VISION
Our vision is creating a K-8 school community where students can grow intellectually, creatively, emotionally and socially into strong, confident leaders for the 21st century. Parents, teachers and administrators work together to inspire the students???? imagination, stimulate their curiosity, and encourage a lifelong love of learning.
MISSION
Our mission is a K-8 school to educate the whole child using innovative teaching methods, cooperative multiage learning environments and personalization. In maintaining state standards, we utilize the developmental constructivist approach (hands-on learning) and active parent participation. This approach provides access to a multitude of tools for problem solving including personal experience, critical thinking, technology and the arts. Students will translate their knowledge from the classroom to the real world and empower their innate intellectual, creative and leadership potentials.
EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY
PEAK Cooperative Charter School has adopted a constructivist, developmental philosophy to be implemented in a multiage cooperative environment. Each student explores their world and learns alongside peers, mentors, and parents. The symbiotic relationship of philosophy and environment encourages the inherent desire for learning each human naturally possesses and develops a socially responsible student at the same time. Developmentally-based, personalized instruction encourages students interests, strengths and desires and builds upon them to allow each student academic and social success. This approach further supports the vision of the school.
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As we are all aware, our educational system is in crisis and everyone from parents, to teachers, to administrators, to public officials are desperately searching for a solution.
Reforms are taking place across the country with varying degrees of success but no one has found the single magic answer that we are all looking for.
Perhaps that is because there is no single answer.
The U.S. Census estimates that in 2011 the K through 12 population will total 55.5 million children. Add to that the mutiple cultural, social, and economic backgrounds, diverse learning styles and you end up with a complex set of criteria the educational system must address.
Perhaps we have set ourselves up for failure by attempting to standardize an educational process for 55.5 million children. Perhaps our best chance of success in education lies in addressing a smaller subset of that student base.
Our best bet is to work together as local communities to make as many educational alternatives available to as many children as possible so that parents can choose what works best for their kids and their families.
Our site represents a group of concerned local parents in Orange County California looking to create an educational alternative for children.
We are pursuing the creation of a kindergarten through 8th grade multiage charter school in the North Orange County California area for the fall of 2012. Charter Schools are public schools with an emphasis on a specific topic or style of teaching. In our case the emphasis is on a Multiage, Developmental, Parent Participation environment.
We are not here to convince anyone that this is the best solution for everyone in the country. Our goal is to simply make this educational option available as a free public school option and publicize it so that as many parents as possible know it is an alternative for their family.
We are always looking for parents who want to get involved and pursue this opportunity to offer developmental multiage education to a wider audience. If you are interested in helping us, attending the school, or simply want more information on multiage education please sign up for our newsletter here. You can also contact us by phone or message on our contact page.
As we move through the charter process we will post updates to our blog as well as other relevant information on educational reform. As informed and passionate parents we are sometimes overwhelmed by the complexity and size of this project. In sharing our process it’s our desire to be a source of assistance and hope for anyone else considering taking part in educational reform.
We as parents are our children’s advocates. We are their champions. We have the greatest stake in their education. Now is the time for us, as informed and engaged parents, to help create and support viable alternative options in the educational system. We cannot underestimate the power we have to create change.
We look forward to being a part of an exciting new chapter in education!
Click here to see our action teams members.
“It’s about customizing to your circumstances, and personalizing education to the people you’re actually teaching. And doing that, I think is the answer to the future because it’s not about scaling a new solution; it’s about creating a movement in education in which people develop their own solutions, but with external support based on a personalized curriculum.”
– Sir Ken Robinson, Creativity Expert