A curriculum, which includes the educational program, student activities, and assess-ment strategies, should agree with and amplify the school s mission statement. It is your educational philosophy made real. Curriculum should be diversified and balanced to help students as they proceed through levels of performance in all learning areas. Keep in mind that curriculum, teaching, and evaluation are interrelated they support and reflect one another. Designing one component without thought to the others can do your school a disservice.
Charter schools employ a wide variety of curriculum designs.
You may wish to visit charter schools that use a particular curriculum to see how the subject matter and rec-ommended teaching strategies play out in actual classrooms. Some charter school applicants embrace traditional curriculum structures, with enhanced attention to academic rigor and excellence. Others have adopted curriculum models that integrate subject matter and skill areas through activities appropriate to each child s stage of development and academic strengths and weaknesses. Educational Philosophies Often charter schools organize around a particular educational philosophy that unites the school community and provides the foundation for the curriculum. Below are brief illustrations of how each of these educational philosophies drives curriculum.