Academic Program - Launch Expeditionary Learning Charter School

Launch is an EL Education school dedicated to success for all of our students. This can take many different forms in our classrooms around how we engage students in high-quality, rigorous instruction. We believe in equity-driven teaching which means:

having high expectations for ALL students
amplifying and celebrating the culture of our students while additionally teaching them about other cultures
building a critical consciousness in our students
ensure that all students have the reasoning and analytical skills necessary to analyze real-world situations and lead beyond our school building
promoting both the challenges and joy of education and learning to elevate collaboration, voice, thinking, and reflection
encourage students to contribute to a more equitable world

At Launch, we select curricular materials to ensure all students can master the content of the NYS Learning Standards and to guide our teachers in creating the rigorous, meaningful and authentic learning environments present at an EL Education school.

ELA

In ELA, we use a combination of EL Education’s recently revised middle school curriculum, the Reading with Relevance curriculum, and teacher created units of study that mirror the structures present in EL’s curriculum. Within their ELA class, students receive targeted guided reading instruction, independent reading practice and vocabulary instruction using the Classical Roots curriculum.

When appropriate, we offer students targeted reading support through programs like Fountas and Pinnell’s Leveled Literacy Instruction and Wilson phonics instruction.

Math

Science

In Science, we utilize the Amplify curriculum that is aligned with NextGen Science standards. This curriculum includes ample opportunities for hands-on exploration and learning, digital simulations, and engineering. Additionally, students have significant practice in evidence-based text analysis and writing. At each grade level, teachers build out from the curriculum to include even more project-based learning opportunities that are culturally responsive to our students.

Social Studies

In Science, we utilize the Amplify curriculum that is aligned with NextGen Science standards. This curriculum includes ample opportunities for hands-on exploration and learning, digital simulations, and engineering. Additionally, students have significant practice in evidence-based text analysis and writing. At each grade level, teachers build out from the curriculum to include even more project-based learning opportunities that are culturally responsive to our students.

Physical Education

Multi-Subject

Our multi-subject students (self-contained 12:1:1 classroom) receive a standards-aligned curriculum that is more closely tailored to each child’s individual learning style. We have both a Humanities and a STEM teacher to split the content. We modify the reading and writing model we use with our ICT and General Education classes by teaching mainly in guided reading and Wilson phonics groups that meet our multi-subject students’ instructional reading levels. In Math, we utilize a blended learning approach with teacher-led lessons pulling from a variety of curricula, iReady math, and practice centers. Science and Social Studies follow grade level content and are literacy-rich.

One of the hallmarks of Launch’s academic program is our commitment to co-teaching. In almost all classes, students have two teachers – most often, a general educator and a special educator – working to differentiate the pace, learning modalities, and group sizes in order to meet the needs of all learners. Our teachers pull small alternative groups based on data gathered from formative assessments. We also focus on English Language Learners (ELLs) to ensure that students' language development is attended to in all academic content areas.

Launch is an EL Education school dedicated to putting students at the center of their learning. At each grade level, students take part in a 6-8 week cross-curricular Case Study. Over the past three years, our topics have been the Justice System with a focus on mock trial and playwriting in 6th grade, Disrupting Gun Violence in our Community in 7th grade, and the Civil Rights Movement in 8th grade. Students analyze the expedition topic through a number of lenses within their Reading, Writing, Social Studies, Art and Science or Math classes and prepare for a big culminating event where they can engage the community in their learning.