OVERVIEW
SunRise Academy serves youth with special needs between the ages of 7 and 22 from the Washington, DC metropolitan area. While the majority of our students enroll with an IEP, which delineates academic goals and objectives, the Academy has established these Standards, based on national curricula, District of Columbia, and other state standards. Standards provide our teachers with a barometer to measure student progress and prepare our students for their return to the regular education classroom, a high school diploma, advancement to the world of work, or a higher education experience.
Our Standards focus on four core subject areas: communications, math, science, and social studies and history. Communications (often referred to as English or Language Arts) is entitled as such so that we may attend to the skills necessary for effective communication in our communities and workplaces. We have identified five strands within the Communications Standards--oral language, reading/literature, writing/research, spelling and language mechanics. Mathematics, from kindergarten through eighth grade, is taught using specific content strands--number and numeration, computation and estimation, measurement, geometry, probability and statistics, patterns, functions and algebra, and problem solving. Special attention is also given to consumer math skills necessary to enhance daily living. Social Studies is approached from the perspective of building self-esteem, character, and family values. History is taught to better assist the students in understanding and respecting their own communities and societies as well as others. Both Social Studies and History are grounded in the study of African cultural groups, historical personalities, and the African American experience. Geography, civics and the History of the District of Columbia are integral content strands of Social Studies and History. Instruction in Science and Technology involves a hands-on, practical, experiential approach as students learn to apply scientific concepts, skills and processes to everyday experiences. By requiring students to develop and use experimental design in scientific inquiry, we generate exploration of science-related careers and interests and extend the ability to use the language of science to communicate understanding.
These standards are further enhanced by the learning objectives developed for the Academy’s School to Careers Program, which integrates the academic curriculum with workplace knowledge and skill development.
|
