Eastern University | Academic | School for Social Change

Eastern University Academy Charter School

Curriculum

High School Students The traditional subject areas of English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies (history, economics, geography, and civics), technology, world languages, and the arts will all be Eastern University Academy Charter School Charter School Application – October 3, 2006 19 addressed in student individualized Learning Plans, and will be incorporated into each student’s Exhibitions.

Communication (English/Language Arts)

Reading, writing, speaking, and listening are integral to academic success and will be central to students’ work at EUACS and in their internships. Language arts skills will be taught across the curriculum at EUACS, with students constantly writing discursively, speaking in public forums, and reading silently, aloud and dramatically. Reading comprehension skills are critical to life-long learning. Students will use authentic literature to study history, science, mathematics, the arts, and other content areas. Students also read to satisfy particular interests and for entertainment.

Creative Expression and the Arts

Students will engage the arts to communicate creatively and effectively, to create selfawareness and develop aesthetic competence. Through their projects and internships, students will learn to express themselves through fine art, music, dance or drama, and to express themselves through visual media.

World Languages

EUACS will be dedicat d to the notion that students should be able to communicate in a second language, and to think about issues and problems from the perspective of another culture.

Quantitative Reasoning (Mathematics)

Quantitative reasoning is essential for survival and success in an increasingly data-rich world. Students will be able to communicate mathematically and will come to view math topics as interesting and enjoyable to study. Students will use mathematics as a tool to help organize and understand information and to solve problems related to their interests.

Empirical Reasoning (Science)

EUACS will continually emphasize the use of observations, hypothesis formulation and testing and facts to explore and justify the ideas underlying their projects. Although Empirical Reasoning spans many areas of a traditional curriculum and academic disciplines, it is most closely related to the fields and processes of science.

Students are likely to pursue studies in the following major areas of science, including:

Unifying Themes of Science
Inquiry and Design
Biological Sciences
Physical Science, Chemistry and Physics
Earth Sciences
Astronomy
Technology

Social Reasoning (Social Studies and History)

EUACS is based on the notion that people are social beings, highly attuned and interested in the ways in which human behaviors and societies have developed, and in exploring human potential. The purpose of learning to reason socially is to be able to examine issues from multiple perspectives, to understand how other people think and live, and to be able to decide matters of importance when faced with problems in life.

Areas of study to be included in EUACS’ Social Studies curriculum:

Economics
History
Geography
Civics and Government

Community Immersion (Service) Learning

Community Immersion learning projects will be small group projects based in the community that will focus on developing skills in real world contexts, similar to the way that the LTIs work in high school. Community immersion is a version of service learning that is more integrated with a student’s passions and interests, is longer-term and is related to the on-going development of community and social justice issues.