Galapagos Charter School

About Us

With a focus on small class sizes and individualized instruction, Galapagos Charter School is located in Chicago and Rockford, Illinois. Galapagos Charter School believes that students’ success depends on their ability to receive high-quality instruction. In order to ensure that students receive the best education possible, Galapagos Charter School works to ensure that its instructors receive ongoing professional development. Galapagos Charter School requires teachers to participate in over 300 hours of professional development training each school year. Teachers’ professional development begins every August when they undertake a month’s worth of training in subjects such as classroom management, lesson planning, and policies. At Galapagos Charter School, teachers also receive training on the best techniques for instruction in reading, writing, and math.

Additionally, the teachers at Galapagos Charter School work to meet the individual needs of their students. At Galapagos Charter School, programs such CAFE, Words Their Way, and character trait vocabulary teach students reading and writing skills. Moreover, teachers use instructional methods such as Singapore Math and EPGY in their classrooms. Teachers aim to identify those areas in which students are struggling so they can provide the necessary attention and instruction needed to improve understanding of that subject. With a focus on individual instruction, instructors at Galapagos Charter School seek to prevent children from falling behind in their studies.

In order to ensure that students reach the necessary levels of comprehension in reading and mathematics, Galapagos Charter School administers the NWEA Measures of Academic Progress assessment exam to all grade levels three times per school year. The exam tests students at an individual level. The school can measure students’ growth regardless of their original achievement level. Galapagos Charter School measures each student’s progress against that of the national average in order to determine what areas need to be addressed.