Moving to a new school, particularly one in a different state, can have several effects on both the child and their parents. While the child is concerned with finding a new social circle to fit into, their parents have a very different concern: will their child fit in academically with this new school system? In order to ensure that every student, even the ones who transfer to the school from another town or even another state, is equally prepared for higher education and a career, “it is important to have a rigorous, clear set of guidelines in place to assist teachers in knowing what to teach and when to teach it,” the Clinton Herald says. That's where the Common Core curriculum comes in.
The National Governors Association, along with the Council of Chief State School Officers, recognized the importance of giving every student an equal opportunity to graduate from high school equipped with the knowledge necessary to be successful in college, in their career, and beyond. They came up with the Iowa Core and Common Core curriculum.
Unlike many other federal academic programs, the Iowa Core and Common Core curriculum do not require every teacher to teach the curriculum identically. There is room for creativity. Teachers have the freedom to come up with their own lesson plans and choose textbooks that they feel best fit the standard of the curriculum. Although the Iowa Core program holds a statewide standard, it does not mandate that each school teach it the same way. How local schools choose to teach the material can vary from one school to another. The goal of the program is not to force teachers to teach the program in the same way; the goal is to achieve excellence in areas such as math, science, English, and social studies. In addition, the program also touches on other subjects such as finance and technology, skills that every student will need beyond their time in school.
Iowa isn't alone in demanding high performance from its students. A look at the programs of countries with high academic performance shows that they also have common standards that are taught across the board. Not only are those standards put in place for their students, but the teachers chosen to teach the material are given a good amount of preparation and support so they are ready to teach to the standards. Teachers do not stay in the background while these programs are being made; they are “actively involved in all aspects of their education systems,” says the Clinton Herald.
Keeping these statewide Common Core standards in mind, Genie Academy recognizes the importance of making sure every student has a strong understanding of the material they will learn in school. Genie Academy includes a Common Core program for school-aged students so they will succeed in a public school classroom setting. The program helps both the students who need the extra practice to get back on the same academic level as their peers in school and the students who are doing well in school but could use the enrichment. The program adheres to the state requirements, so the material taught in school will be familiar to the students who have already been exposed to the content in the Common Core program in Genie Academy.
To read more about the Core and Common Core curriculum, check out the article written by the Clinton Herald.
