Akan-rooted
Learning values community, memory, responsibility, wisdom, creativity, and relationships across generations.
Curriculum foundation
Inclusive by design
Students receive explicit teaching, accessible materials, purposeful repetition, multiple representations, and multiple ways to demonstrate learning.
Restorative and humane
Reflection, dialogue, repair, collaboration, and growth replace fear-based discipline and unnecessary high-stakes testing.
Enduring learning goals
01
Read and explain increasingly complex literary and informational texts
02
Write clear narratives, explanations, and evidence-based arguments
03
Build vocabulary through context, morphology, conversation, and repeated use
04
Speak, listen, present, and collaborate with confidence
05
Use research and media responsibly
06
Develop an authentic voice through storytelling and revision
9 weeks
Identity, Oral Tradition & the Power of Story
Essential question: How do stories preserve identity and community?
Core learning: Close reading; theme; character; oral storytelling; personal narrative; discussion norms
Culminating demonstration
Record or perform an original identity narrative that connects family, place, and values.
Record or perform an original identity narrative that connects family, place, and values.
9 weeks
Reading the World: Information & Media
Essential question: How do we decide whether information deserves our trust?
Core learning: Main idea; text structure; source credibility; note-taking; summary; media literacy
Culminating demonstration
Create a student-friendly fact-checking guide and annotated multimedia explanation.
Create a student-friendly fact-checking guide and annotated multimedia explanation.
9 weeks
Justice, Choice & Consequence
Essential question: How do writers reveal fairness, power, and responsibility?
Core learning: Point of view; conflict; evidence; argument; counterclaim; respectful debate
Culminating demonstration
Write and present an evidence-based position on a school or community issue.
Write and present an evidence-based position on a school or community issue.
9 weeks
New Orleans Stories & Future Voices
Essential question: How can place shape imagination?
Core learning: Poetry; imagery; research; interviewing; revision; publication
Culminating demonstration
Publish a class anthology combining poetry, local history, and speculative writing.
Publish a class anthology combining poetry, local history, and speculative writing.
9 weeks
Memory, History & Testimony
Essential question: Whose memories become history?
Core learning: Memoir; primary sources; perspective; synthesis; reflective writing
Culminating demonstration
Create a digital or print testimony exhibit using researched context and original commentary.
Create a digital or print testimony exhibit using researched context and original commentary.
9 weeks
Language, Power & Persuasion
Essential question: How does language influence belief and action?
Core learning: Rhetoric; claims; bias; speech analysis; argument; presentation
Culminating demonstration
Deliver a persuasive speech with evidence, rhetorical choices, and a response to counterarguments.
Deliver a persuasive speech with evidence, rhetorical choices, and a response to counterarguments.
9 weeks
Literature Across the African Diaspora
Essential question: What travels with people across time and place?
Core learning: Comparative reading; symbolism; historical context; seminar discussion; literary analysis
Culminating demonstration
Produce a comparative essay or podcast connecting two works from the African diaspora.
Produce a comparative essay or podcast connecting two works from the African diaspora.
9 weeks
Writing the World We Need
Essential question: How can writing imagine and build better futures?
Core learning: Speculative fiction; research integration; editing; publishing; peer critique
Culminating demonstration
Complete a polished capstone story, essay, or multimedia work for a public class showcase.
Complete a polished capstone story, essay, or multimedia work for a public class showcase.
Weekly instructional cycle
ConnectActivate background knowledge and establish purpose.
ModelTeacher demonstrates the skill with clear thinking aloud.
PracticeStudents rehearse with scaffolds, feedback, and repetition.
ApplyStudents use the learning in a meaningful task or problem.
ReflectStudents explain growth, revise work, and plan a next step.
Daily practice: Lessons may combine mini-lessons, movement, music, visuals, discussion, hands-on materials, small groups, independent work, and teacher conferencing. Pacing changes when student evidence shows that reteaching or extension is needed.
Signature learning experiences
Oral-history interview and transcript
Students plan, create, revise, explain, and share a product that demonstrates both content learning and communication.
Student anthology or literary magazine
Students plan, create, revise, explain, and share a product that demonstrates both content learning and communication.
Podcast episode with script and sources
Students plan, create, revise, explain, and share a product that demonstrates both content learning and communication.
Community issue argument and presentation
Students plan, create, revise, explain, and share a product that demonstrates both content learning and communication.
Assessment without high-stakes testing
Frequent evidence
- Conferences and observation
- Exit responses and retrieval practice
- Notebook, portfolio, or model checks
- Short performances and explanations
Culminating evidence
- Unit projects and demonstrations
- Presentations, exhibitions, or performances
- Student reflection and revision
- Standards-aligned teacher rubrics
Reporting progress
Progress reports describe what a student understands, can do independently, can do with support, and should learn next. Grades never stand alone without feedback.
Reteaching and reassessment
Students receive another pathway to learn and another reasonable opportunity to demonstrate growth after feedback and practice.
Inclusive supports
Audiobooks, read-alouds, and text-to-speech
Chunked texts with visual annotations
Sentence frames and paragraph models
Choice of written, oral, visual, or recorded response
Vocabulary preview with repeated retrieval
Small-group reteaching and conferencing
Individualization: Teachers follow each student’s IEP and use present-level data, accommodations, assistive technology, and specially designed instruction. Supports provide access without lowering the intellectual dignity of the work.
Family and community connection
Each semester includes at least one opportunity for students to connect learning to family knowledge, New Orleans, Akan or African diasporic culture, a community concern, or a public audience. Participation options protect privacy and respect different family circumstances.
← Return to the complete curriculum