January 15, 1997
chartered by
Leo Klagholz, Commissioner,
New Jersey State Department of Education,
under the
Charter School Program Act of 1995.
Part I
P.O. Box 3587, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
-1
Princeton Charter School
Part I includes the education and admissions sections of the Princeton Charter School Application. Governance, finances, policies, and appendices can be found in the full proposal, available at the reference desk of the Princeton Public Library.
Princeton Charter School
Princeton Charter School (PCS) is a public school, funded by public monies, and operated independently by a board of trustees under a charter granted by the Commissioner of Education of the State of New Jersey. It will begin operation in the 1997-98 school year as a 4-6 elementary school, and will expand yearly until a K-8 configuration is achieved.
Princeton Charter School's mission is to provide its diverse student body the best possible education by focusing on the fundamental academic disciplines in an atmosphere that affirms academic achievement, and in so doing, to offer the community true choice in public education. Princeton Charter School believes that a ``thorough and efficient'' education is best accomplished through a rigorous curriculum that requires mastery of core knowledge and skills.
In Kindergarten through eighth grade a solid foundation must be built for a lifetime of learning. Some schools sacrifice high expectations for fear of undermining student self-esteem. Princeton Charter School believes that knowledge must come first, and that children acquire genuine self-esteem through academic accomplishment. Many schools currently deprive learners of this experience by failing to set and celebrate milestones of achievement.
By fourth grade wide gaps in achievement emerge that cannot be explained by variations in ability alone. Disturbingly but not surprisingly, these gaps often correspond to children's socioeconomic differences and varying levels of parental support. Some are created by inconsistent or even ineffective treatment of core areas such as language arts and mathematics. Princeton Charter School cannot hope to close these gaps entirely, but it believes that a stronger education program will help to bridge them.
These problems are urgent and cannot await gradual reforms. The children in our schools today have only one chance at a good education. Princeton Charter School hopes to influence the course of public education by positive example for the benefit of our children and the society they will create.
To accomplish this mission, Princeton Charter School will have:
The main goals of Princeton Charter School are to:
The immediate goal of Princeton Charter School is to prepare students for academic success in their further education, to enable students to keep open a broad spectrum of options for their future endeavors, and to prepare them to be responsible and productive citizens.
Princeton Charter School (PCS) will give students an early and thorough grounding in reading, writing, mathematics, history, science, a foreign language, and the arts, so as not to foreclose their future choice of academic specialty or professional career. The school will focus on core knowledge and essential skills so that children may achieve the mastery on which further learning will build. The PCS education program also includes comprehensive health and physical education. The core PCS grade-level outcomes meet New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards and are defined in part by referring to existing national and international standards.
In order to prepare students for the future, and to meet the New Jersey Core Curriculum Standard of Workplace Readiness, PCS will foster a range of attitudes and behaviors such as hard work, personal responsibility, constructive engagement in activities, self-discipline to tackle various assignments, a sense of fairness, and respect for others.
In the course of their studies, students in Princeton Charter School are expected to develop and hone the skills to formulate a question or define an issue. They will find relevant information using appropriate tools and evaluate it through critical thinking and quantitative analysis. They will solve problems and make decisions based on available information and organize and present their work both orally and in written or graphic form.
PCS will strive to lead every student to these accomplishments, which are essential to future success in school and at work, to the responsibilities of citizenship, and to the satisfactions of a cultivated mind.
Interest in rigorous early education crosses all demographic boundaries. Princeton Charter School will seek a diverse student body and offer those students both excellence and equity in education. The school's strong academic program will reduce achievement gaps by eliminating an important cause - the insufficient mastery of basic knowledge and skills required for further academic achievement.
Princeton Charter School will use a variety of teaching methods to ensure mastery of appropriate skills, ideas, and knowledge for all students, regardless of race, gender, or family's socioeconomic and educational background. Since knowledge and skills are acquired cumulatively and systematically, it is essential to detect any learning difficulties early and to intervene before proceeding to the next level. Regular assessments integrated with the curriculum will help determine how students are learning, i.e., to identify those areas that need more support or greater challenge.
Princeton Charter School will be responsible for meeting the educational needs of its students without parents resorting to outside tutoring, provided parents or guardians support the school's mission by ensuring home study sessions and homework completion. Beyond its core program, PCS is dedicated to challenging and stimulating every child. A modified program will be provided for those children with diagnosed disabilities which require adjusted teaching strategies or definitions of success, all within the general framework of PCS education goals.
Princeton Charter School's third main goal is to provide a real choice among education opportunities for students, parents, and teachers. The availability of choices within public education, not just for those who can afford private schools, ensures a real option for all the residents of Princeton, regardless of the financial status of their families.
The availability of choice is an important element in educational accountability and promotes higher standards throughout the system. Those students whose families prefer a rigorous early education may choose PCS, while remaining free to return to the regular public schools in the district of their residence if they become dissatisfied. This mechanism puts emphasis on the needs of the students, and helps to ensure that these needs are met in either regular public schools or PCS. The accountability that choice encourages will also help maintain strong public support for public education as a whole.
By meeting its objectives, Princeton Charter School will provide children with a positive educational and social experience in a structured, challenging yet nurturing environment. It will be a community in which students, teachers, and parents are jointly aware of and committed to the mission and goals of the school.
Princeton Charter School (PCS) is established by the Princeton Charter School Founders (PCSF), which consists of parents of children currently attending the Princeton Regional School District and certified teachers. These individuals are listed below. Background information, certifications/licenses and corporate/business affiliations are given in an appendix of the full application which is available at the reference desk of the Princeton Public Library.
The Founders are individuals who are all committed to public education and
who believe that this charter school will benefit public education in the
state of New Jersey.
The Founders wish to acknowledge the efforts of all the community members who contributed to this application.
The Founders of the PCS have entered no partnerships with other entities to found this school.
Princeton Charter School views a young learner's early years as a precious resource not to be squandered. These are the years in which a solid foundation must be built on which to base a lifetime of learning. The failure to challenge adequately this age group is a national problem identified in numerous reports over the last few decades.
We believe that only through meeting challenges arising from a sequential and cumulative curriculum, with a significant focus on skills and knowledge, do learners acquire genuine self-esteem. Students should celebrate concrete accomplishment and mastery of appropriately defined objectives.
Serious education must begin earlier than is fashionable today - before the learner is faced with the complexities of approaching adulthood. Princeton Charter School cannot hope to erase achievement differences entirely, but it believes that a stronger educational program will significantly ameliorate them. Today, many students never overcome these differences, and both the student and society pay a price.
The Princeton Charter School educational program features a rigorous approach to the six basic academic disciplines: language arts, mathematics, science, history and geography, foreign languages, and the arts.
The heart of the program is a sequential and cumulative curriculum. In each area, our school emphasizes skills as well as knowledge and ideas. Our objective is not a program in which repetition and drilling are by any means the only tools, but we believe that current thinking in mainstream education has diminished their role to an unreasonable extent. In every field of human endeavor, the achievement of excellence involves experiences of this kind. To write well, one must write frequently and be exposed to the tools with which experienced writers construct polished prose. The same is true in the arts, in mathematics, and so on.
Leadership and service are part of the PCS student experience. Within the school, students are encouraged to participate in school improvement projects, and may propose projects of their own, such as leading a reading circle or a discussion group. The school will cultivate a limited number of meaningful community service relationships, so that students may experience the satisfaction of contributing beyond the school walls.
The program is an integrated whole, but we now present three more detailed perspectives: teaching, curriculum, and assessment (in Section 5).
The PCS faculty have the opportunity to meet creatively the challenge of achieving timely mastery of the knowledge and skills specified in the curriculum. To help meet this challenge, assessment is integrated with the curriculum in order to confirm student progress and ensure accountability of the school. In a sequential and cumulative curriculum such as ours this is particularly important. Partly through assessment, PCS teachers identify students for whom additional tutoring or challenges may be appropriate. Assessment is also used to evaluate the effectiveness of different teaching methods and curriculum materials.
The majority of instruction time is spent teaching the standard PCS curriculum to the entire class. However, a feature of the PCS program that distinguishes it from most public schools, is that early intervention is provided if needed, even in the absence of a diagnosed disability. This happens in several ways:
It is PCS policy that homework should complement and supplement, but never replace the teacher's obligation to cover material in the classroom. Classwork allows sufficient practice to acquire proficiency, with homework providing reinforcement and enrichment. Through classwork and homework the teacher helps students to develop effective learning and work habits.
Common public milestones are established by the faculty to punctuate a student's progress in a highly visible way, and to give students and the rest of the PCS community an opportunity to celebrate academic achievement. Milestones might, for example, consist of an essay to be published (with the student's permission) on the school's Web site, or a piece of artwork for display at a school exhibition.
Parents and students will support the teacher's efforts towards maintaining an appropriate atmosphere and level of safety and authority in the classroom.
The PCS faculty and community will openly value and recognize academic success.
The PCS curriculum reflects the belief that knowledge and skills are best acquired in an incremental and cumulative manner. Continuity and coherence of the curriculum from grade to grade are emphasized. The lack of curricular coherence is the most fundamental distinction between most U.S. public schools and the best private schools or public school systems of many other nations. The curriculum minimizes fragmentation of an academic discipline into independent and unrelated units; the emphasis is on using previously acquired knowledge and skills for further learning.
The PCS curriculum is designed to encourage critical thinking and applications of acquired knowledge and skills. However we avoid integration of different academic disciplines as an end in itself. Integration is used when it promotes understanding and accomplishment. For example, mathematical skills and concepts are used extensively in the science curriculum, and reading and writing skills are an integral part of the curriculum in all academic disciplines. Learning about string instruments in music might, for example, be integrated with the study of acoustics in science, and lead to understanding of the relationship between the length of a string under tension and the pitch of the sound the string produces when plucked.
Instructional materials, including textbooks, reading lists, and enrichment materials, are an essential element of the PCS curriculum. The PCS process of selection is based on the following criteria: 1) correspondence with the school's achievement targets for each grade, 2) subject accuracy, 3) clarity of exposition, and 4) vocabulary and ideas that build from grade to grade. Materials used for class and homework are selected to provide the practice needed to master a subject. Faculty and members of the extended PCS community may contribute supplemental curriculum materials. These are subjected to the same review and approval process used for other instructional materials. The school builds its curricular equity rather than losing it when an author leaves.
The core PCS grade-by-grade outcomes meet New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards. The grade-level outcomes are defined in part by referring to existing national and international efforts. In language arts the focus is on reading, comprehension, writing, grammar, and speech. A second language is taught beginning in first grade. The mathematics curriculum includes numerical operations, measurement, probability and statistics, algebra, geometry, and selected topics in discrete mathematics. A special emphasis is placed on problem solving, including age appropriate challenge problems. Quantitative reasoning combined with observation and experimentation are stressed in the physical sciences, life sciences, earth sciences, and astronomy. The students study the political, economic, geographic, cultural, and technological forces that have shaped the history of the world and of the United States. Both performing and survey components in the visual arts, music, drama, and dance are included. The development of self-discipline along with effective study, organization, and work habits is a stated outcome at PCS.
The PCS approach to technology also includes specific skills to be acquired and concepts to be mastered. Computers connected to the Internet are used as tools where appropriate, but not as ends in themselves. Beyond working with specific computer programs, the students come to understand the algorithmic paradigms on which they are based - ideas which will outlive the programs or machines themselves.
The curriculum also includes physical and health education with a focus on healthy everyday living. Physical education overlaps the arts in the areas of dance and movement.
Princeton Charter School curricular objectives in specific areas are described in the sections below. Before classes begin in the Fall of 1997, our Director, together with advisory committees to the Board of Trustees, will finalize the PCS educational program for the school year 1997-98. The Board of Trustees shall have the authority to adjust the PCS education program within the stated goals and objectives of the school.
English language skills are the most essential part of a child's early education. Students must learn to read so that they can read to learn. They must have a fluent written and oral command of standard English. They must read the literature that forms the knowledge base of a literate citizen. The Princeton Charter School English curriculum is a carefully sequenced, comprehensive program for teaching children to read, write, and speak standard English. It is based on the 1988 United States Department of Education report, James Madison Elementary School: A Curriculum for American Students. The main elements of the curriculum are: the use of literature to enliven reading, to inform, and as a model for writing; reading for comprehension, vocabulary, and entertainment; writing for communication and for creative expression, with emphasis on organization, syntax, spelling, and penmanship. These elements are briefly sketched below. The curriculum complies with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards in Language Arts.
The English program uses a core list of imaginative, challenging literature selected to expand students' vocabulary and knowledge of the world. The students read poetry, folk tales, fables, legends, plays, classic and modern novels, speeches, essays and other works of nonfiction. At every level the reading list is from multiple cultures, moving from children's literature to serious literature by the eighth grade. Literature is studied not only for content but also for style, and appropriate literary prose is presented as a model for the student's own writing.
Since good reading skills are the gateway to education, the PCS uses the most effective method for teaching reading: systematic phonics instruction integrated with reading and writing. In the 1990 report sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education [Beginning to Read, p. 49], psychologist Marilyn Adams concludes that ``the vast majority of program comparison studies indicate that approaches including systematic phonics instruction result in comprehension skills that are at least comparable to, and word recognition and spelling skills that are significantly better than, those that do not.'' By learning the phonetic keys to language, children become fluent readers, able to focus on meaning as word recognition becomes automatic.
In Kindergarten and first grade, children learn to read by developing both a sight vocabulary and knowledge of phonics. In the early grades, teachers read poetry, folk tales, fables, and legends out loud to give students experience with a variety of literature and to inspire their interest in reading. Class discussions, guided by the teacher's thoughtful questions, promote analytical thought, comprehension, and listening skills. By third or fourth grade the children read individually then the class discusses themes, plots, and character motivations; they make inferences, form generalizations, and distinguish fact from fiction. Students read and summarize biographies. As they advance in school, the students read, discuss, interpret, analyze and compare literature of all forms, including plays, fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. By the end of eighth grade students are careful readers, able to analyze the structure and style of a work of fiction, and to understand and summarize a written argument.
The acquisition of writing skills progresses in conjunction with reading. Students in Kindergarten and first grade write simple sentences. In second and third grade, they write stories, poems, letters, and book reports, and begin to learn the formal writing process of outlining, drafting, revising, and editing. Students in fourth grade refine composition skills such as paragraphing, dialogue, and more complex sentence structure. Emphasis is on expository and expressive writing that is well organized with introductions, conclusions, and a coherent flow of ideas. Students write every day, and assignments are selected to encourage writings of all types, imaginative and expressive as well as expository and analytical. Grammatical instruction begins in first grade. As their knowledge of sentence and paragraph structure, grammar, spelling, and vocabulary progresses, students are expected to apply these skills to their writings in all subject areas. By the end of eighth grade, students' writing should exhibit coherent thought, appropriate vocabulary, correct syntax, and style. Teachers stress the connections between precise thinking and correct syntax.
The development of oral speaking skills is an integral part of the school's program. Informal practice during class discussions is enhanced by students reading out loud, giving simple oral reports, and giving formal presentations as their skills mature. Memorizing and reciting poems and pieces of literature is often enjoyed by children and it enhances their grasp of the sounds and rhythms of speech.
The program specifies milestones for reading, composition, and speaking to allow students to demonstrate their proficiency and celebrate their achievements. A milestone familiar to many educators is the Kindergartner or first grader who reads his or her first book and is added to the `official list of readers.' A sequence of milestones is specified by the staff along with guidelines for judging successful completion.
Like English language skills, a strong foundation in mathematics is a prerequisite for success in our increasingly analytical world. Just as PCS is dedicated to early achievement in reading, early mastery of arithmetic skills and basic mathematical problem solving are viewed as essential first steps.
The core PCS mathematics curriculum is based on the 1963 report of the Cambridge Conference on School Mathematics, Goals for School Mathematics, and the curricula employed in other high-achieving nations. The curriculum complies with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Mathematics, and is sufficiently rigorous to challenge all students. It covers a broad range of mathematics and includes applications to motivate students and reveal the utility of mathematics to problems encountered in all fields. A feature of the PCS program is that essential areas such as algebra and geometry are integrated throughout the curriculum, so that students accumulate geometric notions and learn the language of algebra by starting with very simple intuitive concepts and progressing to more formal deductive reasoning. This approach has been carefully researched and developed by an international community of teachers, mathematicians, and pedagogical researchers. As an example, a complete geometry curriculum, including student problems, is available in the book Geometry in Grades 1-4: Problems in the Formulation of Geometric Conception in Primary Children, translated from the Russian by the University of Chicago Mathematics Project. This is also the approach adopted in the New Jersey Mathematics Curriculum Framework.
The concepts are reinforced by problems and practice materials. The students and teachers have the opportunity to use a variety of appropriate text sequences to accommodate different learning styles and rates of progress. Sufficiently advanced students have the opportunity to study axiomatic geometry by the time they leave eighth grade.
PCS students master the basic mathematical skills identified by the 1977 National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics Position Paper on Basic Mathematical Skills, including problem solving; applying mathematics to everyday situations; alertness to the reasonableness of results; estimation and approximation; appropriate computational skills; geometry; measurement; reading, interpreting, and constructing tables, charts, and graphs; using mathematics to predict; and computer literacy. PCS adds to this list a knowledge of probability and statistics, risk, and orders of magnitude. Our students will need these to confront many of the complex social and technical issues facing society.
The hour spent on mathematics each day includes a balance between discovery directed by the exchange of ideas between the teacher and the class, and direct presentation of material by the teacher. In addition, several hours each month are used for mathematical games, special topics, and experiments. The program is rich in the use of concrete materials and applications to develop concepts and to connect children's intuition to abstract mathematics. Instruction cycles between using problems to motivate knowledge and using the knowledge base to solve problems. The problem-solving activities are carefully selected to challenge children to think creatively and to extend their knowledge. Applications for problem solving are to science, other aspects of the real world, and internal applications to mathematics itself. ``Both the internal applications and the external applications must be taught, so that the student understands both the power of mathematics as a scientific method and the unity and beauty of mathematics as a science in its own right'' (Goals for School Mathematics, p. 21).
The fundamental elements of computer science that underlie all of today's machines and software are incorporated into the mathematics curriculum. These supplement the discrete mathematics in the main curriculum and include modular arithmetic, data representation, boolean logic, the stored program computer, and most importantly, the concept of an algorithm. The student who understands these will adapt easily to changes in computer hardware, languages, and application software. In later grades (6-8) students write computer programs to make concrete the abstract concepts covered and to build their ability to think algorithmically.
The study of mathematics offers many opportunities for the definition of concrete public milestones. In early grades these consist mainly of arithmetic mastery. Older students might be asked to submit an essay analyzing the numbers and graphs presented in a current news story, or write their first rigorous proof of a mathematical theorem.
Princeton Charter School teaches history, geography, and social studies, from Kindergarten through the eighth grade. Children are introduced to history through stories and by fifth grade embark upon more serious study. The emphasis is on political, economic, geographic, cultural, and technological forces which have shaped the history of the world and of the United States. The curriculum follows the guidelines of the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Social Studies.
The PCS history curriculum was developed by the Washington World History Project with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. It is used in the Washington International School (D.C.), the Oyster School (D.C. Public Schools), the United Nations School (N.Y.), and the Nishimachi International School (Tokyo).
History and geography are taught from Kindergarten to grade 3 through good stories: folk tales, legends, myths, accounts of historical events, and biographies. These form an introduction to the beliefs and traditions of many cultures. The stories are read aloud to the youngest classes and introduce children to dramatic expression and public speaking. Reading and listening to these stories builds a child's sense of the world as a community, and introduces new vocabulary and basic cultural knowledge. Each year there are stories from all around the world and the United States, and in grade 1 to 3 there are also specific regions of concentration. These regions are the Americas and Europe in first grade, Africa and the Middle East in second grade, and Asia and the Pacific Islands in third grade. Activities and discussions promote understanding of the history, government, daily life, culture, economy and geography of the various regions.
The transition from stories to a more detailed and factual study of history occurs during fourth grade. Here students read biographies, study Native Americans, and study the history and geography of the United States and the role of New Jersey in its formation and heritage. Because of our area's rich history, this is a wonderful opportunity for PCS students to study history in a context that is familiar and tangible.
Starting with fifth grade, the students pursue a chronological study of world history and geography. The fifth grade studies civilizations up to approximately 500 B.C., including Mesopotamia, North Africa, China, India, Greece, Rome, and the beginnings of Classical Maya; the sixth grade does a chronological survey from 500 B.C. to 500 A.D., again on a world-wide basis; the seventh grade begins with 500 A.D. and carries the narrative through the explorations of the fifteenth century; and the eighth grade completes the narrative up to the present. As they study the history of each region, the students analyze the interdependency between political and cultural developments and the physical environment. As part of the history curriculum, and at all grade levels, students are introduced to our system of government, along with others in the world.
PCS students learn geography in conjunction with their study of history. The geographic concepts and learning outcomes are from the Guidelines for Geographic Education prepared by the Joint Committee on Geographic Education of the National Council for Geographic Education and The Association of American Geographers. Map skills start with simple location and advance to interpretation of coordinates, elevations, economic and climatic data, etc. These mapping skills promote geometric concepts such as scale, coordinate systems, and two-dimensional projections of three-dimensional objects.
Numerous studies and reports decry the inadequacy of science education in the United States. For example, in 1991 the Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government described the current scientific illiteracy as ``a chronic and serious threat to our nation's future.'' Science education at the primary and secondary levels in most schools today is chaotic and ineffective. It ranges from rote memorization of isolated facts and vocabulary, to vague, ``hands-on'' explorations that do not lead anywhere.
Princeton Charter School adopts a ``minds-on, hands-on'' approach to science education; it stresses quantitative reasoning as well as experimentation and observation. Students are encouraged to be curious about the natural world surrounding them and come to understand the importance of science in many different careers. The PCS experience will be for some students a good first step towards a career in science, but every student will learn through practice the ``scientific method'' - which is really a disciplined approach to discovery that applies to almost all walks of life.
Our approach uses three essential components of science education, identified in the Iowa Guide to Curriculum Development in Science: ``knowledge, skills, and application of scientific information in resolving problems. Knowledge refers to the facts, theories, and principles of science. The skills or processes of science include activities embodied in the scientific method, which encompasses the ability to formulate and state hypotheses and to evaluate them by experimentation or observation. Application is the use of science content and processes not only in work but also in personal, social, and political decision making.'' The PCS science curriculum complies with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Science.
In science as in any other subject, children learn in an incremental manner. In early grades (K-3), science should be fun and stimulating, designed to make children explore and wonder about the world; to learn to ask questions, and seek answers. Backyard birds, magnets, the solar system, simple machines, and dinosaurs are topics which have intrigued children for years. In grades 4-8 the approach becomes more rigorous. Students start to ask quantitative questions and develop the ability to determine if they have enough information to answer them. As student's mathematical skills increase, they are applied more extensively in the science program.
Four major areas are covered: physical sciences, life sciences, earth sciences, and astronomy. Some topics from each area are included each year. Emphasis is placed on understanding how facts are interrelated through natural laws and mathematical relationships. For example, the concept of energy is first used to discuss the conservation law in physical and chemical transformations, and then in the metabolism of living organisms, and finally in the food web. Other examples include the use of probability in genetic studies, or the application of conservation of momentum to understand rocket propulsion. The process skills emphasized are: observing, measuring, classifying, recording, predicting, hypothesizing, inferring, and experimenting. Knowledge and skills mastered are used to discuss issues of social concern, such as burning of fossil fuels.
During selected science periods, students are introduced to computers and their underlying software and hardware concepts. More science period class time is devoted to computer study in the early years, since it is ``hands-on,'' and because students are capable of mastering many computer-usage concepts and skills. In K-1, students are familiarized with the operation of a computer, exposed to basic related vocabulary, and become comfortable with a small number of application programs including a drawing package. In grades 2-3, additional skills and vocabulary are taught, and students begin to use word processing software to prepare reports. During third grade, keyboard skills are emphasized. By the end of fourth grade, all students are proficient at word processing, capable of creating and manipulating a database and spreadsheet, and use its graphing component. Current strategies for navigation and search on the Web are presented to students beginning in third grade. However, the speed of change in this area requires a dynamic approach to establishing curriculum content.
The arts are a fundamental component of the educational program at PCS. The curriculum includes visual arts, music, theater/drama, and dance. Creative writing as well as some elements of drama are integrated into the language arts curriculum. Following the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for the Visual and Performing Arts, our goal is to achieve art literacy for all students, i.e., to educate not only providers, but also recipients of the arts [Literacy in the Arts: An Imperative for New Jersey Schools, October 1989].
Arts education is best accomplished through participatory experiences. All PCS students actively ``make art'' from the earliest years. For example, in music students are provided with choral singing experience, as well as age-appropriate instrumental instruction. All students learn to read music and the rudiments of music theory. They learn composed music and also explore the principles of combining sounds through their own improvisation and composition activities. In visual arts, students learn the elements of drawing, painting, and sculpture. A variety of techniques for creating two or three-dimensional art are taught; creative explorations coexist with instruction in specific techniques.
In addition to the ``art making'' component, students learn the elements of each art form's language - the vocabulary, the grammar, and the syntax of music, visual art, drama, and dance. Differences and similarities among examples of the arts from around the world are analyzed. Uses of the arts, and conventions and fashions in the arts are discussed in conjunction with the study of art history. Students learn how to use the acquired knowledge, art vocabulary, and analytical skills to develop an aesthetic appreciation of the arts.
Princeton is fortunate to have McCarter Theater, the Princeton University Art Museum, the Westminster Conservatory of Music, the Princeton Ballet School, the Arts Council of Princeton, and world-class artists. Whenever possible and appropriate, these resources are used in the Arts curriculum.
Following the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for World Languages, Princeton Charter School teaches a modern foreign language to every student in grades 1-8. Students who begin study of a foreign language in elementary school and continue its study for a number of years have a much better chance of achieving full proficiency. Classes meet each day to maximize exposure to the sounds of the new language and to provide as much immersion experience as possible.
In grades 1-3, to take full advantage of the young child's special ability to imitate sounds and absorb linguistic concepts, students are taught through games, songs and dramatizations. Teachers use manipulatives and visual aids, stressing oral expression and listening comprehension. Cultural elements and basic vocabulary are introduced through stories describing pictures. Students are encouraged to play and sing, to name pictures, and exchange simple sentences among themselves. By grade 4, students are introduced to the written language, and begin to learn specific vocabulary and verb conjugations. Teachers continue to use visuals and dramatization, supplemented with newspapers, Web documents, magazine articles, product labels, and so on. By 6th grade, formal grammar and syntax are studied. Short stories, poetry, and later novels are used to focus class discussion and build reading comprehension, while studying written expression. Milestones of achievement range from mastering a small set of phrases and vocabulary words in 1st grade, through genuine literary expression in 8th.
The language program is integrated in a meaningful way with other subjects. For example, when 1st grade students learn addition and subtraction in mathematics, language class might practice these operations in the new language. When 6th grade students analyze style and content of English texts, they might perform the same exercises in language class using short stories or poems. Throughout the program, classroom learning is supplemented by audio tapes, films, and computer software programs that allow students to build vocabulary and understand sentence structure.
In grades 7 and 8, instruction in Latin may replace instruction in the selected foreign language either once or twice per week. Etymological and syntactic parallels and differences are explored, giving students a new perspective on the way the English language functions, as well as a deeper understanding of its roots.
PCS provides a comprehensive health and physical education program in accordance with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards. One 45-minute period every two weeks is devoted to health education. Health topics are also integrated into the science curriculum. Students learn about health promotion and disease prevention, human growth and development, nutritional science (to develop healthy eating habits), accident and fire prevention, and physical activity concepts (to develop physical fitness). Part of the program focuses on nonviolent strategies for conflict resolution. Students learn about the purposes and proper uses of medicines, and also about deleterious effects of alcohol, tobacco, and other mood-altering drugs. Special topics such as prevention of drug and alcohol abuse, prevention of cigarette use, safety training, and information about Lyme disease, AIDS, and HIV transmission are enhanced with presentations by some of the many community services available in the Princeton area.
Students learn about age-appropriate aspects of human sexuality and family life as part of the health program, provided parents/legal guardians agree to their participation in this part of the program.
Princeton Charter School encourages physical activity every day. The school's daily schedule promotes physical activity throughout the day, through free play between classes as well as organized programs. The 20-minute midday recess as well as one of the 15-minute breaks (a total of 35 minutes daily or 175 minutes a week) are devoted to exercise, fitness activities, sports, or free play. In addition, one 45-minute period per week will be devoted to elements of dance, rhythmic and creative movement, martial arts, team sports or personal fitness programs that develop cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility. For example, the students receive instruction in basic skills such as throwing, catching, and running that are common to a range of physical activities. The importance of safety is stressed.
The school day is expected to run from 8:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. Among the special features of the schedule are activity breaks separating major blocks of instructional time to allow children to release energy, socialize, and exercise. Tutoring or individual reading time is built into the schedule so that students may be tutored without missing valuable classroom learning. English and mathematics are studied for at least an hour a day. Studio art and science experiments are accommodated in longer blocks of time as needed.
Although it will vary according to grade level, this typical schedule illustrates the time spent in each subject area. The time blocks are not rigid; especially in the lower grades, teachers modify them as needed.
The expected hours of operation are 7:30 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. These hours may need to be adjusted based on facilities limitations.
PCS will begin operation in the 1997-98 school year as a 4-6 elementary school, and will expand yearly until a K-8 configuration is achieved. The following chart details Princeton Charter School's enrollment projections, which assume 1) the addition of grades 3 and 7 in 1998-99, of grades 2 and 8 in 1999-2000, and grade 1 in 2000-2001; 2) an overall enrollment increase rate of approximately 25% per year; 3) a class size of 20 in grades K-1, 22 in grades 2-3, and 24 in grades 4-8. The school's four-year enrollment goal is 184 pupils spread out over eight grade levels, 1-8. When a Charter renewal is applied for in the year 2001-2002, PCS plans to seek approval for a K-8 configuration. At that time, the PCS Board will evaluate whether the needs of the community would be best served by an increase in the overall school size.
Princeton Charter School is committed to teaching methods that provide students the support and challenges they need to master grade-appropriate skills, ideas, and facts in every subject area. The school atmosphere encourages academic achievement, recognizes the importance of hard work and personal responsibility, and holds out high expectations for every student and teacher. Princeton Charter School cannot hope to erase achievement differences entirely, but it believes that a strong education program will significantly ameliorate them.
A feature of the PCS program that distinguishes it from most public schools is that early intervention is provided so that children do not fall irremediably behind. Several strategies are used to promote high achievement for all students:
Other strategies PCS uses to promote timely mastery of the knowledge and skills specified in the curriculum are discussed more fully in the appropriate sections. Briefly, these are:
Assessment is an essential component of Princeton Charter School's educational plan. Assessment confirms student progress, identifies areas of low and high achievement, and improves the accountability of the school. It begins with the teacher's evaluation of student progress based on written class work, oral contributions, and homework. Such evaluations are important, but may be insufficient to assess long-term subject mastery. Formal assessments, integrated with the curriculum, will indicate overall achievement levels. Assessment results allow teachers to determine which students would benefit from additional help or additional challenge.
The teaching staff establishes a sequence of tests and portfolio assessments designed to measure explicit content and skill requirements for each grade level. Test types include a range of instruments including multiple choice tests, whole sentence answers, problem solutions, and essays which encourage constructive or discursive thinking. In higher grades, final exam questions from previous years are published, so that the students may understand the degree of mastery expected of them. It is PCS policy that teachers give constructive feedback for improvement and return student tests and work.
Where appropriate, portfolio assessment is used: expressive and analytical writing, artwork, performances, science projects, and other student work demonstrate student progress. To facilitate consistent portfolio evaluation, a set of uniform general analysis criteria are used, specialized for each grade. These include logical reasoning, grammar, proficiency in art techniques, problem solving skills, quantitative reasoning, computational skills, and so on. The criteria are made public so that students and parents know what is expected.
Princeton Charter School students will meet the same testing and academic performance standards as established by law and regulation for public school students in New Jersey. This includes demonstrating sufficient proficiency on the 4th grade statewide assessment test and the 8th grade Early Warning Test. The school will also choose a set of nationally-normed tests for use in the other grades to allow local, state, and national comparison. Princeton Charter School expects high achievement as assessed through these instruments because its standards are high and its program supports student achievement.
When assessment results indicate a need for remediation, the standard method will be to diagnose the knowledge and skills that each child lacks according to the detailed grade-by-grade standards adopted by the School. Teachers then use appropriate instruction strategies, as discussed in the previous section. By detecting and addressing learning difficulties immediately, the PCS hopes to enable virtually every child to learn at grade level. (Note, there may be children with individual educational plans which require a modified definition of grade-level outcomes.) Sufficient communication and record-keeping provide continuity from year to year.
The needs of students who do not perform at acceptable levels on the statewide proficiency tests, despite the ongoing remediation available in the school, will be addressed in a uniform manner: 1) determine whether the student is doing his/her job in terms of attendance, attention in the classroom, and completion of class work and homework; 2) determine whether the teacher doing his/her job of teaching and consistently requiring a given level of student performance. If the required work is not being done by one or both parties, then appropriate steps are taken to ensure that the work is done. If these steps do not solve the problem, or if the required work is being performed by both parties then an effort is made to 3) identify the factors hindering the student from meeting the necessary proficiency level; 4) isolate those factors which may be ameliorated in the school environment from those which may not; 5) develop, in concert with the teacher and parents, an individual plan to address factors which the school may ameliorate. Problems external to or beyond the control of the school will be discussed with the parents, and documented. The school encourages the supportive efforts of parents and works with them to identify options outside the school that might benefit their child.
Assessments constitute the basis for regular and frequent communication with parents. Teachers provide written report cards at regularly scheduled intervals. Parent conferences may be supplemented by informal parent-teacher meetings.
Student assessments in the aggregate will serve as an indicator of the overall quality of the Princeton Charter School academic program.
Princeton Charter School is a taxpayer-funded school serving students residing in Princeton Borough and Princeton Township. In 1997-98, it will offer grades 4-6, and expand yearly to reach a K-8 configuration. It is open to all eligible students on a space available basis and does not discriminate in its admissions policies or practices on the basis of intellectual or athletic ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, status as a handicapped person, or proficiency in English.
As required by law, admissions preference is granted students who are residents of Princeton Borough and Princeton Township. Siblings of students already enrolled in the school are also granted preference provided the parents choose Princeton Charter School for that sibling. Enrolled students are guaranteed admission the following year provided the appropriate grade is available. As part of the application process Princeton Charter School requests that parents/guardians of new students participate in a half-hour information session with the Director or designated delegate to discuss the educational goals of the family and the school. The purpose of the session is to help parents make an informed choice for their child. Transportation, a translator, or other services will be provided to parents who make such requests in order to participate in an information session. Attendance at an information session is recommended, but is not mandatory. Admissions will seek to enroll, to the greatest degree possible, a cross-section of the local school-age population by promoting the school heavily in the entire community.
To be eligible for admission, the student must provide 1) proof of residence in Princeton Borough or Township; 2) proof of eligible non-resident status elsewhere for space available consideration; 3) proof of minimum age of five years as of the date established by law or by regulation for Kindergartners; 4) completed application form. Application forms request: student's name; date of birth; grade level; address; names, addresses, and telephone numbers of parents/guardians; names of siblings also applying; and a signature verifying that the information is correct and that the parents/guardians are choosing education at Princeton Charter School for their child. Application forms must be submitted to the school by the annual deadline determined by the Board of Trustees. An Admissions Committee, initially consisting of the PCSF, will make all decisions concerning the status of student eligibility.
If the number of applicants exceeds the school's enrollment cap, a random lottery process will be instituted for applicant selection: 1) the pool of applicants will be sorted according to admissions preferences provided for by statute and listed above (younger sibling, district resident) and by grade level; 2) within each grade level, applications will be sorted according to these categories, arranged in order of admissions preference: a) returning resident student; b) returning non-resident student; c) sibling of returning resident student; d) sibling of returning non-resident student; e) new resident applicant; f) new non-resident applicant for space-available admission; 3) the Admissions Committee will reserve spaces for students in categories a) and b). Any remaining spaces will be allocated by holding a drawing of names by category in admissions preference order starting with category c) in the oldest grade level and working down; 4) after all grade levels have been completed, names that remain will be placed by preference category, in drawing order, on the school's waiting list. Names are drawn one by one; as each student is drawn, that student and applicant siblings are immediately placed in their respective grade levels. In the first year of the Princeton Charter School's operation, categories 2 a), b), c) and d) do not apply and the eligibility pool will consist solely of categories e) and f).
To avoid splitting up families in this initial year, the oldest child will be entered in the lottery, and if that child is selected for admission, any younger siblings who may also be applying will be automatically admitted to their respective grade levels on a first priority basis. If the oldest child is not selected, the next younger sibling may still be entered in the lottery for his/her grade level. If that second sibling is selected, he/she and all subsequent younger siblings are accepted to the school on a priority basis. If the second child is not selected, each subsequent younger child may still enter the lottery independently. When the lottery process is completed, wait-listed sibling applicants of admitted students will be placed in category 2 c) on the waiting list. Twins and members of other multiple births applying together will be entered separately in the lottery. If one twin or multiple-birth sibling is admitted, the other sibling(s) will also be admitted provided there is still space available. If no space is available, they will be placed in category 2 c) on the waiting list. Should attrition reduce the number of enrolled students after completion of the admissions process, Princeton Charter School will fill openings from the waiting list, in order by category, or if no names remain on the list, it will hold a secondary admissions process to fill available spaces after a suitable period of full public notice.
Admission decisions will be made by the process described above on the date set by the Board of Trustees. Parents/guardians will be notified by mail of each child's admission status, and will have fourteen calendar days after the postmarked date on the notification to return a signed enrollment registration card for each child offered enrollment, or signed waiting-list applicant card for wait-listed children. If no form is returned within ten days, PCS will make three attempts to contact the family before the fourteen day deadline. If no form has been returned by the two-week deadline, the child's admission space or waiting-list order will be given to the next eligible candidate. Parents who will not be available at the home address listed on the application form during the notification period should contact PCS to make alternate arrangements.
Princeton Charter School practices open admissions. Criteria for prospective students include those provided for by statute, i.e., continuing students, siblings, and Princeton Township and Borough residents. Beyond that, by submitting an application form, parents/guardians indicate their philosophical support of the academic goals of the school.
Students from other localities may apply to the school as non-residents on a space available basis. Non-resident tuition will be determined as prescribed by statute and regulation.
As provided in the Charter School Law, all parents who choose to enroll their children in Princeton Charter School may do so, subject to admissions priorities established in statute and spaces available. To inform these parents' decision-making process, the Princeton Charter School Founders intend to publicize widely the nature and mission of the school, a process which has already begun through early reports about the charter application which have appeared in the local press. The PCSF have also established a special telephone line, 609-924-3597, whose number is on all PCS literature, to receive incoming calls which will be returned by a member of the PCSF. This information campaign will include frequent press releases as developments warrant; paid advertisements; and depositing copies of the charter application at the reference desk of the public library for public access. To promote a diverse applicant pool, PCS posts notices on church and neighborhood bulletin boards, and arranges informational meetings through church and community leaders. The publicity efforts include Spanish-language literature, and meetings when they can be arranged, explaining the nature and purpose of the school, and the admissions process. This application period will last four weeks (January 20-February 14, 1997) and Founders as well as other involved individuals will be available during this time period for personal consultations and to answer any questions which parents of potential applicants may have. The PCSF will clearly define the school, its mission, and its programs - but it is ultimately up to the parents to decide whether this school will be the best choice for their child.
Princeton Charter School
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