What is an accelerated school?

The View Park Preparatory Accelerated Charter Schools have adopted the Accelerated Schools Model developed by Henry Levin of Stanford University and implemented at over 1,000 schools across the nation. The Accelerated Schools process is designed to improve the education of disadvantaged students by using the same "acceleration" techniques used with gifted and talented students. The goal is to speed up the learning of at-risk students so they will be able to perform at grade level by the end of elementary school (Levin and Hopfenberg, 1993).

Central to the Accelerated Schools strategy is the placement of curriculum and instructional decisions in the hands of the instructional staff, requiring a complete restructuring of the traditional school organization. The principal is considered the instructional leader working in partnership with teachers, staff, and parents. The emphasis on local responsibility for educational outcomes requires an appropriate decision-structure built around a unit of purpose. The school must also develop the capacity to identify challenges, to understand these challenges, and to implement and evaluate solutions.

From these processes the entire school community that reflects the input of every member of the school community develops a school vision. In Accelerated schools, "the best of what we know about education - that which we usually reserve for gifted and talented students - is shared with all students" (Henry Levin).

This model, developed by Hank Levin, an economist at Stanford University, has spread to over 1000 Accelerated American schools. The View Park Preparatory Accelerated Charter Schools challenge all students to excel and grow.

Our goal at the View Park Preparatory Accelerated Charter Schools is to fully utilize the Accelerated Schools process, coupled with a highly enriched curriculum, to challenge all of our students to grow as thinkers.

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