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.
Springs Journey Homeschool High School senior Leonardo Flores Rodriguez is a star soccer player. While he’s on the road participating in games, he completes his studies online.
Leo joined the Journey program to balance academics with his interest in soccer. Teacher Kyle Pieterse said, “Leonardo receives excellent grades, high standardized test scores, and participates in our dual-enrollment program with Barstow Community College.”
Springs’ Temecula Student Center (TSC) teamed up with the Professional Women’s Roundtable, a local non-profit organization in the Murrieta/Temecula Valley, for its first annual Peanut Butter Drive, reported Melissa Targos, program facilitator. TSC staff and families donated more than 50 jars of peanut butter to local food pantries for distribution to needy families from Lake Elsinore to Temecula.
Audrina Rodriguez, a 2nd-grade student with the Venture Online program since kindergarten, enjoys reading. Her favorite book series are “The Baby-Sitters Club” and “Dork Diaries.” She said, “You can always find me with a book in my hands. I take books everywhere I go and read whenever I can.”
The seven-year-old also likes drawing and spending time with her sisters. Her favorite parts of the Venture program include interacting with her teachers and fellow students during daily live sessions. She is also participating in Learning Center classes, and said, “Right now, I’m taking a class called The STEAM Team, where we do hands-on science experiments and fun projects. It’s one of the best parts of my week.”
Springs’ High School Learning Center staff, who serve 142 students across four campuses, gathered for a professional development session with a Hawaiian Christmas theme, reported Sherri Duckworth-Kemp. Participants discussed best teaching practices; teacher Ron Thompson presented a lesson on using online tools to engage students in daily academic vocabulary practice through a gaming-style platform.
Journey Homeschool High School senior Cohen Bringhurst was named the Murrieta/Wildomar Chamber of Commerce Student of the Month, reported Nicole Collins, Vice Principal.
Cohen has been attending Springs schools since 2nd grade. He has a 4.4 GPA and has completed 10 college courses. He has finished a Career Technical Education (CTE) pathway in Health Science and completed an internship at his father’s dental office. When not at school, he is active in his church.
The Classical Community of Orange County at the Santa Ana Learning Center, serving approximately 170 students, recently hosted its first history festival of the school year, reported Linda Larson, homeschool director. This year’s focus is early American history, and all classes spent the fall studying the diverse regions of Native American peoples—exploring their clothing, local resources, homes, and art.
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.