A curriculum change is imminent.

At its monthly meeting on Dec. 10, the Advocates for Arts Based Education Corp., the board governing Lusher Charter School, discussed the school’s planned switch from LEAP test standards to standards associated with the Common Core.

Patty Glaser, the assistant head of school, said Lusher  plans the shift over the next three years as follows:

–Kindergarten and first grade will adopt Common Core next year.

–Second grade through high school will have a transition year, in which both Common Core and LEAP will be taught.

–In 2013, third grade through high school will complete the transition to Common Core, and by 2014, all grades will have done so.

Glaser said the new curriculum will help students get into college but will also help them stay there, once enrolled.

The new curriculum offers a core that teachers can build upon, Glaser said. For example, it may call for a certain percentage of non-fiction books for first graders but won’t dictate which particular books must be read.

”We have not followed the Louisiana curriculum here at Lusher, but for the next three years we will,” Glaser said. She said the standards are fewer with Common Core but more rigorous.

An impediment in making the switch is that Common Core uses Partnership for the Assessment of Reading for College and Careers (PARCC) testing, which requires computer and software updates.

The board went into a closed session from 10:07 a.m. to 10:44 a.m. to discuss recent allegations against a Lusher employee who incurred $1,462.50 in legal costs. The board unanimously agreed to cover the costs.

The meeting, held in the Lusher library, began at 10:05 a.m. and ended at 11:36 a.m. Blaine LeCesne, the board president, was present as were members Paul Barron, Carol Whelan, Rachel Wisdom, Ann Salzer and Kristin Huston, Andrew Wisdom, Susan Krinsky and, Andrea Armstrong.