W.E.B.DU BOIS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL
MISSION STATEMENT
At the W.E.B. Du Bois Academy Charter School, we believe that students want to learn when learning is made enjoyable and intrinsically rewarding. We believe that each student should be given varied and challenging opportunities to reach his or her full potential. Thus, upon graduation, all students will understand why they must continue to learn and how they can become outstanding moral and contributing persons.
The W.E.B. Du Bois Academy seeks to instill in the young men and women of the Academy a driving ambition to create and lead lives filled with substance and meaning. The overarching theme of “justice, compassionate justice you shall pursue”, articulated by The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., forms the primary reservoir for developing lives filled with substantive thought and purposeful action. We desire to develop students who can create and live lives in an egalitarian society in which equality and respect for human dignity, employment for everyone, and equal sharing in the resources of that society are the norms. The W.E.B. Du Bois Academy seeks to foster the goals of (1) living in harmony with others and (2) working cooperatively for the common good.
Our inspiration is derived from the philosophy and opinions of W.E.B. Du Bois, the renowned philosopher, scholar and activist, who believed that social justice is the ability of a given society to fairly, impartially, equitably, and consistently apply to all of its citizens the civil laws and statutes and the moral laws of that society. He stated that school “must not simply teach work—it must teach life.” Life involves values. Thus, we believe that values are among the most important subjects taught in school. Our academy is characterized by high academic standards as well as high social and moral values that will enliven, embolden, motivate, and invigorate each child. Fundamentally, our educational approach seeks to discover the particular genius within each of our students and to instill in each the belief that he or she is an intelligent and productive person.
Dr. Du Bois believed that for schools to prepare students to live successfully in an egalitarian society, they must constantly mediate text and experience. It is not sufficient for students to know only how to write, speak or compute well. They must also understand why it is important to be able to do so. This goes to the question of values, and our curriculum seeks to clarify these values for students in order to enable them to lend concrete expression to symbolic ideas. Ultimately, we want students to internalize these ideas and express them through behavior. When students are able to consistently apply to everyday life situations the values learned from the social justice tradition, our school’s goal will have been realized. This gift will serve the larger community by developing and fostering compassionate leadership and by instilling pride in, and respect for, the human, cultural and natural diversity of the world.
Our curriculum seeks to train students to look at situations from more than one vantage point. This is accomplished through the use of a values clarification curriculum that is characterized by requiring teachers to infuse social justice sources into every aspect of the curriculum. The social justice tradition will be the basis for the student’s exploring, interpreting, and evaluating experiences.
Our Academy offers to young people who are at risk for academic and/or social failure, the opportunity to learn in an environment that is as once academically superior, egalitarian, family focused, and committed to the values and ethics of the social justice tradition. It prepares students not only to successfully earn a living, but also to learn how to successfully live life in a world that is increasingly characterized by diminishing borders and by a need for creative and compassionate new leadership. We address the needs of students and families who are seeking ways to increase academic performance while incorporating into the school day the values taught at home. We address the needs of those who want the school to successfully teach students how to respond to both the particularistic social concerns of our society and the broader social and human concerns that confront all contemporary world citizens. . We seek to prepare young people to assume a dynamic and meaningful role in the development of a society in which progress is measured by the overall level of human wellbeing. To begin the preparation for making their contribution to society, all students will:
1) Perform at or above grade level in every subject
2) Be able to write a clear, concise essay
3) Read age appropriate literary works from various cultures and historical epochs
4) Present a written and oral portfolio of some of their best work
5) Identify, prepare, and deliver an argument in both written and oral form
6) Articulate accurate mathematical concepts along with basic calculations and theories
7) Have a basic knowledge of computer technology
8) Exhibit basic computer proficiency on two platforms (Apple and IBM)
9) Utilize basic software applications appropriate to the various curriculum areas
10) Develop a digital portfolio consisting of an essay, a poem, and a speech
11) Construct and perform a scientific experiment
12) Be ecologically aware
13) Begin to communicate in a second language
14) Have strong subject area skills
15) Pass school-generated proficiency examinations
16) Pass a school-developed physical education examination
17) Be aware of their role in the community
18) Complete ten hours of community service
19) Be familiar with their responsibilities as Americans and as world citizens
20) Have an intimate knowledge of the social justice tradition and how it impacts the individual, the family, the society, and the world
21) Make a fifteen-minute oratorical presentation that engages the Academy’s central theme of social justice
22) Make an artistic presentation on the theme of social justice and multiculturalism
23) Complete two demographic studies
24) Develop and present a multi-media exhibition
25) Perform tactile applications
26) Exhibit a basic understanding of the importance of good nutrition, good health, and physical fitness
27) Visit three cultural institutions in the New York area
28) Exhibit a knowledge of the rules of etiquette and good manners
29) Have a personal development plan for the future