Curriculum
YES Charter Academy recognizes its essential obligation to offer a curriculum that conforms closely to California state educational requirements, and every effort is made to service state requirements thoroughly and carefully.
We use GO Math and Amplify Core Knowledge in our lesson plans. From its earliest charter application, a major goal of YES Charter Academy has been development of an integrated curriculum that blends the theoretical and the practical—the traditional and the experimental. As our original charter promised, our courses offer theory, as found in our Seeds of Science textbooks, supported by experiments performed in class, and grounded in hands-on practical applications, such as our garden activities and our training in nature observation and drawing.
Using funds from a recent grant that trains our teachers in environmental education, we are intensifying our curriculum by re-establishing plants native to the area that will help us return our 10 acres of foothill woodland to its original character. Students will study our local ecology and practice responsible stewardship of the land by helping to restore the natural environment of the Yuba hills; this work will be integrated with classroom study of Native American culture, the early history of our area, and plant and earth sciences.
Field trips enhance the integration of our curriculum. Students have taken field trips to study recycling at Yuba-Sutter Recology, and visited a waste and recycling museum in Chico. During the most recent school year our fifth and sixth grade students spent five days at Shady Creek Environmental Camp, an outdoor education center above Nevada City. Also during the current year, students studied Native American Culture on Native People’s History Day at the American Indian Education Program in Marysville.
Common Core Standards
Educational standards describe what students should know and be able to do in each subject in each grade. In California, the State Board of Education decides on the standards for all students, from kindergarten through high school. The California Department of Education helps schools make sure that all students are meeting the standards.Since 2010, 45 states have adopted the same standards for English and math. These standards are called the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).
Having the same standards helps all students get a good education, even if they change schools or move to a different state. Teachers, parents, and education experts designed the CCSS to prepare students for success in college and the workplace.