Things to Know about Charter Schools:
- "Charter Schools are helping to boost accountability, public school choice, and most importantly, student achievement." Richard Riley, former U.S. Secretary of Education.
- Charters select their own curriculum design. By starting from scratch, they can establish achievement-oriented cultures and choose staff to best support these structures from day one.
- Charter schools are mission-driven schools created by educators who envision.
- Charters can limit class and school size.
- Charter designers often heed to the research supporting a small school which states that small schools are safer and better able to nurture a community of learners than are large schools.
Mission Statement:
White Pine Charter School will assist parents and educators in building a solid foundation of knowledge and skills for students to use as a basis for continual learning to meet the challenges of a global society.
Vision Statements:
To create a dynamic and challenging educational institution with high academic standards, providing all students opportunities to develop into motivated learners, analytical thinkers and competent leaders.
To effectively utilize research-based practices and provide a progressive learning environment which maximizes individual student achievement.
To practice a positive and compassionate teaching environment in which educators communicate, share and grow in a professional learning community focusing on unlimited potential for all students and educators.
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Purpose:
The school seeks to develop an educated citizenry for the 21 st century though an accelerated, dynamic, sequential and interactive academic program where pacing is driven by student capabilities, not textbooks. The students will be asked to develop personal habits and attitudes that lead to accepting responsibility for personal decisions and actions; academic honesty and the ability to face challenges with courage and integrity. Students will develop self-confidence and willingness to risk setbacks in order to learn. Students will be asked to work cooperatively with others.
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Innovative Features
The Pine Charter School's innovative features include: Spanish language instruction; extended academic day; full day Kindergarten program; a focus on reading, writing and math excellence through the use of Core Knowledge Sequence aligned to state standards and state required assessments; curriculum differentiation engaging every child in respectful work; concept-based math and science programs:, required homework; Individual diagnostic assessments to help the teacher, child and parents create a personal learning plan; and post assessment to demonstrate annual individual growth in reading and math. The educational atmosphere is supported by a written/contractual disciplinary policy and required uniforms. A half day per week is reserved for teacher planning and collaboration. Parents are asked to volunteer 20 hours of their time, per year.
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Curriculum:
The curriculum design at White
Pine is based on the Core Knowledge Sequence. The philosophy behind the Core Knowledge Sequence is that there exists a body of knowledge that should build the framework for a child's education. Such solid knowledge includes: principles of government, important events of world history, essential elements of mathematics, reading and writing, relevant concepts and processes of science, widely acknowledged masterpieces of art and music, and stories and poems passed down from generation to generation. For more information about Core Knowledge visit www.coreknowledge.org.
To ensure our students are receiving an excellent education our educators are committed to teaching important skills and content using carefully selected curriculum materials and resources;
- Math: Everyday Math, Connected Math, Middle School Math, Cuisenaire, and Math Their Way.
- Reading: Open Court and a broad array of novels for literature study.
- Handwriting without Tears
- Science: A variety of materials to meet the standards, including Full Option Science System (FOSS), Science and Technology for Children (STC), and McDougal Little Series for Middle School.
- Social Studies: Pearson Learning Materials that match the Core Curriculum and a wide variety of other materials to meet the needs.
- Writing: Grammar from Michael Clay Thompson; Royal Fireworks Press, Shurley Grammar and 6-Trait Writing.
- Spanish: Espanol para ti video series from the Wright Group.
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Enrollment:
You must turn in your letter of intent by 4:00 April 14, 2008 to be considered in the lottery pick for the 2008-2009 school year. See Letter of Intent for the form needed. Lottery will take place April 15th.
Students from District 93 and 91 are eligible to enroll. Districts 93 and 91 have equal opportunities for enrollment. Following is the order in which students are placed when an opening occurs or a new class is opened. Enrollment lottery takes place each spring. Your child will be placed in one of three lottery pools. Each pool has a priority:
Order of Priority:
1. Founder Status
2. Siblings
3. Non-siblings
The lottery is held during a public meeting. At the time of the lottery your child/family will be randomly assigned a number.
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Dress Code
White Pine Charter School has adopted a dress code because, students attire and appearance affects the learning environment. Therefore, compliance with the dress standard is mandatory and students are expected to arrive at school in neat appearance, wearing approved clothing. For details on dress code see Policies listed on the parent's page.
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School Report Card
Each year White Pine Charter School does an assessment on how the students are achieving. For this year's assessments see the School Report Card page.
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