Swallows Charter Academy
Academics
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Education Matters “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Nelson Mandela made that statement in June of 1990 during a visit to a school in Massachusetts. He often stressed the importance of education. Others have too. Publisher and businessman Malcolm Forbes maintained that the purpose of education was to replace an empty mind with an open one. Civil rights activist, Dr. Martin Luther King, believed education was the key to freedom, but he also thought learning must go deeper. “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.” Education is essential, so schools today have a great responsibility to their students. K-8 - Building the Foundation with Core Knowledge At Swallows Charter Academy our curriculum and how it is delivered provide students with knowledge and skills in a prescribed and methodical manner that maximizes how kids learn. Our curriculum strictly follows The Core Knowledge Sequence. Core Knowledge outlines the precise content that every child should learn in language arts and literature, history and geography, mathematics, science, music, and the visual arts. The sequence in each subject provides content that is to be learned grade by grade with the idea that a child’s skills build cumulatively from year to year. Simply put, knowledge builds on knowledge. The Core Knowledge curriculum is rigorous and encompasses the four “C’s” of learning.
One tremendous value of Core Knowledge is that you can see what is being taught year by year and grade by grade in each subject. We invite you to look at the curriculum maps for each grade level by visiting the curriculum page. High School and Beyond The Core Knowledge curriculum starts in kindergarten and ends with eighth grade, so our high school curriculum picks up where Core Knowledge leaves off. The rigorous and accelerated courses that are the hallmark of Core Knowledge continue in our secondary classes. Our high school program gives students more options than a traditional curriculum found in most schools. In ninth and tenth grade students take many of the basic classes required for graduation. While our classes cover the basics, they do so at an accelerated pace. The intention behind this is to prepare students to enter college a full two years before they graduate from high school. For an in-depth look at our high school course work, please visit our curriculum page. The Early College Program The Early College Program offers students the option of taking college level courses beginning in 10h grade. This is an innovative way for high school students to work toward their high school graduation and a two-year associate’s degree or three years of credit toward a bachelor’s degree. A major benefit of the program is that the students are still our students, and we pay for their college courses. SCA High School gives students two distinct options in the Early College Program because we partner with both Colorado State University – Pueblo and Pueblo Community College. Each offers a wide variety of programs and degree options, so students have a great many choices of their classes. Those choices are far greater than those offered at traditional high schools. CSU-Pueblo offers numerous career opportunities with 31 undergraduate degree programs and 9 graduate programs. PCC offers basic and advanced college classes that lead toward an associate’s degree or can be transferred to a four-year college. PCC also has a number of certificate programs in many specific fields that can lead directly to employment. To ensure that our students succeed in college, we prepare them for the academics of college courses and also the different social aspects and greater responsibilities and expectations. Make no mistake about it, these are still our students, so they are supported and counseled throughout the Early College Program. These students also actively participate in our extracurricular activities such as athletics, musical theater, student council, and National Honor Society. And SCA, like other high schools has a wonderful prom each spring. We understand that college isn’t for everyone, so SCA also offers a full four-year high school program on campus. Students can stay on campus to complete their high school course work leading to graduation. No matter what path our students decide upon, when they graduate from SCA they are fully prepared to go on to college or to join the workforce. Files: |