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’ Temecula Student Center (TSC) celebrated Peace Day, which has become a tradition, said Principal Valerie Walker. She explained, “International Peace Day has been established by the UN General Assembly, and is dedicated to promoting peace within communities, strengthening the ideals of peace, and fostering a culture of non-violence and ceasefire across the globe.”
The Student Artists of the Month for September and October 2023 are Noelle Allison and Jet Wilbur. Noelle is a 6th grade student at FAPA; her artwork is entitled “We Boldly Go.” Jet is a 3rd grade student at the Riverside Student Center; Jet’s artwork is entitled “Deep into My Mind.”
Springs’ Homeschool and Temecula Enterprise held Springs’ first Student Parent Regional Educational Event (SPREE) reported NikkoleMcadoo, Events & Community Engagement Coordinator, followed by events at the Santa Ana and Hemet Student Centers. The events feature parent workshops to help families to be more successful with their children’s education, and assemblies and “Mad Science” projects for students.
Kelly Kester is the new school counselor at the iShine Student Center. She has worked at Springs for seven years in a variety of capacities. Her new role, said Campus Coordinator Stacey Savin, is “to help all students maximize their success through academic achievement strategies. She assists with managing emotions and applying interpersonal skills. Kelly's hope is to deliver a counseling program that will make a positive impact on student achievement.”
Springs’ Renaissance Valley Academy (RVA) Vice Principal Brian Bailey shared that a former student, WillowBoe, is a new high school teacher at the site. She was his student in the 6th to 8th grade when he taught science; he notes that her first year at Springs was his first year at Springs. He said, “I knew then she was going to be a teacher, and today I got to show her to her class but this time as a teacher. It was a very emotional moment as I opened her class door and the reality of it all set in!”
Makayla Holyfield, a senior in Springs’ Venture Online program, has launched Scrum.did.dly.ump.tious Sweets, a baking business. She has been baking with her grandmother since age 2 and has long dreamed of owning a bakery. Using Venture Online and the CTE Design, Visual, and Media Arts Pathway, she flourished in the areas of photography and website building and used those skills to build a social media platform that launched her business.
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.