Selections from our Charter School Proposal
PURPOSE
A. Identify which of the following six purposes the charter school intends to meet and for each purpose identified, provide a paragraph or two describing how the school’s philosophy and educational program meet those purposes.
1. Improve pupil learning:
By following the classical educational model of the trivium, we will be using a time-tested method of training the minds of children in preparation for life as thoughtful, productive, moral adults. The trivium builds on the natural proclivities of children as their minds mature, providing a solid foundation of essential skills and broad knowledge in the early years, giving them the tools to understand, see relationships and to think critically and analytically about information in the middle years, and, in the high school years, honing the ability to express and apply what’s been learned with wisdom, clarity and creativity. The curriculum is broad, yet deep and rigorous. It encompasses subjects as ancient as Latin and as modern as computer science, but always seeks to impart the timeless skills of thinking, reasoning, logic and expression.
2. Increase learning opportunities for students:
To the best of our knowledge, the model we’re proposing is not available to public school students in the Twin Cities area, particularly at the elementary level and as a continuous K-12 program. Private classical schools are filled to capacity, as are classical charter schools operating in other states. These schools are extremely popular with parents and successful with students. We believe having this option available for those who wish to take advantage of it can only benefit students in St. Paul.
3. Encourage the use of different and innovative teaching methods:
Sometimes our modern rush to claim progress causes us to discard the tried and true in favor of those things which are new and untested over time. Our teachers will be encouraged to marry the best practices of modern educational research with the best of what has been proven to be effective through centuries of education.
4. Require the measurement of learning outcomes and create different and innovative forms of measuring outcomes:
Parents, students, and society at large need to know three things about the students being educated - how their performance measures up against objective benchmarks and compares to other students (achievement), how well individual capabilities are being developed (personal progress), and what kind of people they are at school (internalization of moral, ethical and behavioral principles). These measurements must be clearly understandable to everyone. We will use traditional methods to measure achievement - letter grades, where a “C” denotes average work, and standardized achievement tests. Personal progress will also be measured on a scale, accompanied by narrative observations and a portfolio of student work showing progress toward established goals. Behavior will not be graded, but narrative observations will be shared and discussed with parents.
5. Establish new forms of accountability for schools:
Our partnership agreement between parents, teachers and students will clearly establish the roles and responsibilities of each partner in the child’s education. Teachers will be accountable to parents and students for delivering a high quality, rigorous classical education; parents will be accountable to teachers and students for supporting the school’s programs and for allowing the school to extend its curriculum into the home; and students will be accountable to their teachers and parents for applying themselves vigorously to their studies and taking charge of their own learning.
6. Create new professional opportunities for teachers including the opportunity to be responsible for the learning program at the school site:
Teachers will have the opportunity to participate in developing the specifics of the classical curriculum to be used at Nova Classical Academy. Because the curriculum will be comprehensive and cohesive they will be able to see how each part fits into the overall plan and philosophy of education at the school. Staff development is critically important to us. An integral part of the Nova Classical Academy school week will include focused teacher collaboration and development time. We hope to accomplish this in part by extending the school day for an hour Mondays through Thursdays and then having students in school for only a half day on Fridays, with Friday afternoons reserved for staff development, collaboration and planning. Teachers will also receive training in Socratic discussion techniques and we hope will derive personal satisfaction from deepening their own understanding of the subjects they are teaching while engaging in these discussions with their students.
B. Identify how the charter school will improve student achievement:
We believe simply that hard work begets rewards. The process of becoming educated, as with most things that are worthwhile, is not effortless, and requires hard work and determination on the part of students, teachers and parents. This does not mean that the process cannot be engaging. Students of all abilities who are presented with goals, and have caring teachers to guide them in the pursuit of those goals, gain a true sense of self-confidence and accomplishment upon achieving those goals, which builds upon itself and inspires them to work toward even greater accomplishments. The comprehensive and systematic approach of the classical model, which provides a framework of skills and depth of content, will allow students, teachers, and parents to set and prioritize educational goals, measure progress toward them and recognize authentic achievement.
EDUCATION DELIVERY
1. Describe the school’s policy for promoting parent involvement and participation:
Parental involvement is a cornerstone of Nova Classical Academy’s program. We believe that parents are the primary educators of their children and that the school exists to assist them in that task. Every new family will be welcomed individually and will have the school’s policies, procedures, goals and expectations explained to them; parents, students and teachers will sign a partnership agreement detailing each party’s responsibilities in the education of the student; parents will be required to attend quarterly conferences, will be expected to volunteer at least 20 hours per year in direct service to the school, will be expected to attend and participate in school events, and will be expected to support the school’s programs at home, including homework and community service activities; teachers will maintain communication with parents by phone and e-mail and will notify parents immediately if academic or behavior problems arise at school; and the teachers, curriculum specialist and administration will always be available to address concerns and work with parents who feel that their child’s needs are not being met.
In addition, we hope that parents will consider themselves learners, for their own sakes and as examples for their children, and will be inspired to participate in parent-led discussion groups, self-study groups and outreach programs such as English language study for the entire family.
2. Describe the classroom structure:
Nova Classical Academy will have traditional graded classrooms of approximately 22 children, however, in any subject which builds on prior knowledge, students will be grouped by skill level, which may result in multi-age classes in some subject areas. Teachers will also use clustering within the classroom to ensure that all students are being appropriately challenged. These groupings will be flexible and students will be evaluated frequently, especially in the early elementary years when academic development is most likely to be asynchronous, to ensure that they are appropriately placed.
3. Identify and describe the instructional methods:
Although all of the following methods will be used at times in all grades, the classical trivium emphasizes certain instructional methods at certain ages. Didactic instruction dominates in the early grades, coaching for development of specific skills in the middle grades, and Socratic discussion in interdisciplinary seminars in high school. Judicious use of projects and cooperative learning groups will help students apply what they’ve learned. High school juniors and seniors will be expected to complete a major project in an area of their choosing in order to graduate. In addition we will supplement where needed with distance learning programs such as Stanford University’s EPGY math program.
