How to Develop a Charter School Curriculum

When you develop a charter school curriculum you need to follow the same rules and regulations as other public schools do. The difference will be in how much you go above and beyond what is required. Follow these steps to develop a charter school curriculum.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Curriculum guide for your state

1. Establish a planning committee. This committee will need to be made up of educational professionals that have experience and/or training in curriculum development.
2. Research your state's current standards and requirements for curriculum development. To do this you will most likely need to contact your state's department of education. Your state's curriculum guide should be available via a secure download site. If it is not you will need to request a printed copy.
3. Develop standards for your charter school and its curriculum. This is where you can either decide to only meet state and federal curriculum standards or you can decide to exceed these standards.
4. Establish educational goals that you want your charter school's curriculum to meet. For example you may want to have a goal that 90 percent of your student population will pass standard tests in reading, math and science. Your goals need to address concerns related to meeting general education standards and they need to address areas of public education that you feel need improvement.
5. Outline courses of study following the guidelines provided by your state and your school district's superintendent. Most curriculums will need to offer basic courses in reading, math, science and social studies. However, you may also want to add music, art and physical education to your curriculum as well.
6. Review the curriculum draft that you created for your charter school. Debate its pros and cons. Highlight areas that still need improvements and confirm elements that will work for your school.
7. Revise and develop the curriculum for your charter school.
8. Hold an open charter school meeting to allow parents to hear about your proposed curriculum and to offer you their input.
9. Discuss the recommendations offered by the parents of your students. Again debate changes that need to be made to the curriculum and confirm elements of the curriculum that are going to work for your students.
10. Approve the curriculum for your charter school. After all revisions have been made meet with the planning committee and approve the curriculum.

Tips & Warnings

• Charter schools are generally considered public schools. Therefore they need to follow state laws and guidelines for developing curriculum.