Course of Study for Grade School Students Enrolled in Private Full-time Day School

Private schools are required to "offer instruction in the several branches of study
required to be taught in the public schools of the state". (CA Education Code Section
48222) Courses required to be taught in grades one through twelve (1-8) in public schools are listed below.

Each family enrolled in ESA is required to follow this guideline as closely as
possible in choosing subjects to be taught. You may be more selective in subject
content. The following is taken from the California Education Code.

(a) Language Arts: including knowledge of, and appreciation for literature and
language, as well as the skills of speaking, reading, listening, spelling, handwriting,
and composition.

(b) Mathematics: including concepts, operational skills, and problem solving.

(c) Social Sciences: drawing upon the disciplines of anthropology, economics,
geography, history, political science, psychology, and sociology, designed to fit the
maturity of the pupils. Instruction shall provide a foundation for understanding the
history, resources, development, and government of California and the United States:
Also include the development of the American economic system including the role of the entrepreneur and labor; our relations to our human and natural environment; eastern and western cultures and civilizations, and contemporary issues. Instruction in social science shall include the early history of California and a study of the role and contributions of both men and women, black Americans, native Americans, Mexican and Mexican Americans, Asians, Pacific Island people, and other ethnic groups to the economic, political, and social development of California and the United States of America, with particular emphasis on portraying the roles of these groups in contemporary society.

(d) Science: including the biological and physical aspects, with emphasis on
the processes of experimental inquiry and on our place in ecological systems.

(e) Fine Arts: including instruction in the subjects of art and music, aimed at
the development of aesthetic appreciation and the skills of creative expression.

(f) Health: including instruction in the principles and practices of individual,
family and community health.

(g) Physical Education: with emphasis upon such physical activities for the
pupils as may be conducive to health and vigor of body and mind, for a total period of
time of not less than 200 minutes each 10 schooldays, exclusive of recesses and the
lunch period. (35 minutes daily)

(h) Bible: Such other studies as may be prescribed by the governing board.