Welcome back!

I hope you had a great summer, and we’re looking forward to working with you and your children this new school year! The Springs staff is here to serve you, our students and parents, so if you have any questions or concerns now or at any time this year, please do not hesitate to contact your appropriate school representative.

Charter schools are tuition-free, public schools of choice.  In 1992, California’s lawmakers passed the Charter Schools Act of 1992, making it the second state in the nation (after Minnesota) to enact charter school legislation.  Its purpose was to allow educators, parents and community members to create an alternative type of public school.  In California today there are about 1,230 charter schools, which serve nearly 600,000 students.

The end of the school year is upon us. I hope all of our Springs family has enjoyed a positive, productive year.  We’re grateful to our students and parents for making Springs their charter school of choice.

The end of the school year is upon us. I hope all of our Springs family has enjoyed a positive, productive year.  We’re grateful to our students and parents for making Springs their charter school of choice.

I’m excited to report that one of our outstanding Homeschool students, Rose Kelley, has been named a Carson Scholar and received a $1,000 award to help fund her college education. Rose has excelled academically over the years she has been a student with us and has a special talent in photography. She has benefitted from our CTE classes, working with one of our very fine CTE teachers, Judy Adair. See the article below for more details.
And, I wanted to highlight a few of our more significant construction projects happening of late since we have a lot going on related to our school facilities. First off, we’re working with the City of Jurupa to approve plans for a new facility for our Flabob Airport Preparatory Academy. The new Academy facilities will include ten classrooms attached to a multi-purpose hangar area where project work can be done, and airplanes rolled in.
We’ve been working on improvements to our Santa Ana Student Center facilities, including an upgraded security system, a new roof, and new air conditioning. Our Magnolia Student Center will open in new facilities this coming August, with 28 state-of-the-art classrooms, offices, conference rooms, a gymnasium, and pool complex.
We’re doing work on a security system upgrade for our La Fuente Student Center, now located on the campus of Faith Lutheran Church and Preschool in Vista. Our Bear Creek Student Center will also soon be moving to a new location, alongside Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Menifee.  And, earlier this year, we had a dedication and ribbon cutting for our new Rancho Cucamonga Personalized Learning Center.
We’ll keep you informed of further facilities developments as the year progresses. Thanks for reading.

Did you know that taking a test can actually help you learn?

Roddy Roediger, a psychology professor at Washington University in St. Louis who runs the school’s Memory Lab, has spoken about the so-called “testing effect” or “retrieval practice” benefits of those who study for tests. While many people think of the human memory as a box to be packed with information, he said, “What people neglected and didn’t think about was the ‘getting it out’ part. We don’t get information into memory just to have it sit there.  We get it in to be able to use it later … And the actual act of retrieving the information over and over, that’s what makes it retrievable when you need it.”  (Read more here and here.)

It was my great pleasure to participate in a dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony for our new Rancho Cucamonga Personalized Learning Center. This facility houses our new Discovery Co-LAB-orative Program for grades TK-8 and U-Lab program for high school students. These two programs meet Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and currently serve 75 students. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the program serves 170 Homeschool students who participate in learning center classes. (For a brief introduction, click here.)

In an effort to keep Springs students and staff safe should an “active shooter” emergency occur, Springs held active shooter/violent intruder drills at its Temecula administrative offices.
Tony Hager, Springs’ Safety & Risk Management Technician, led the training.  He said, “It was an amazing event.  Our people were happy to receive the information, and to know that they had options should such an event occur.” Mr. Hager and Jeanne Schaffner, Springs’ Safety & Risk Manager, are certified ALICE instructors. ALICE is short for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate. It is not a step-by-step system, but rather an acronym used to learn and remember the options available during a violent situation.

I’m pleased to report that the Summit Springs Educational Foundation welcomed its inaugural Board of Directors at a swearing-in ceremony on November 29, 2016.  The new members include: Louis Fetherolf, a retired Chief of Police, Peter Alvino, Interim Assistant Superintendent, Pupil Services for Springs, Amy Podratz, Springs’ Assistant Superintendent Administrative Operations, Kristin Crellin, Vice President of School and Community Relations for Schools First Federal Credit Union, Verta Guynes, a management training executive from the Real Estate industry, Mike Monteleone, retired from his company Monteleone Excavating, Lou Monville with Raincross Corporate Group and Mitch Surowitz, Area Vice President at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.  It was my pleasure to be part of the ceremony.
As Chief Fetherolf, our Board President noted, we were most pleased to have attracted a quality board with diverse backgrounds.  Its purpose is to raise funds for scholarships for graduating Springs students and to offer grants to teachers and staff for activities that promote the mission of Springs Charter Schools.  Recent Foundation events included its second annual golf tournament in October 2016 and a Springs Crystal Jubilee (15^th anniversary) celebration in June 2016.  During the Crystal Jubilee celebration, the Foundation awarded its first two scholarships to graduating seniors.
The entire Board will meet twice annually, or electronically as needed.  Members are currently brainstorming ideas to raise funds.  The Board’s bylaws allowed it to have up to 11 members, so we welcome inquiries from qualified prospective members.  Chief Fetherolf, for example, said he was motivated to join the Board because “I’ve always had a heart for children and education, and I’ve personally seen that a good education plays a crucial role in keeping children out of trouble and making positive contributions to society.”
To learn more about the Foundation, call (951) 225-7724 or email summit.springsef@springscs.org or louisfetherolf1@gmail.com.

Construction Update:

I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving holiday last week.  As you may be aware, Springs has enjoyed remarkable growth in recent years.  It’s been our ongoing challenge—and one we love to have!—to provide quality classroom facilities to accommodate our new students.  I thought I’d provide you with a quick update on a few of these projects.
We’re building a new campus for our Magnolia Student Center in Riverside.  Once complete, the site will have 28 classrooms, four racquetball courts, a pool and a gym. We hope to have the work complete by the end of this school year.
We’re securing permit applications and pursuing bond funding for a new Flabob Airport Preparatory Academy (FAPA) facility in Jurupa Valley/Riverside.  Students are currently meeting at a temporary site in a River Springs facility.  (As a side note, it was my great pleasure to take part in the filming of a PBS television program on aviation in high schools which featured FAPA. See the article below for details.)  And, we recently completed renovations at our iShine Student Center in Temecula.  All classrooms are open, and sports and recess facilities complete.
Please note that enrollment continues at these sites and all of our schools throughout the school year.  Eighty percent of our new students come via word-of-mouth, so if you’ve had a good experience at Springs, we invite you to share it with family and friends.  If a student is struggling in a traditional school, a mid-year switch to a Springs school might be just what’s needed.
I wish you all a Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah (or other holiday), and I hope you enjoy the upcoming break.