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.
Cruz Castro, a 10th-grade student with Connections Academy at Springs, is attempting to graduate high school two years early, reported Principal LaurieCampbell. He has been taking classes for extra credit in the 9th and 10th grades and has enrolled with Barstow Community College and a private online school to add additional classes he needs.
The Vista Learning Center had a new offering for students grades 5-8, a seven-week science course that included the dissection of a frog. Teacher HollieCheowanich said that students learned about the life cycle of the frog and about different types of frogs before dissecting one. Other dissections, Hollie said, have included a worm, sea star, fish, owl pellet, and squid.
Seventy students and their families gathered for Springs’ annual All School History Day and Science & Engineering Fair at our Temecula Event Center. This event showcased the top projects from our regional sites and programs, offering students a chance to compete for advancement to county and state-level competitions.
The Corona Student Center Mosaic program won the Springs Intramural National Championship in flag football, reported Principal E.J. Whitehead. The Corona team edged out Rancho Cucamonga 14-13 to secure the win.
TK and 1st-grade students at the Santa Ana Student Center “did awesome” on their inaugural spelling test, a “milestone” in their “learning journey,” reported Principal Priscilla Doorbar. She continued, “For many of our young learners, this was their first experience with spelling assessments, and it was wonderful to see their confidence grow as they applied the skills they've been practicing in class.
Vista Student Center students and their families proudly represented their school by walking in the Vista Christmas Parade. Principal Kim Bagby shared her excitement about the event, saying, 'We loved sharing sweet Mexican candy with the parade-goers and being cheered on by Vista families along the route."
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.