Signature Programs

Pinnacle Peak Preparatory Is a Core Knowledge School

The "Core Knowledge" movement is an educational reform based on the premise that a grade-by-grade core of common learning is necessary to ensure a sound and fair elementary education. The movement was started by Professor E. D. Hirsch, Jr., author of Cultural Literacy and The Schools We Need, and is based on a large body of research in cognitive psychology, as well as a careful examination of several of the world's fairest and most effective school systems.

Professor Hirsch has argued that, for the sake of academic excellence, greater fairness and higher literacy, early schooling should provide a solid, specific, shared core curriculum in order to help children establish strong foundations of knowledge. Currently, hundreds of schools and thousands of dedicated educators are participating in this school reform movement throughout the United States.  

The Core Knowledge© Sequence represents the common ground upon which a faculty meets and collaborates to teach a sequenced, coherent curriculum. In this cumulative curriculum, the knowledge and skills learned each year become the students' foundation for learning in subsequent years.

Core Knowledge

• Classic education - rich and compelling subject matter

• Knowledge that spirals from grade to grade

• Standards-based with specific guidelines

• Cross-curricular connections (interdisciplinary)

• Sustained, sequential learning

Project-Based Learning

• Framework to organize and present curriculum content

• Innovative and proven instructional approach

• Instills a "culture of thinking"

• Requires students to understand relevance of what they are learning and apply in problem-solving situations

• Inquiry-based learning

• It's a Project Based World. Here is a guide to getting started with projects today.

Gold Standard PBL: Essential Project Design Elements by John Larmer

Main Course Not Dessert by BIE

A video entitled: Middle School School Engages With Problem-Solving Challenges

S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math)

• Natural extension of STEM by integrating design and art

• Nurtures curiosity, creativity and critical thinking

• Real world concepts and hands-on challenges

• Applied knowledge to develop viable solutions  

PBL and STEAM Education: A Natural Fit by Andrew Miller

Pivot Point: At the Crossroads of STEM, STEAM, and Arts Innovation by Susan Riley