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Overview
UPA will offer an intensive, college preparatory program
integrating academics, technology, leadership/advisory as
the core curriculum, and offers visual and performing arts
to enrich students’ learning experiences. UPA’s
aim is to prepare each student for success in any university
or college in the nation by incorporating a new version
of the “Three R’s” : rigorous course work, including
offering Advanced Placement classes to all students, meaningful
relationships with instructors who can help students meet
high standards, and relevant learning opportunities provided
in an atmosphere that emphasizes and recognizes a love of
learning and the expectation that each student will be academically
prepared to meet the challenges they will face in the future. The following are the fundamental components of UPA’s
instructional approach, each of which will be detailed below:
• Rigorous, standards-based curriculum. Meet the California
academic content standards and ensure that core high school
courses meet the University of California’s “a-g”
requirements.
• Personalized learning approach. Focus on identifying
and meeting the individualized needs of each student –
through a small school approach, level testing, personal
learning plans, a student advisory, and supplemental support.
• Supplemental educational support. Provide the supplemental
instruction and supportive learning environment to foster
success among a diverse, high needs student population.
• Small school environment. Enrollment for the 7th
through 12th grade program will be approximately 384 students.
• Student leadership/advisory. Leadership/Advisory
class will focus on teaching the skills needed to be successful
for admission to leading colleges and finding success by
being prepared to meet the challenges in pursuing that education.
• Integrated technology. Integrate the use of technology
into the instructional program to ensure students have the
skills to enable them to compete for admission to the best
colleges and universities in the nation.
Rigorous, Standards-Based Instruction
UPA’s curriculum will be demanding, coherent, and
standards-based. Our goal is for all students to meet “a-g”
requirements with grades of C or higher, taking classes
that challenge and prepare them for university work. The
UPA curriculum will consist of the following fundamental
components:
• Fulfillment of “a-g” requirement by
all students with grades of C or higher in order to receive
course credit, with an emphasis on Advanced Placement courses
• Only one track at UPA—a college preparatory
curriculum that all students will be expected to achieve
• Standards-based with mastery of subject matter required
• Meaningful homework every night—2 to 3 hours
UPA will require AP classes and college preparatory classes
for all students and will require all students to complete
each AP course by taking the exam. Recent research indicates
that 34% of all high school graduates nation wide (40% of
white students, 23% of African American students, and 20%
of Hispanic students are eligible to enter a four year
college or university based on minimum qualifications required
by these institutions). Without a doubt, students
who have completed college-level work while in high school
are significantly more likely to find success in college,
entering college and remaining in college until graduation and that no matter how one divided the
universe of students, a high school curriculum of high academic
intensity and quality is the factor that contributes to
students’ likelihood of completing college.
The studies further found that just the completion of one
advanced placement course exposes a student to college level
work even if the examination is not taken or passed, the
challenge of the course and emphasis on critical thinking,
study skills, and increased content knowledge prepares a
student for college work.
Beginning in 7th grade, UPA students will be challenged
with a pre-AP curriculum to prepare them for later success
in AP and college courses. All students will be enrolled
in pre-AP English and Mathematics classes with the intent
of preparing all students for Calculus by their senior or
even their junior year and AP English Language and Literature
classes for all students in their junior and senior years.
Teachers will receive training in ways to teach the skills
and content necessary for success in AP and other college
classes. UPA believes it is critical for students to successfully
complete college courses while in high school in order to
prepare them for success in four-year colleges and universities.
(For documentation of the success of this approach, see
Advanced Placement Courses Cast Wider Net by Kathleen Kennedy
Manzo, published in Education Week, November 3, 2004, describing
various research done on this topic).
The UPA curriculum will be carefully planned to align with
the state standards in each of our core areas of English/language
arts, math, science, history/social science, and foreign
language in each of grades 7 through 12. UPA curriculum will be
planned coherently so that our content standards will be
implemented by the teacher and attained by the student.
UPA’s director will monitor this aspect of instruction
carefully, incorporating successful implementation into
each teacher’s performance evaluation.
All students will be required to reach beyond their present
academic levels in a cycle of continuous improvement, verified
by testing that will give students, parents and teachers
immediate feedback on skill levels and needs. Grades of
A, B, or C and mastery of standards are required for course
completion. Students will generally be assigned approximately
2-3 hours of rigorous, meaningful homework each night. Homework
experts say there is an unfortunate gap in the amount and
quality of homework given to the “haves” and
the “have nots,” which places many disadvantaged
urban students further behind their more affluent peers.
UPA believes that successful college
students are those who have been given substantive, meaningful
homework assignments. Students who do more homework score
better on tests and get better grades, particularly in high
school. UPA intends to ensure that its students are accustomed
to daily homework assignments that expand upon their classroom
instruction and help prepare them for the rigors of a college
environment.
UPA will adopt the California state standards as the framework
for our curriculum, and UPA students will take the required
state standardized tests. UPA core curriculum materials and textbooks for
7th and 8th grades will be selected from the list of state-required textbooks.
Ninth though twelfth grade non-advanced placement textbooks will be California
State Standards-aligned, and UPA will use College Board-required textbooks
and instructional materials for advanced placement classes.
