


Core Knowledge
In an effort to help fulfill the Mission and Philosophy of The Ranches Academy Charter School, the school will employ the Core Knowledge Sequence by E.D. Hisrch, Jr. There are several Utah charter schools, and many schools throughout the nation, currently using this effective curriculum. This core curriculum helps establish a strong foundation of knowledge, grade by grade. Core Knowledge will be used to help meet the Utah State Core Curriculum requirements..
The Core Knowledge Sequence provides students with a broad knowledge base, rich in vocabulary, on which future instruction can build, broaden and deep. The core is structured to continue throughout a student’s education, becoming more detailed and sophisticated in each grade. Using this approach has proved to increase information retention. When meaningful content is paired with effective teaching skills, skill development has shown to come more easily.
Core Knowledge
The Ranches Academy Charter School will use curriculum, methods, and materials with the following foci:

Reading and Language Arts:

Mathematics

Grammar and Writing:

Science:
A “hands-on” approach as well as training in scientific methodologies.

Social Science:

Music:

Art:

Going beyond the Core:
Math Curriculum
Open Courts Language Arts and Reading
Open Court Language Arts and Reading will be used to support the Core Knowledge Sequence and help to meet the Utah State core curriculum requirements. The Open Court Language Arts and Reading curriculum is a phonics-based program with an emphasis on comprehension skills. It is balanced with extensive reading of both decodable text and quality literature. This program is designed to ensure that students can begin to read authentic text by the end of the first half of first grade. The program focuses on the fluency, comprehension, writing, research and inquiry with the goal of developing students who are truly life long learners.
Students participate daily in reading, writing, discussing, researching, and thinking about authentic, high-quality literature encompassing a range of text genres, including different forms of fiction and nonfiction. Each selection in Open Court Reading was chosen specifically because it added a new dimension of thought to the concept of a unit and because it was the best possible example of how different forms of literature can all express a particular theme.
Special Education
SPECIAL EDUCATION CARSON SMITH SCHOLARSHIP
School districts and charter schools are required by Utah law, 53A1a-704(10), to inform parents of students with IEPs enrolled in public schools, of the availability of a scholarship to attend a private school through the Carson Smith Scholarship Program. For information regarding the scholarship visit the website.