Curriculum
Girls’ School Sacramento proudly teaches the Core Knowledge curriculum. At our school your daughter will be offered a superior curriculum based on ideas presented by Dr. E.D. Hirsch, Jr. in his well-known books, Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know and The Schools We Need and Why We Don’t Have Them. These ideas were further developed by the foundation Dr. Hirsch established in 1986.
In each grade students will be exposed to a broad range of historical, scientific, and cultural topics that will build on one another to prepare them for later educational success. This wide array of subject matter will not only develop cultural literacy but also will build the strong vocabulary necessary for true reading comprehension.
Subject areas covered at every grade level include: math, science, history, geography, language arts, visual arts, and music. Middle schoolers add humanities.
Core Knowledge tries to develop cultural literacy in a way that is systematic but leaves room for creativity for both teacher and student. The curriculum eliminates the gaps and repetition that characterize a curriculum in which textbooks and programs are selected more or less at random.
GSS is part of a growing number of schools across the country—private, public, charter, and parochial—that use the Core Knowledge curriculum and are finding great success as measured by standardized tests and by the students’ enjoyment of learning.
For more information about the curriculum including a detailed look at subject areas and topics by grade level please proceed to coreknowledge.org.
In addition to Core Knowledge, GSS teaches Latin beginning at grade two. Each student must take Latin for three years. At the end of that period, students may switch (with ease) to Spanish- or continue to more advances Latin. Instruction in Latin has been proven to monumentally improve language arts test scores (including the SAT). It is also the language of many professional areas including law, medicine, and theology.
The school employs an experienced reading teacher as our director of curriculum and instruction who guides our early years teachers in making excellent readers of our students.
Yoga Ed
YogaEd health/wellness programs use materials that utilize the physiological, emotional and educational benefits of yoga and creative play, and distribute them to children, teachers and parents through schools and communities nationwide. “Yoga Ed. believes physical, mental and emotional health is directly correlated with academic success and fulfillment in life.” The YogaEd program helps students develop self-awareness, self-management and self-care, and it is approved by the State of California as a PE curriculum. For more information please visit www.yogaed.org.