Magnolia School of Excellence is a tuition-free public charter school educating students in grades K-8 who reside in Caddo Parish. For 2014-2015 school year applications will be accepted in grade levels K-7. 8th grade will be added for the 2015-2016 school year. Magnolia School of Excellence is governed by Shreveport Charter Foundation, Inc. and a member of the Charter Schools USA (CSUSA) family of schools.
What Parents Should Know
Today’s students are preparing to enter a world in which colleges and businesses are
demanding more than ever before. To ensure all students are ready for success after high school, the Common Core State Standards establish clear, consistent guidelines for what every student should know and be able to do in math and English language arts from kindergarten through 12th grade. The standards were drafted by experts and teachers from across the country and are designed to ensure students are prepared for today’s entry-level careers, freshman-level college courses, and workforce training programs. The Common Core focuses on developing the critical-thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills students will need to be successful. Forty-three states, the District of Columbia, four territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) have voluntarily adopted and are moving forward with the standards. The new standards also provide a way for teachers to measure student progress throughout the school year and ensure that students are on the pathway to success in their academic careers.
Community Centered Academic Programming
Each Charter Schools USA school is an integrated part of the surrounding community and reliant upon strategic partnerships with community organizations, businesses and individuals to drive student success. Each school should serve as the anchor of the surrounding community by facilitating resources and initiatives that meet the unique needs of students, families, and the community, (seven) and capitalize on the assets and resources of the local community to enhance the student learning environment. This innovative strategy for incorporating the community and its assets into the design and development of programming is the Community of Character framework. This framework integrates community partners in learning and lifelong activities that make it a model for academic achievement, data-driven instruction, youth development, postsecondary/workforce preparation and community collaboration while allowing the school to become a center of community support, civic participation, and community engagement.
Character Education
Our character education program is integrated thoroughly within our classrooms every day. We utilize an evidence-based approach that has proven to ultimately result in higher student achievement and create positive communities throughout the school and beyond its walls. We use age-appropriate programs: Responsive Classroom, Developmental Designs and Restorative Justice to help students learn to deeply respect each other, establish positive and affirming relationships and develop solid communication skills that resolve conflicts and help everyone, including teachers, students and administrators to be successful members of every community. This ongoing character development starts in the classroom and continues on to hallways, lunch rooms, buses, and eventually to homes and neighborhoods.
Because there was so much information shared (too much to include here), Pam has sent Angel her presentation with permission to share. Should you be interested in getting a copy, please let Angel know!