Charter Schools

Why Charter Schools? – There are over two hundred charter schools in the state of California. Although each one may be unique in its mission, program and in the challenges it faces, they all have some crucial elements in common. Charter schools address the need for parents to have expanded choices in the kinds of educational experiences available to their children and involvement in the life of the school. These elements, along with the expectation that the innovations provided by charter schools will translate into overall student achievement and represent the threefold principles of the Charter Movement. (from Yuba River Charter)

FOOTHILLS

• Grass Valley Charter - http://grassvalleycharter.org -  530.273.8723 - a pre-K through eighth grade school located at the site of historic Bell Hill School, is one of four schools in the distinguished Grass Valley School District. Established in 1993, our school serves over 270 students and is part of a network of outstanding schools throughout the United States that have become Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound® Schools. Review and print our school’s Charter Document.

Expeditionary Learning Schools capture the power of Outward Bound® principles and utilize current national research about best teaching practices, combining them in the classroom to promote high academic achievement and character development. As an Expeditionary Learning school, we emphasize active learning, collaboration, literacy, adventure, and teamwork.

• Live Oak Waldorf School – www.liveoakwaldorf.org - Live Oak Waldorf School was founded in 1977 and now serves over 200 students from pre-kindergarten through Grade Eight. The school sits on the gentle southern slope of Mount Katherine in Placer County. Our beautiful forty-acre site in the Sierra foothills provides a peaceful yet stimulating environment for learning. With small classes, dedicated and experienced teachers, and the time-tested wisdom of the Waldorf curriculum, our school inspires a love of learning and a willingness to work.

Live Oak Waldorf School seeks to enroll students who will benefit from our unique educational program. Our tuition model strives to make our education accessible to families from a wide range of economic backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin. 410 Crother Rd, Meadow Vista, CA 95722 • Phone: 530-878-8720

• Nevada City School of the Arts – www.thencsa.com – 530. 273.7736 x 218 -  Our program is interdisciplinary at its core, exploring the ground where science, history, literature, and art meet. The arts distinguish education at NCSA. Discipline-Based Art Education provides a rigorous academic curriculum in which students have the opportunity to create art, understand its cultural and historical context, and respond to and make critical judgments about art. In this setting two tenets are important: art is a lens through which we see the world; and the production of art has inherent value. The School of the Arts is not an ” Art School” in the sense that it does not solely produce or attract “artists.” There are many students here who do not identify themselves as “artists” or even as “artistic,” but who are nonetheless expressing themselves through the arts, and who are comprehending their academic studies through artistic expression, be it story, dance, painting, fiber arts, martial arts, musical composition, or video production.

Curriculum planning, instruction, and assessment at NCSA are guided by two models: Dimensions of Learning and Discipline-Based Art Education. Dimensions of Learning is a model of classroom instruction based on over 30 years of research in the learning process. In this model, learning involves the interaction of five dimensions of thinking. The dimensions are:

• positive attitudes and perceptions about learning
• thinking involved in acquiring and integrating knowledge
• thinking involved in extending and refining knowledge
• thinking involved in using knowledge meaningfully
• productive habits of mind

• The Woolman Semester – http://www.woolman.org – Sierra Friends Center • The Woolman Semester • Sierra Friends Camp
  13075 Woolman Lane, Nevada City, CA  95959 – 530. 273.3183 - The Woolman Semester is a sixteen-week program that welcomes high school students from all over the country to join us for a single semester during their junior, senior, or postgraduate ”gap” year. Similar to a semester-abroad in concept, the Woolman Semester immerses students in the studies of peace, social justice, and sustainable living on a 230-acre rural campus in Northern California. Project based course work and off-campus opportunities facilitate personal growth and leadership skills through self-exploration and an intellectual commitment to being an informed global citizen.
  The Woolman Semester is the only semester studies program among Friends (Quaker) schools. Like all Friends schools, the Woolman Semester uses inquiry-based analysis and reflection emphasizing a sense of respect for, and responsibility to, the greater community. Quaker education is informed by the values of peace, equality, honesty, community, simplicity, and stewardship of the Earth. The Woolman Semester is named for John Woolman, an 18th Century Quaker abolitionist, who lived with utmost integrity to these values throughout his life. Woolman students and staff are asked to be authentic to our individual values and consider how we might live in greater integrity with them.
• Yuba River Charter – www.yubariverschool.org – A Waldorf inspired charter K – 8.  The Yuba River Charter School endeavors to develop
  free human beings who, of themselves, are able to impart purpose and direction to their lives. In September 1997 we became a complete elementary school, kindergarten through grade eight, with 200 students. We added two portable buildings for our kindergartens, and graduated our first grade eight class in the spring of 1998!

  On July 1, 1999, we moved to a new facility at the Bitney Springs Center in Grass Valley, shown above. The increased classroom space was not the only benefit we derived. Bitney Springs Center is a 300-acre park with a mix of firs, pines and cedars, hundred mile views, hiking trails and two ponds. It is an ideal setting for our school, allowing us to fulfill our educational vision by providing our students and community with a site for nature and environmental studies, gardening, outdoor activities and art, music and theater programs.

TRUCKEE

• Forest Charter School -  www.forestcharter.com – 10655 Pioneer Trail, Truckee, CA, 96161 – 530.550.7205 and in Nevada City – 224 Church Street, Nevada City, Ca. 95945 Phone: (530)-265-4823,Fax: (530)-265-5037

Forest Charter School (FCS) is committed to nurturing the love of learning in all students through parental choice in education. By cultivating a staff of dedicated personnel, Forest Charter School pledges an ongoing and expansive environment of educational excellence. The cornerstone of our Personalized Learning Program is positive collaboration on the part of students, parents and professional educators. The ultimate mission of Forest Charter School is to honor the student’s individual learning style through parental options in the selection and implementation of effective curriculum to prepare him/her for success in the 21st century.

Our Program  – FCS is a K-12 accredited school that offers the following choices of educational delivery overseen by highly qualified California credentialed education specialists:

• Individualized programs
• Home schooling support
• Cooperative classes
• Small group instruction through block classes
• Tutoring
• On-line courses
• The High School Global Studies Academy
• ROP and Work Experience Education
• Community college opportunities
• College and career advisors
• Field studies and virtual field trips (new!)

• Prosser Creek Charter School – Prosser Creek Charter School, 12640 Union Mills Road, Truckee, CA 96161 – 530. 550.2305. The school’s core philosophy reflects the following belief: “Any child can be academically successful when he or she receives information compatible with his or her learning style and developmental ability. More importantly, we believe that if a student is confident and comfortable in a learning environment, he or she can thrive not only as a student, but also as a happy and competent human being.” The school’s charter, available online at , notes that it “emphasizes the development of academic thinking, life skills, environmental, and social awareness, with the goal of creating lifelong learners and thinkers.” The school is committed to providing a program that encourages the following:

• Critical thinking and awareness.
• Expanding an individual’s perception of themselves, others, and the world.
• Building a repertoire of problem-solving and decisionmaking skills.
• Developing comprehensive communication skills