Appropriate Curriculum
In researching the appropriate curriculum for Renaissance Preparatory School, the Board of Directors was profoundly influenced by the five major educational organizational shifts that Joyce Van-Tassel-Baska identifies as: "1) A strong affective component (teams of students and teachers); 2) An interdisciplinary focus on content; 3) A curriculum emphasizing student-based inquiry experiences; 4) Flexible scheduling; and 5) A movement toward heterogeneous grouping for all students."
The Board of Directors has also followed her recommendations for curricular modifications, both generally and domain specific.
Van-Tassel-Baska, Joyce. In Search Of Common Ground: What Constitutes Appropriate Curriculum and Instruction ... ? Monograph published for Members of the Curriculum Division of the National Association for Gifted Children, Washington, D.C. November, 1997.

The Board of Directors also followed the suggestions of Carol Ann Tomlinson on the "earmarks" of good curriculum, which are that it is "rich;" it "necessitates that students understand;" it "promotes development of key skills disciplines and life;" it is "integrative;" it is "purposeful and productive;" and it "pro actively provides for learner variance." The curriculum at Renaissance Preparatory has been structured to provide one that is a "strong curriculum [that] is coherent rather than piecemeal;" that "requires high level critical and creative thinking;" that "ensures that students use essential skills as a means of exploring, expressing, and applying those understandings within and across subject, rather than out of context or in isolation;" that "fills students with a sense that they are creators of knowledge and products that are useful and important both inside and outside their classrooms;" that "anticipates variation in student readiness, interest, and learning profile, and offers guidance for teachers and options for students to ensure that all students encounter the curriculum at their own entry points and progress effectively and efficiently from their individual points of entry;" and that "promotes student development of those skills necessary to develop as competent learners in a subject and to move from school to life beyond school."