What is Core Knowledge?
Cascade Heights Public Charter School's curriculum, the Core Knowledge Sequence, encompasses language arts, mathematics, science, history, geography, fine arts, and physical education.
The curriculum is characterized by knowledge that is:
- Solid — lasting, unchanging knowledge such as important events of world history;
- Sequenced — a planned progression building on students' previous knowledge and eliminating excessive repetition and gaps;
- Specific — clearly defined knowledge at each grade level ensuring fairness for all students;
- Shared — providing all students, regardless of background, with the shared knowledge they need to be included in our national literate culture.
Dedicated to excellence and fairness in early education, the Core Knowledge Foundation is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan organization founded in 1986 byE. D. Hirsch, Jr., professor emeritus at the University of Virginia and author of many acclaimed books including The Knowledge Deficit, Cultural Literacy, and The Schools We Need and Why We Don't Have Them. The Foundation conducts research on curricula, develops books and other materials for parents and teachers, offers workshops for teachers, and serves as the hub of a growing network of Core Knowledge schools.
The classical approach to education can be described as a journey to meaning. It begins with students acquiring knowledge through a wide familiarity with literature, history, science, math, music, arts, people, and places. Cascade Heights Public Charter School's purpose is to lead young people on an odyssey of the mind and heart, which will steer them towards self-reliance.
As you explore this site, you will find lesson plans, articles, and many other resources to help you use the Core Knowledge Sequence K–8 in our classrooms and school. We invite you to learn more about the model curriculum guidelines developed by the Core Knowledge Foundation, as more schools "share the knowledge."