CORE 1st-8th Grade

DISTINGUISHING PROGRAM FEATURES

• A Desirable Hybrid Model: Our CORE Hybrid programs allowed students the ‘best of both worlds’ – all the benefits and flexibility of homeschool, as well as the opportunity to attend classes and develop friendships with peers and teachers in a supportive environment! 
• Parent Partnership: Our CORE hybrid programs feature credentialed teachers to guide students and bring stability and structure to your homeschooling. Teachers take these parent relationships seriously, in ongoing communication with parents about their child’s progress, areas of improvement, and avenues for needed growth. Parents and SOCHH teachers truly function in close partnership to ensure student success.
• Small Classes & Attentive Teachers: Each class is capped at 12-16 students to one teacher. The smaller class sizes promote strong relationships among students and teachers.
• Adaptive Curriculum Plans & Differentiated Instruction: All SOCHH instruction is driven by grade level standards, however curriculum and lesson plans are intentionally designed to meet the needs of the students. The overriding goal is to identify student needs, fill skill gaps, and build strong foundations for learning. This eliminates the need to consistently move forward at a specific pace for the sake of task completion. The benefit of small class sizes allows for natural differentiation for student learning, offering unique instructional approaches and assignments according to academic needs. Differentiation opportunities may include methods such as multisensory instruction, modeling strategies, scaffolding of materials, additional processing time, learning tools, etc.
• Emphasis On Soft Skills and Social Emotional Intelligence: Supplementing our strong academic plans, we have integrated an emotional intelligence component into all aspects of the CORE program.  In addition to the core academic subjects, all CORE students are introduced to a campus wide social emotional skill and are encouraged and supported as they develop and practice those skills. Topics include self-esteem, communication skills, empathy, self awareness, problem solving, coping skills, executive functioning, and more!
• Community: Unlike larger drop off programs where students are continuously coming and going, SOCHH is a smaller, more intimate campus that hosts a plethora of opportunities for students and families to build community! Some of our campus events include seasonal/holiday class parties, field trips, family fun nights, trunk or treat, our holiday marketplace, our annual jogathon, readathon, monthly coffee chats, & more!

ONSITE INSTRUCTION

Under the guidance and direction of accredited teachers, students will work through grade level standards for Math, Language Arts (Writing, Grammar, Literature, Reading, Spelling, & Phonics), and Social Studies. 

All curriculum is selected by SOCHH and is evaluated annually for its rigor and effectiveness. Without the pressure of trying to cover the entire curriculum cover to cover, teachers are able to supplement using a  variety of eclectic tools and texts to build interest and understanding in the core subjects. 

AT HOME INSTRUCTION/PARENT EXPECTATIONS

Our popular CORE programs feature 3 days of in class instruction and 2 days of at home instruction. Parent engagement is crucial to at home learning in this hybrid model. See below to see what this parent partnership looks like. Our model allows for more family time and flexibility on at home days! We encourage engagement in external activities on these lighter school days. 

• In 1st-5th grades, parents play the role of Co-educator. At home, families study, explore, and learn together!  In this role, parents are responsible for directly implementing at home lesson plans provided by teachers. Classroom teachers provide monthly and/or weekly lesson plans which outline the assignments both at home and at school.  If a student is identified to have additional learning needs, teachers will provide resources and actionable plans for parents to supplement at home accordingly.
  • In 1st-2nd, parents can expect approximately 1-2 hours of work on at home days. In 3rd-5th: parents can expect approximately 2 hours of work on at home days. This includes worksheets, phonics practice, both independent reading and parent read-alouds, practicing math facts, working on larger projects, etc. The bulk of instruction will be introduced by teachers; parents are responsible for reinforcing and reviewing concepts at home using the provided resources. 
• In 6th-8th, our middle school teachers empower students to take ownership of their learning and lessons. Teachers utilize google classroom, a detailed online agenda, and email communication to guide students while they complete assignments both in-class and at home. While students are expected to work independently, it is essential that parents remain actively engaged in their student’s progress and assignments. Parents are expected to check in with students daily to review short term and long term assignments, monitor work completion, provide support as needed and encourage their student to advocate for themselves. Parent partnership is essential to the success of the middle school model.   If a student is identified to have additional learning needs, teachers will provide resources and actionable plans for parents to supplement at home accordingly.
  • Students in the Middle School core program can expect approximately 1 hour of home based assignments on in-class days (T-TH) and approximately 2-3 hours of work on at home days (mon and fri).

CURRICULUM

We use an eclectic mix of tools & texts in our core instruction. While curriculum can vary per teacher and classroom, our vision remains. For the 2023/24 school year, in 1st-8th grades we are using the following curriculum as mentor texts: Houghton Mifflin GoMath, Science of Reading phonics/spelling, Lucy Calkins Readers & Writers, classical and modern novel studies, Not So Wimpy Grammar, & Studies Weekly Social Studies.

• Math: Through a combination of manipulatives, games, and direct instruction, students are trained early on in an understanding of number sense and mental math skills. As they mature, students develop deeper thinking & reasoning skills and begin to see how math is used in everyday life.
• Language Arts: We intentionally equip our students with the skills needed to effectively communicate. Reading instruction begins with a multisensory approach of phonics-based instruction and transitions into an engaging interaction with both modern and classical literature. Students begin the writing process early, sharing their thoughts and learning to manipulate, reorder, and elaborate on their ideas from a young age. As they enter middle school they have already begun the journey of formalizing their writing, progressing in their structure and style each year.
• Social Studies: Studying history helps us understand and grapple with complex questions and dilemmas by examining how the past has shaped (and continues to shape) global, national, and local relationships between societies and people. Philosophically and politically, SOCHH is not designed to present a particular perspective; all topics and discussion are addressed and analyzed in a practical, academic manner, with spirit of inquiry – not indoctrination.