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.
Students at Springs’ Murrieta Student Center have begun rehearsals for the school’s Open Mic Night, shared Carissa McIntyre, program facilitator. Students will perform to show off their many talents. Additionally, Murrieta staff participated in The Great ShakeOut to sharpen emergency response skills and stress the importance of safety.
Springs’ Bear River Student Center students collected pop tabs to donate to the Ronald McDonald House which offers temporary housing to families nearby children’s hospitals when a member of the family is undergoing treatment, shared Gabbie Brooks, site facilitator. Eighth grade teacher Jessica Martinez’s class collected the most of any class, collecting 13 gallons of pop tabs.
Kathleen Hermsmeyer, superintendent of Springs Charter Schools, is the 2027 Hart Vision Equity & Innovation Leader of the Year recipient. She received the honor from the California Charter Schools Conference because she “champions personalized learning that responds to individual students’ needs by sharing resources, insights, and lessons learned that extend well beyond Springs.”
Springs’ Del Rio Student Center had a “great turnout” for its first Paint Night, reported Principal Anthony Yanez. The event was led by Monica Peralta, and it proved to be “a fun evening filled with creativity, and everyone’s artwork turned out amazing.”
Springs’ Venture High School staff spotlighted 10th-grade student Maddie Keeney, “who exemplifies dedication, leadership, and service both in and out of the digital classroom.” The flexibility of online programs like Venture, the staff believes, empowers students like Maddie “to excel in the classroom while pursuing incredible passions in their local communities.”
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.