1713 Legion Road, Chapel Hill, NC. 27517
Phone: 919.933.7699 FAX 919.967.9905
The Charter
Excerpts of Charter Submitted: February 2003 Approved: July 2003 Charter Signed: March 11, 2004 Open Date: August 19, 2004
Mission Statement:
The mission of PACE Academy is to support the academic growth, emotional development, and professional readiness of all students. We believe community-based learning promotes sound decision making, encourages independent problem solving, and provides our future workforce with prerequisite skills necessary for securing and maintaining post-secondary employment.
Educational Program:
The educational program of PACE Academy will address the academic, social, and vocational needs of high school students. Students will meet graduation requirements following the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. Instruction at PACE Academy will be guided by the principles of the self-paced learning model. Encouraging students to work at their own pace to accomplish academic goals will increase time for one on one assistance, opportunities for cooperative learning, and authentic assessment, while reducing competitiveness, minimizing social pressures, and limiting stress within the classroom. After careful examination of each student's educational history, review of cumulative records, and extensive academic performance and skills assessments, PACE Academy staff will guide students to create a personal education plan based upon the North Carolina Occupational Course of Study or Career Prep Course of Study for grades nine through twelve.
PURPOSES OF PROPOSED CHARTER SCHOOL: GS 115C-238.29A
State the relationship between the six legislated purposes, as specifically addressed in the NC charter school statute GS 115C-238.29A, and the proposed school’s operations.
PACE Academy aims to create an educational setting that recognizes all students are unique learners who need direct instructional support and vocational training to make a positive transition from school to work.
•Improve Student Learning: To improve student learning, PACE Academy will engage students in the learning process so they may take progressively greater responsibility for their academic progress and career goals. The targeted population of students for PACE Academy represent those who are at-risk for academic failure. After experiencing chronic failure, these students lose motivation and become disillusioned with the traditional public school curriculum. Their learning styles are incompatible with the instructional approach and environment of traditional public schools. Students of Hispanic origin and students in need of Exceptional Children’s Services will benefit from the learning environment and curriculum offered by PACE Academy. It is probable that many students of PACE Academy will require remediation and academic support to acquire the prerequisite skills or motivation necessary for academic success.
Additionally, because most students of PACE Academy will enter the workforce immediately upon graduation, they require relevant vocational training and workforce skills development. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to identify these students' strengths and needs, set reasonable goals and objectives, and individualize instruction to appropriately serve the student population.
•Increase learning opportunities with special emphasis on expanded learning experiences for students who are identified as at risk of academic failure or academically gifted: PACE Academy will provide students with a structured curriculum that permits more flexibility, emphasizing vocational training, to accelerate meaningful learning opportunities. Students will benefit from a favorable student-teacher ratio, a schedule that provides the time for in-depth learning, remediation, vocational training, and off-site internships. Ultimately, the integration of instructional and community resources will advance students' cognitive, affective, motor, and vocational skills.
•Encourage the use of different and innovative teaching methods: Instructional practices of PACE Academy will fuel students' natural passion for learning, develop their capacity to work cooperatively, and encourage success in and out of the classroom. Teachers will provide unique tools, quality instruction, proven strategies, research based methodologies, and individualized services which lead to success for all students, regardless of ability.
•Create new professional teaching opportunities for teachers including opportunities for being responsible for the learning program at the school site: PACE Academy will create and maintain professional teaching opportunities to include the assessment, development, and implementation of group and individualized services to all students. The scope of these services will include facilitation of self-paced learning with limited direct classroom instruction, design of scope and sequence of course content aligned to the North Carolina Standard Course of Study, participation in the development and monitoring of students' personal education plans, consultation with students, parents, community based vocational trainers and active involvement in continuous improvement, professional development, and site-based management.
•Provide parents and students with expanded choices in the types of learning opportunities that are available: PACE Academy will provide students a unique opportunity to develop attributes for successful post-secondary employment. Students will learn practical skills in real-world applications. In addition to academic preparation, students will meet graduation requirements by participating in career exploration, job-shadowing, apprenticeship programs, internships and employment ventures. Learning opportunities for parents and guardians include a structured Training and Support Program prior to a student’s enrollment and continued for the duration of the school year. In this program, PACE Academy staff will familiarize parents and guardians on the following issues: legal rights and responsibilities, the North Carolina Standard Course of Study, community agencies and support groups, adolescent development, exceptional children’s services, and ways to structure the home environment for learning. Also, PACE Academy will sponsor a monthly Family Day to both enhance the community atmosphere of PACE Academy and to build relationships with students and their families.
•Hold schools accountable for meeting measurable student achievement results and the school’s method to change from rule based to performance based accountability systems: PACE Academy recognizes that, as a charter school in the State of North Carolina, it will be required to demonstrate measurable student achievement results while meeting the requirements of a performance based accountability system. While charter schools are public schools of choice that operate with freedom from many of the rules and regulations that apply to traditional public schools, the charter establishing PACE Academy is actually a performance contract detailing the school's mission, program, goals, students served, methods of assessment, and ways to measure success. PACE Academy will be held accountable for both academic results and fiscal practices to several groups: the State or sponsoring agency that grants the charter to PACE Academy, the parents who elect to send their students to PACE Academy, and the public that funds PACE Academy.
EDUCATIONAL FOCUS: GS 115C-238.29B(a) GS 115C-238.29B(c)
PACE Academy will integrate instructional and community resources to advance students' cognitive, affective, and vocational skills. Instructional practices will fuel students' natural passion for learning, develop their capacity to work cooperatively, and encourage success in and out of the classroom.
INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM GS 115C-238.29F(d)(1-5)
Provide a description of the overall instructional program, including the following:
1.Outline of education theory and foundation of the model.
PACE Academy will by guided by the principles of the Constructivist Theory of Education. The theoretical framework of constructivism is founded on the premise that, by reflecting on our experiences, we construct our own understanding the world. In practical terms, this theory is founded on small group instruction, coaching, engaging students, creating a cooperative social structure, and basing assessment on products, process and effort. PACE Academy will aim to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge through the provision of new experiences. In both the academic content classes and the community based education model, the foundation of teaching and the process of learning will be rooted in the following principles:
A. Learning is a search for meaning. Therefore, learning must start with the issues around which students are actively trying to construct meaning. The purpose of learning is for an individual to construct his or her own meaning. Since education is inherently interdisciplinary, the only valuable way to measure learning is to make the assessment part of the learning process, ensuring it provides students with information on the quality of their learning. As Dewey theorized, active learning involves the learners engaging with the world. In the context of PACE Academy, this is directly tied to the school’s mission and community partnerships, based on authentic real life practice.
B. Motivation is a key component in learning. Not only is it the case that motivation helps learning, it is essential for learning. This idea of motivation as described here is broadly conceived to include an understanding of ways in which knowledge can be used. Unless students know "the reasons why", they may not be very involved in using the knowledge. Therefore, the learning processes at PACE Academy will focus on primary concepts, not isolated facts. The crucial action of constructing meaning happens in the mind. Physical actions or hands-on experience may be necessary for learning, especially for our students, but it is not sufficient; therefore, PACE Academy will provide activities which engage the mind as well as the hands in the context of our core academic content classes.
C. Educators must make connections among concepts to foster new understanding. Teaching strategies will be tailored to student responses and encourage students to analyze, interpret, and predict information. Instruction should foster, not control, learning. Any effort to teach must be connected to the state of the learner – providing a path into the subject for the learner based on that learner's previous knowledge. Vygotsky theorized that language and learning are inextricably intertwined. It is probable that the students of PACE Academy will be at different stages of language development. Since the language we use influences learning, it is imperative that all students can access extended learning and remediation opportunities to develop language skills including reading decoding and comprehension, written expression, and mathematical computation.
D. PACE Academy will emphasize alternative learning and assessment methods. This includes exploration of open-ended questions and scenarios, research, product development, assessment by student portfolio, performance checklist, presentations, job-shadowing, apprenticeships, and employment experiences. At PACE Academy, students will play a crucial role in assessing their own progress, through taking responsibility for their learning, reflecting on academic performance, real-world application of skills, and evaluation of self. Constructivist theory requires that we turn our attention towards the learners. In our curriculum design and model of instruction, the focus is on learning through problem-solving, developing products and applying knowledge – all of which are achievement goals at PACE Academy. Ultimately, students will be expected to generalize their knowledge and skills in new learning environments – the workplace.
2.Outline of teaching approach and curriculum design and instructional methods, courses of study, etc.
The educational program of PACE Academy will address the academic, social, and vocational needs of high school students. Students will meet graduation requirements following a curriculum aligned to the North Carolina Standard Course of Study for grades nine through twelve following the Occupational or Career Prep Course of Study.
•Teaching Approach: Instruction at PACE Academy will be guided by the principles of the self-paced learning model. Encouraging students to work at their own pace to accomplish academic goals will increase time for one on one assistance, enhance opportunities for cooperative learning, and effectively incorporate authentic assessment. At the same time, the self-paced leaning model will reduce competitiveness among students, minimize social pressures, and limit extrinsic and intrinsic stress within the classroom.
•Curriculum Design: The instructional day at PACE Academy has two components.
•Academic Instruction: The extended periods will enable teachers to use a wide variety of learner–centered instructional techniques, while adapting to the specific learning styles of the students. All courses developed by PACE Academy will employ the use of higher-order thinking skills while building and reinforcing basic skills in reading, writing, and mathematics. As such, these courses will prepare students for state assessments of basic functional skills, other assessments that emphasize higher-order reasoning, and professional skills which require both.
•Vocational Preparation: This component will include career exploration, job-shadowing, apprenticeship programs, vocational training, internships and employment opportunities based upon individual student strengths and needs.
•Instructional Methods: PACE Academy staff, students, parents and the Board will build a culture of high expectations for all students. During the first semester at PACE Academy, ninth-graders (and new students) will be required to participate in the First Year Seminar. This transition program will place groups of students with interdisciplinary teacher teams. The seminar will address topics including: conflict resolution, anger management, oral and written communication, job-readiness, teamwork, test preparation, study skills, career awareness and exploration, violence prevention, alcohol and drug abuse, goal setting, academic skills inventories, remediation and personal education plans. The framework of the First Year Seminar will help to create a more personalized learning environment, where small groups of students and teachers work closely together. This will lead to improved student motivation and performance. Additionally, teachers will be able to assess the entire student including cognitive, affective, motor and vocational needs. Specific instructional methods will include but are not limited to: the Wilson Language System, the Learning Strategies Curriculum (University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning), the use of computers and other technology, the arts and other media, individual projects and portfolio assessment, and cooperative group work.
•Courses of Study: After a thorough entrance interview, careful examination of each student's educational history, review of records, and extensive academic performance and skills assessment, PACE Academy staff will guide students to create a personal education plan based upon the curriculum of the North Carolina Occupational Course of Study or Career Prep Course of Study for grades nine through twelve.
3.Outline of method(s) of meeting the educational needs of exceptional children within the parameters of the schools educational plan and focus while meeting the mandates of Federal and State regulations for serving exceptional children.
Within the parameters of the educational plan and focus, while meeting the mandates of Federal and State regulations for serving exceptional children, PACE Academy will train all staff in relation to: the history of Special Education including the amendments of IDEA 1997, ways to implement accommodations for students within the context of the classroom environment, assessment techniques for monitoring student’s individual progress towards IEP goals and objectives, and methods to enhance the instructional design of academic content areas.
Flexible, heterogeneous student groupings will include special education students in the general education classroom. For students who have lack prerequisite reading, writing, and math skills, PACE Academy will provide in-class resource support, a Learning Lab resource room, direct instruction, extended practice, peer-tutoring, mentoring and consultation services during the school day.
4.Statement of any entrance and exit requirements as well as graduation requirements (if the school is to be high school).
Upon entering PACE Academy, students and parents will participate in an intake process. After student applications are submitted, PACE Academy will conduct: a student and parent interview, an extensive review of student's cumulative records, including Individual Education Programs and Section 504 plans, student placement testing, and a formal review of the expectations of parents, students and PACE Academy. A Contract of School wide Expectations will outline the student's intended course of study (Occupational or Career Prep), all required assessments, expectations for active participation in the community-based learning program, and school policies and procedures.
To earn a diploma, all students will need to meet North Carolina's minimum graduation requirements for the Occupational Course of Study or Career Prep Course of Study. This includes, but is not limited to, participation in the North Carolina statewide testing program as outlined by North Carolina’s ABC accountability model and the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT GOALS GS 115C-238.29b(B)(2)
Provide a description of the student achievement goals for the school’s educational program and the method of demonstrating that students have attained the skills and knowledge specified for those goals. A suggested framework includes:
Ultimate expectations for achievement tied to the schools’ charter and mission:
PACE Academy will expect all students to earn a high school diploma and be prepared for post-secondary employment with job-readiness skills for an immediate entry into the workforce or continue training at a community college upon graduating from high school. Specific achievement goals for all students shall include:
•Students will demonstrate a proficiency in reading and writing.
•Students will demonstrate a mastery of designated outcome goals in the areas of English, History, Math, Science, and Vocational Applications.
•Students will demonstrate a mastery of specific job-readiness skills designated by the school community (e.g. Verbal and Written Communication Skills, Personal Action Plans, Conflict Resolution, Diversity Sensitivity, and Personal Leadership Qualities).
•Students will demonstrate leadership capacity by planning and implementing significant service-learning projects in the school and their communities.
•Students will demonstrate a proficiency in technology skills designated by the school community to be important for both lifelong learning and preparation for a technologically-based workforce.
•Students will complete coursework and related activities needed for graduation requirements as specified by the North Carolina Standard Course of Study following either the Occupational or Career Prep course of study.
•Strategies for attaining these goals with all students:
To attain these goals with all students, PACE Academy will implement the North Carolina Standard Course of Study for grades nine through twelve following either the Occupational or Career Prep Course of Study. Specific strategies for attaining these goals include:
•PACE Academy will provide favorable student-teacher ratio.
•PACE Academy will provide extended opportunities for remediation and learning for the skills of reading decoding and comprehension, written expression, and math computation and problem solving, utilizing research based practices.
•PACE Academy will facilitate the First Year Seminar to promote and advance students’ life skills including, but not limited to: conflict resolution, anger management, oral and written communication, job-readiness, diversity, and leadership.
•PACE Academy will introduce students to vocational and technological resources to enhance their learning and pre-professional skills.
