 |
||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
NSA West General Information:
When is NSA West scheduled to open?
Where will NSA West be located?
Will NSA West have a uniform policy?
What is the expected class size?
What is the 2010 – 2011 full-day Kindergarten tuition?
How much parent involvement is required?
How do I obtain additional information?
NSA Educational Program:
What is the Core Knowledge curriculum?
Does Core Knowledge ignore the development of critical thinking skills?
Why has North Star Academy chosen Spanish as its second language?
What is a Charter School?
How many children attend charter schools?
What is the admission criteria?
How are charter schools held accountable for what they do?
How are charter schools financed?
May a charter school limit its enrollment to certain students?
Where can I get more information about charter schools?
When is NSA West scheduled to open?
NSA West will open September 7, 2010 in its permanent
home in Highlands Ranch, based on a traditional calendar school year.
Click here to view
the 2010-2011 school calendar. A decision to start after Labor Day was
made to ensure construction will be complete and our staff is fully
prepared for your children.
Where will NSA West be located?
NSA West will be permanently located at 6161 Business Center Dr. in Highlands Ranch. This site is located near the intersection of C470 and Quebec, west of the Super Walmart store. The building is a large warehouse, residing on approximately 14 acres, and we will utilize half of the building for our preschool – eighth grade program. Our design advisory committee is currently working with architects and contractors to create a positive school environment for our students.
Can I take a school tour?
The facility for NSA West is currently undergoing a major renovation and school tours are unavailable at this time. North Star Academy in Parker does not offer school tours. However, a Parent Education Series has been scheduled for the winter/spring 2010 to provide additional information regarding how the school operates, the educational program, a session on charter schools and other pertinent information related to NSA West.
Will NSA West have a uniform policy?
Students will adhere to a strict dress code, including the use of uniforms. It is our belief that as students sees themselves and others in attire that connotes self-respect, good behavior patterns will emerge and sustain throughout the school year. Parents will be notified of uniform requirements prior to enrollment and all uniform regulations
will be detailed in the Parent Handbook.
What is the expected
class size?
Class size at NSA
West is targeted at 25 students per class with three classes per grade.
Kindergarten class size is targeted at 20 students per class with four total classes:
1 half-day morning class, 1 half-day afternoon class and 2 full-day tuition-based classes.
What is the 2010 – 2011 full-day Kindergarten tuition?
The full-day Kindergarten tuition is $3,500 for the 2010 – 2011 school year. Families accepted into this program will be asked to sign a tuition agreement form agreeing to 10 monthly auto-payments of $350 for 10 months, with a deposit of $350 occurring prior to school starting in August.
How much parent involvement is required?
The success of a charter school is critically dependent on the support of the parent community. For NSA
West to be successful, we expect parents to commit to 40 hours of volunteer time per year per family.
How do I obtain additional information?
Email us at info@nsawest.org. Our team uses email as its primary means of communication, so please be sure to send us your correct email address. If you have been accepted into NSA West for the 2010-2011 school year and aren’t receiving emails from us, please contact us at enrollment@nsawest.org.
What is Core Knowledge?
The "Core Knowledge" (CK) movement is an educational reform based on the premise that a grade-by-grade core of common learning is necessary to ensure a sound and fair elementary education. The movement was started by Professor E. D. Hirsch, Jr., author of Cultural Literacy and The Schools We Need , and is based on a large body of research in cognitive psychology, as well as a careful examination of several of the world's fairest and most effective school systems.
Professor Hirsch has argued that, for the sake of academic excellence, greater fairness, and higher literacy, early schooling should provide a solid, specific, shared core curriculum in order to help children establish strong foundations of knowledge. After wide consultation, the content of this core curriculum has been outlined in two books - the Core Knowledge Preschool Sequence and the Core Knowledge Sequence, K-8 - that state explicitly what students should learn at each grade level.
Visit http://www.coreknowledge.org
What is the Core Knowledge Curriculum?
The Core Knowledge (CK) curriculum provides teachers with clear and consistent lesson planning while providing parents with a transparent road map of what it is their children will be expected to learn, all linked to Colorado standards.
CK schools in Colorado and across the country have consistently outperformed traditional public schools. In fact, several of the top performing public schools in the state use CK. Even more interesting, CK schools have shown incredible gains in closing learning gaps.
Why are these schools so successful? Core Knowledge is:
- Solid -The CK sequence is very comprehensive and covers the content that all students should learn in each grade from kindergarten through 8th grade.
- Sequence -The CK sequence is designed to build upon what students already know. This sequential building of knowledge not only helps ensure that children enter each new grade ready to learn, but also helps prevent repetitions and gaps.
- Specific -The CK sequence is much more specific than the state standards and provides teachers, parents and students with more structure.
- Shared -To be literate is to know and understand a common body of knowledge. This knowledge creates equality among students and prepares them for life after school.
Visit http://www.coreknowledge.org
Does Core Knowledge ignore the
development of critical thinking skills?
Those who think that the only way to teach specific content is through
rote memorization would be astonished to observe the many imaginative,
resourceful, and creative ways that teachers in Core Knowledge schools have
found to engage their students in active learning of important knowledge:
through dramatizations, art projects, writing workshops, collaborative learning
groups, research projects, etc. Yes, children may occasionally memorize a poem
or the Preamble to the Constitution-but these are valid learning experiences,
which, in fact, children enjoy, and from which they get a sense of pride and
achievement.
Behind the outcry against "rote memorization" lies a deep prejudice - a
prejudice against fact. Many educators object to any curriculum that says, for
example, that children should learn the seven continents, because that is "mere
fact." To teach facts, they say, is to reduce education to "Trivial Pursuit."
Granted, some facts are trivial. Who starred in "Car 54 Where Are You?" That's
trivial. But, who was Dred Scott and what was the significance of the Supreme
Court's Dred Scott decision? That's worth knowing: it gives you insight into the
causes of the Civil War as well as historical perspective on race relations in
the United States.
No one wants schools to think of curriculum solely in terms of facts. We also
want - and students need - opportunities to use the facts, to apply them,
question them, discuss them, doubt them, connect them, analyze them, verify or
deny them, solve problems with them. All these activities, however, rely upon
having some facts to work with. Without factual knowledge about an issue or
problem, you can't think critically about it - you can only have an uninformed
opinion.
Visit http://www.coreknowledge.org
Why has North Star Academy chosen Spanish as its second language?
The Hispanic / Latino population is the fastest growing population in the United States and by the year 2030 one in every five people in America will be Hispanic / Latino, with the vast majority of them speaking Spanish as their primary language.
What is a charter school?
Charter schools are public schools of choice. They are granted a specific amount of autonomy (determined by the state law and the charter granted by a sponsoring agency) to make decisions concerning the structure, curriculum, and educational emphasis of the school. In return for the autonomy, charter schools are held accountable for the academic achievement of the students in the charter school.
Charter schools are free and open to all students. They are:
- Non-tuition based.
- Funded by public school dollars.
- Public, nonsectarian, nonreligious, non-home-based schools.
- Non-selective in enrollment. There are no admission tests or admissions requirements.
- Appealing to students whose needs are not being met by traditional schools.
- Often designed to serve under-served populations.
- Frequently over-enrolled; that is, more students apply than the school can accommodate. In that event, a lottery is held to determine admission.
- Subject to the same safety regulations, civil rights regulations standardized testing and financial accountability as other public schools.
How many children attend charter schools?
Over one million students attend charter schools nationwide; there are approximately 66,000 students enrolled in Colorado's 160+ charter schools (approximately 8% of total public school enrollment), with thousands more on the waiting lists of these schools.
Source: Colorado League of Charter Schools http://www.coloradoleague.org
What is the admission criteria?
Charter schools are subject to all State and Federal provisions prohibiting discrimination and must enroll students in a non-discriminatory manner.
How are charter schools held accountable?
Charter schools are accountable to their local public school district. They are subject to the same standardized testing requirements as other public schools. In fact, they are more accountable than other public schools in that if they do not adequately manage their finances or satisfy their contract terms, they close.
How are charter schools financed?
Charter schools in Colorado are funded under the Public School Finance Act, along with all other public schools. Charter schools receive per pupil revenue (PPR) on the same basis as other public school students enrolled in the district that granted its charter except that districts may retain up to 5% of charter school students' PPR for actual administrative costs.
For additional information, visit the Colorado League of Charter Schools at http://www.coloradoleague.org .
May a charter school limit its enrollment to certain students?
No. Charter schools are open to all students.
Where can I get more information about charter schools?
Further information about charter schools can be found at the following websites:
Colorado League of Charter Schools
http://www.coloradoleague.org
Colorado Department of Education
http://www.cde.state.co.us/index_charter.htm
Charter Schools USA
http:// www.charterschoolsusa.com
US Dept of Education, Public Charter Schools Program
http://www.ed.gov/programs/charter/index.html