By Thomas Cleary, Crestone Charter School director.
In last month’s article, you read about the enrollment process for the 24/25 school year. The Crestone Charter School (CCS) is the school of choice for over 45% of the public school students in the Moffat #2 District. It might be the right place for your child next year, whether returning or new to the district. See the ad in this month’s paper. Join us May 20 at noon, and see the policy at bit.ly/CCSenroll2023 to find out more. CCS is one of the oldest charter schools in Colorado having opened our doors in 1995. Our long-standing mission is to “provide a stimulating experiential program that nurtures each student’s sense of wonder and natural desire to learn, in a creatively structured atmosphere, emphasizing academic excellence and uniqueness of character. We strive to inspire healthy responsibility in relation to self, community, and environment, both locally and globally.” Yes, academic excellence does include reading, writing, and ‘rithmatic (and science and Social Studies), but our school also strives to include much more.
In this article we invite you to learn about the Ends Policies that guide our unique educational approach to whole child learning beyond standard academics. CCS has a governing council made up of parents and community volunteers, who guide the school through Ends Policies which are to be achieved each year or upon graduation, but not the means by which the professional educators should achieve those ends.
Specifically, Ends 2 states that the “Crestone Charter School’s system of holistic experiential education utilizes individualized competency-based promotion and high-quality, non-graded assessments. This ensures that all students who graduate from CCS will demonstrate proficiency in the following (eight) academic and non-academic content areas” which are detailed below.
Academic Success and Lifelong Learning Habits include time management and personal organization, as well as goal setting, accomplishing, and reflection skills. Some of this happens in classrooms and through students’ self-directed learning, such as the capstone requirement. This area also includes career readiness taught in the Individual Career and Academic Planning class to increase students’ awareness of vocational options and to help them develop career skills. Independent studies, concurrent enrollment, mentorships, and work-study opportunities also help students engage with adults and professionals in a variety of settings. CCS students perform well on State and District standardized tests and HS graduates have been readily accepted into universities.
Life Skills encompass independent living and personal empowerment skills such as those practical for everyday living like cooking classes, vocational mentorships, and personal (and general) economics classes. It also covers collaboration with peers on projects while traveling internationally for weeks at a time. It also entails conflict resolution skills through a school-wide, embedded restorative practices approach to class culture and school discipline. For some, it develops leadership skills, and for other students, followership strengths.
Self-Awareness and Character Development means that students identify their personal strengths and passions and expand and improve themselves. The High School Mentorship Program is again a powerful avenue for this. But even in younger grades, students are given choices in writing topics, in the focus of learning projects, and in overnight travel learning adventures. While this area has an individual component, we strive to encourage valuing and respecting others and to develop personal virtues such as gratitude, appreciation, resiliency, self-restraint, and personal boundaries. Three guiding virtues of the school are Integrity, Respect, and Creativity. Much of this self-awareness and development is attempted through our RULER curriculum and social-emotional learning classes where students learn to pause and reflect. In our fast-paced, stimulating, screen and social media-driven world, we hope students can choose to tap into, or out of, the hive mind and into a conscious and conscientious mind.
Cultural Awareness allows us space to explore our personal heritage, while valuing and respecting diverse cultures. We do this by studying and participating in cultural activities, exploring varied perspectives, and traveling locally, regionally, domestically, and internationally in age-appropriate degrees. CCS is intentionally welcoming to BIPOC and SOGIE diversity and creating a culture of inclusivity.
Health and Body Awareness starts with physical activity in PE classes, on Monarch Mountain, in Hooper Pool, and on nature walks around our 35-plus-acre wooded school site. It also includes nutrition through cooking classes and the free school lunch program, personal hygiene lessons and free supplies in health classes, as well as mental and emotional well-being training through the aforementioned RULER and SEL classes. It is also highlighted through our on-site school social worker and guidance counselors.
Service Learning and Stewardship helps students understand the value of service. They see it and feel it as they provide service to the school with their daily chores, service to the community doing roadside and Earth Day clean-up, and service to the world on high school international trips.
Environmental Awareness programming encourages students to understand and assess the human impact on the natural world at age-appropriate levels. Whether in earth and environmental science classes, or seeking ways to positively impact the changing climate, students find ways to support a healthy environment. Additionally, in terms of outdoor education, students are developing skills to safely enjoy the natural world and to responsibly participate in varied outdoor activities like skiing and riding at Monarch, swimming in local hot springs, or becoming certified in Wilderness Advanced First Aid.
Artistic Skills exploration embodies our school virtue of creativity. We have active visual arts, music, and theater programming weekly in all classrooms. Our end-of-semester Show and Tell Showcases offer an extraordinary variety of acts and displays of student’s creativity. Our next one is scheduled for May 22 at 5 p.m. Join us.
These components of the CCS Governing Council’s End 2 guide all aspects of students’ learning, from the academic through the individual to the interpersonal. We are not always able to do all of these things well every day, but to the best of our ability we hold the intention and align our means to achieve these ends. CCS takes a unique, holistic, creative, proven approach and we would love to welcome your child into our learning community. Visit CCS’s open house, noon, April 20. If you are interested in working in our dynamic school look for our Eagle classified ad or employment webpage.