The mission of each Springs Charter School is to empower students by fostering their innate curiosity, engaging their parents, and promoting optimum learning by collaboratively developing a personalized learning program for each student.
Katie Irwin, an 11th-grade student in Springs’ Journey Homeschool High School, excels in basketball and volleyball. She began playing basketball in the 9th grade with Springs’ Renaissance Valley Academy and began playing volleyball the following year. She remarked, “I absolutely love being on a team as I’m able to connect with people and have fun while doing it. I’m a very competitive person and enjoy playing games very much. This program is amazing as I’ve had so many good experiences.”
TK and kindergarten students at Springs’ Del Rio Student Center celebrated the 100th day of school with their annual 100th Day Fashion Show, reported Principal KimBallantyne-Morse. Students decorated shirts with 100 items of their choice, including coins, plastic bugs, Lego pieces, jewels, and flowers.
Thirty students from Springs’ regional academies and programs participated in the Springs All School Spelling Bee Invitational in Temecula. There were 13 rounds; the final round featured 8th graders Profess Adhikari from the Bear River Student Center and Kat Odell from Rancho Cucamonga Personalized Learning Center attempting to spell the winning word, curmudgeon. Profess prevailed.
Agastya Yadav, a Venture Online 2nd-grade student working at the 4th-grade level, won first place in the Chess Federation (USCF) Rated Championship game, winning all games in his categories. Venture Online has given him the opportunity to do his schoolwork at his own pace and participate in chess competitions.
HoldenNowakowski, a 1st-grade student at Springs’ Murrieta Student Center, is the March 2025 Student Artist of the Month. Holden lives in Murrieta and “loves” attending class at the Center. His artwork is entitled “You are in charge of your own success.”
The Santa Ana Student Center celebrated Kindness week, reported Principal Priscilla Doorbar, “encouraging students to reflect on how kindness can create a better world.”
Charter schools are independent public schools with rigorous curriculum programs and unique educational approaches. In exchange for operational freedom and flexibility, charter schools are subject to higher levels of accountability than traditional public schools. Charter schools, which are tuition-free and open to all students, offer quality and choice in the public education system.
The charter establishing each such school is a contract detailing the school’s mission, program, goals, students served, methods of assessment, and ways to measure success. In California, charters are granted for five years. At the end of the term, the entity granting the charter may renew the school’s contract. Charter schools are accountable to their authorizer, and to the students and families they serve, to produce positive academic results and adhere to the charter contract.
Like traditional public schools, charters receive state funding based on a formula for each child enrolled in the school. Many charters also do additional fundraising to obtain grants and donations to pay for programs that are not fully funded by state or school district formulas. When lawmakers passed the Charter Schools Act of 1992, California became the second state in the country (after Minnesota) to enact charter school legislation. The intent was to allow groups of educators, community members, parents, or others to create an alternative type of public school.