The Founders Academy Public Charter School Grades 5-12

Quality Learning and Leader Development at The Founders Academy

By:  Mrs. Bechis

What distinguishes The Founders Academy among schools is its Honesty, Transparency, and Comprehensiveness in the development and use of carefully-crafted syllabi and curricula that provide students (and their supportive parents) ALL the information necessary to succeed in their coursework and satisfy the school’s Mission by developing into well-educated citizens of character willing and able to become leaders.  Our syllabi are posted on our website so that both students and parents have easy access and can use them as a reference and guide anytime throughout the school year.  

We encourage you to continue reading and view the exemplary syllabi provided at the end of this document.  

Founders Syllabi are works in continuous improvement with the goal of providing our students, parents, and Founders Academy community detailed answers to the following questions:

1.) What will students be learning and what are the learning goals?  - subject content, what each student needs to know and demonstrate mastery of at the end of the course.

In addition there is a Round Table syllabus by grade to explore the themes of the school: character, leadership, citizenship and American culture.

2.) How will they be learning the material? - lectures, class discussions, collaborative group work, guided inquiry, guided reading, labs, in- and out-of-class projects, student presentations, mock trials, debates, field trips, science fair projects, entrepreneur activities, etc.

3.) How will they be assessed; what is the weighting of assessments and the grade scale? - to determine that they are proficient in the subject area and have met the school’s mastery requirements-  assessments include but are not limited to quarter, mid and end of year tests, quizzes, projects, research papers, web quests, digital portfolios, computer work, music practice cards, recitals, classroom participation, homework, etc.

4.) How does the curriculum for that course and level fulfill The Founders Mission? - in creating citizens of good character willing and able to take leadership positions in government, technology, industry, science, academia, world affairs and all fields important to mankind.

5.)  What are the teachers’ expectations of students? - what materials students will need to bring to class, homework policies, late work policies, makeup work, class behavior, classroom climate, types of assignments that will be provided so that students falling short of mastery have an opportunity to achieve mastery, safety protocols for science labs, appropriate and responsible use of the internet, internet courtesy, plagiarism, academic honesty and integrity, policy for getting extra help from the teacher.

6.)  What are helpful study and organization tips?  and ways to succeed in the coursework.  

7.)  What are the detailed curricula and schedule?- what topics will be covered in sequence with a week by week breakdown.  Dates for the end of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quarters are provided.  Important deadlines for major projects are listed, deadlines for field trip permission slips, etc. are listed.

8.)  What resources will be used? - Textbook to be used in the course or appropriate online textbook, websites, videos, tutorials, books, other publications, etc.

9.)  Are there prerequisite courses? -  required for high school courses

10.)  How do I contact the teachers? -  Contact Information, availability of teacher through email, phone call, personal visit etc.

Excellent examples of comprehensive syllabi are Mrs. Marcotte’s Technology classes and Ms. Mote’s Level 2 English Classes

http://www.thefoundersacademy.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=1207671&pageId=1368927