• Small learning community (about 200 students)
• Rigorous arts and science curriculum emphasizing environmental and civic engagement
• Opening Fall 2010

Over the last decade, study after study has shown that small high schools promote academic success and self-discovery. Our goal is to create a learning community that provides more Individualized attention and a healthier environment—less saturated with media and negative cultural influences—than a traditional high school program.

OUR PROGRAM

We recognize that the high school experience contributes not only to academic preparation but to a student’s developing sense of self. As our young people move through adolescence to adulthood, they bring a capacity for abstract thought and conceptual judgment . We intend to address this developmental phase through a curriculum that integrates practical, artistic, and intellectual elements.

Beyond rigor to mastery. For us, academic rigor is essential—but it is just the beginning. We believe that high school students are ready to be intellectually challenged and to achieve mastery of complex and abstract concepts. Our goal is to set the bar high, with graduation minimums that exceed University of California A-G requirements.

Imagination through the arts. Encouraging the imagination through arts education is key to increasing creative problem solving and flexible thinking.Our students will engage in a wide range of arts activities that are closely integrated with their academic studies.

Commitment to environmental and social responsibility. As they approach adulthood, young people’s enhanced intellectual understanding of the natural and social worlds around them allows for the development of their ethical judgment. Our curriculum is structured to help students build a sense of competence, responsibility, and purpose; to foster an understanding of ethical principles; and to widen their sense of respect for the environment and the communities to which they belong.

By providing rigorous academics infused with the arts and environmental and social engagement, our students will find their own paths to become intelligent, creative, and responsible individuals.

Having completed our initial study and visioning process during the fall of 2007, we are ready to roll up our sleeves and begin work on building the high school according to the following broad schedule:

During the spring of 2008, we will be forming an organizational structure to carry us through the founding of the school We are looking for energetic, intelligent, and committed individuals interested in participating on the following committees:

• Curriculum
• Finance and legal
• Community relations
• Site development