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- EIN 54-1371584
- (434) 977-7550
- 801 E High St Charlottesvle VA 22902-5125 USA
- www.coreknowledge.org
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Nonprofit Overview
Causes: Civil Rights, Civil Rights, Social Action & Advocacy, Education, Educational Services, Public & Societal Benefit
Mission: The mission of the foundation is the re-introduction of coherent content into the early grades as a necessary means to accomplishing a fundamental goal of schooling in a democracy enabling all children to thrive, as jefferson put it, according to their talents and virtues, regardless of who their parents happen to be. The foundation's goals are captured in its motto "educational excellence and equity for all children. " we believe that open access to exemplary curriculum materials is the best way to level the playing field and increase equity in education. The foundation's mission is to improve american elementary education (and thereby secondary education too) by providing open access to a sequenced, cumulative and coherent knowledge based curriculum for preschool through grade 5.
Programs: Core knowledge history and geography(ckhg) curriculum - initially funded with a board-approved use of the foundation's own assets, the foundation received additional grant funding in 2016 to continue the development of the ckhg curriculum. Many units of ckhg were completed in 2016 and were immediately made available through our website for free download. Development in 2016 was focused primarily on grades 3-5, though work continues on additional grades. The program includes highly engaging student editions, easy to use teacher guides with the background information teachers need embedded in the guide, and classroom sets of large, colorful timeline cards to bring historical events to life. The historical units will also include: additional activities making cross-curricular connections to art, architecture, and music specific to the historical period and region of the world being studied - digital resource links with instruction for virtual field trips to museums/historical sites across the us and around the world - suggestions for instructional adaptations for students needing additional support (students with special needs as well as english language learners), as well as challenges for students who more quickly grasp the core content and skills - a civics focus in all american history units called "the pathway to citizenship," with additional, hands on learning activities to actively engage students - daily "checks for understanding," end-of-unit and performance assessments - and many other features as well. For additional information about the ckhg program and other curriculum products available for free download through the foundation's website, please visit https://www. Coreknowledge. Org/curriculum/history-geography/.
implementation support and professional development - the core knowledge foundation's goal is to provide schools interested in using core knowledge materials with multiple, flexible options for implementation support, so schools can choose the professional development options that work best for them. In 2016, the foundation's model for offering professional development learning opportunities changed significantly. Though school visits and on-site workshops are now available through core knowledge licensed professionals, independent consultants that the foundation has specifically licensed to provide implementation to schools in on-site workshops, the foundation primarily focused on providing implementation support and professional development through our open leadership institute. Through the leadership institute, participants learned what it means to implement core knowledge with fidelity as well as how to cultivate this approach within their school community. Ck leaders were provided with the opportunity to network and learn about the foundation's newest resources. Topics included the core knowledge approach, implementation planning, resources, effective teaching, parent and community involvement, and high-leverage leadership strategies. 32 ck leaders participated in the 2016 institute. They represented 18 schools located across the country (nc, va, ny, ca, tn, md, in, co, pa, az). To learn more about our annual leadership institute, or to register, please visit our website, https://www. Coreknowledge. Org/implementation/professional-development/leadership-institute/.
core knowledge language arts (ckla) curriculum though our proprietary english language arts curriculum materials, or ckla, were completed in 2015, all grades of ckla, prek through 5, were available for free download through our website, www. Coreknowledge. Org throughout 2016 as well. We also made available for free download our ckla implementation resources guide. This guide organizes many free resources designed to strengthen teacher and leader competencies regarding different facets of the ckla program. In the guide, you will find links to helpful resources such as on-demand webinars, turnkey training materials, video clips and alignment charts. Additionally, the foundation continues to offer guidance and email and phone support to those schools working to implement ckla in their classrooms. Ckla spans 7 grades, with 430 individual components designed to work together to provide an intentionally sequenced, knowledge-rich, coherent language arts program. In 2016 alone, these files were downloaded over 720,000 times through our website.