we have two opportunities next week. There will be
a Governing Board Meeting on Monday, January
14th, and a SAC meeting on Wednesday, January 16th. These meetings are very informative
and allow you as parents a voice. I hope you can join us at one of these meetings.
Also
as a quick reminder, please remember to drop your
children off in the morning no earlier than 8:05.
If a child is dropped off before 8:05, we will place
them
in Academy Kids and you will be charged accordingly. Thank you for helping us
to ensure the safety of your children!
As always thank you for your support and
allowing us the opportunity to teach your children.
The ACS staff is passionately committed to the success
of your
kids. Let’s have a wonderful 2008!
“ Every job is a self-portrait
of the person who did it. Autograph your work with
excellence!”
Author Unknown
Sincerely,
Yvette Brown
Academy Charter School Dean
browny@academycharter.org
Important Dates
to Remember
- January 11 Last day
to turn in Re-Enrollment Forms to ACS
- January
14 Governing Board Meeting 6-8
- January 16 SAC Meeting
5-7
- January 17 Dress Down Day
- January 18 Teacher In-service
Day-no students
Core Knowledge Is:
Solid
Many people say that
knowledge is changing so fast that what students
learn today will soon be outdated.
While current events and technology are constantly
changing, there is nevertheless a body of lasting
knowledge that should form the core of a Preschool-Grade
8 curriculum. Such solid knowledge includes, for
example, the basic principles of constitutional
government, important events of world history,
essential elements of mathematics and of oral and
written expression, widely acknowledged masterpieces
of art and music, and stories and poems passed
down from generation to generation.
Sequenced
Knowledge builds
on knowledge. Children learn new knowledge by building
on what they already know.
Only a school system that clearly defines the knowledge
and skills required to participate in each successive
grade can be excellent and fair for all students.
For this reason, the Core Knowledge Sequence provides
a clear outline of content to be learned grade
by grade. This sequential building of knowledge
not only helps ensure that children enter each
new grade ready to learn, but also helps prevent
the many repetitions and gaps that characterize
much current schooling (repeated units, for example,
on pioneer days or the rain forest, but little
or no attention to the Bill of Rights, or to adding
fractions with unlike denominators).
Specific
A typical state
or district curriculum says, "Students
will demonstrate knowledge of people, events, ideas,
and movements that contributed to the development
of the United States." But which people and
events? What ideas and movements? In contrast,
the Core Knowledge Sequence is distinguished by
its specificity. By clearly specifying important
knowledge in language arts, history and geography,
math, science, and the fine arts, the Core Knowledge
Sequence presents a practical answer to the question, "What
do our children need to know?"
Shared
Literacy depends
on shared knowledge. To be literate means, in part,
to be familiar with a broad range
of knowledge taken for granted by speakers and
writers. For example, when sportscasters refer
to an upset victory as "David knocking off
Goliath," or when reporters refer to a "threatened
presidential veto," they are assuming that
their audience shares certain knowledge. One goal
of the Core Knowledge Foundation is to provide
all children, regardless of background, with the
shared knowledge they need to be included in our
national literate culture.
Charter
School Information
Charter
schools are nonsectarian public schools of
choice that operate with freedom from many
of the regulations that apply to traditional
public schools. The "charter" establishing
each such school is a performance contract detailing
the school's mission, program, goals, students
served, methods of assessment, and ways to measure
success. The length of time for which charters
are granted varies, but most are granted for
3-5 years. At the end of the term, the entity
granting the charter may renew the school's contract.
Charter schools are accountable to their sponsor--
usually a state or local school board-- to produce
positive academic results and adhere to the charter
contract. The basic concept of charter schools
is that they exercise increased autonomy in return
for this accountability. They are accountable
for both academic results and fiscal practices
to several groups: the sponsor that grants them,
the parents who choose them, and the public that
funds them. Benefits of Charter Schools
The
intention of most charter school legislation
is to:
- Increase opportunities for learning and
access to quality education for all students
- Create choice for parents and students within
the public school system
- Provide a system of
accountability for results in public education
- Encourage innovative teaching practices
- Create
new professional opportunities for teachers
- Encourage community and parent involvement
in public education
- Leverage improved public
education broadly
People establish charter schools for a variety
of reasons. The founders generally fall into
three groups: grassroots organizations of parents, teachers
and community members; entrepreneurs; or existing
schools converting to charter status. According
to the first-year report of the National
Study of Charter Schools, the three reasons most often
cited to create a charter school are to:
- Realize
an educational vision
- Gain autonomy
- Serve a special population
Parents and teachers choose charter schools
primarily for educational reasons--high academic
standards,
small class size, innovative approaches,
or educational philosophies in line with
their own. Some also
have chosen charter schools for their small
size and associated safety (charter schools serve
an average of 250 students).  |
