Charter
Schools
On June 3, 1993, Governor Roy Romer signed
legislation known as the Charter School Act. It was designed to
enable parents, teachers and community members to “take
responsible risks and create new, innovative, and more flexible
ways of educating all children within the public school system”
which result in “expanded choices” for parents and pupils. Each
charter school works with its school district, negotiating terms
for meeting academic and fiscal expectations. Charter schools
have alternative educational philosophies, such as Core
Knowledge, Montessori or experiential-based learning.
As a public
school of choice, PRA offers students and their families a
curriculum alternative. The academic program follows the Core
Knowledge Foundation’s content based curriculum as outlined in
the Scope and Sequence and in the book series by E.D. Hirsch,
Jr., What Your First Grader Needs to Know, et al.
PRA has high
academic expectations and emphasizes the mastery of basic
skills, such as language arts and mathematics. Teachers strive
to integrate curriculum and instruction across disciplines and
to develop students’ problem solving and critical thinking
skills. Homework assignments are given on a regular basis to
reinforce classroom learning.
Character
values include integrity, respect, responsibility and compassion
and are strongly encouraged.
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