Guiding Principles:

The Students:

• We believe in personalized learning that taps students' passions, develops their interests, supports their learning needs and builds on their potential.
• We believe all students must see themselves as high academic achievers and lifelong learners.
• We believe all students can become self-assured, articulate and effective communicators.
• We believe all students can become effective problem solvers.
• We believe that a strong reading program is essential to a student's academic success.
• We believe that personal and social responsibility, critical and creative thinking, communication, and the relevant application of knowledge are the hallmarks of leaders.
• We believe that all students should participate in heterogeneous grouping in all learning areas.
• We believe in student collaboration, self and group reflection, and self and peer evaluation.
• We believe that children learn at different speeds and in different ways.
• We believe in helping young people create the lives they truly want to create.

The Teachers:

• We believe in qualified professional educators committed to working as a team, teaching students through creative teaching approaches tailored to individual students' needs.
• We are committed to upholding a democratic and shared decision-making process involving staff, students, parents and other community members.
• We believe in providing continual professional development opportunities and necessary resources for effective charter school educators and operators.
• We believe that teachers possess the necessary administrative and organizational skills to effectively govern a school in a democratic representative process.

The School:

• We believe in a project-based curriculum that focuses on authentic activities based on school-wide standards.
• We believe in small autonomous project operational sites or infrastructures to maximize relevant student learning and provide flexibility for facility, equipment and supplies needs.
• We believe that the alignment of time, energy, and resources to our vision and mission is essential for student achievement and charter success.
• We believe that public schools work best when they are: self-governing, fiscally autonomous, free of bureaucratic restraints, mission driven, adaptive and accountable.
• We believe that effective schools work in mutual partnerships with community leaders, organizations, businesses, and other schools and educational cooperatives.
• We believe in adhering to a cycle of inquiry that allows us to regularly examine, reflect and change our instructional practices, organizational systems and structures to meet the needs of our students, staff and families.

The Community:

• We believe that education is a long-term commitment that must include the community in a reciprocal relationship.
• We believe that the whole community shares responsibility for every child's success.
• We believe that learning occurs beyond the school setting. We welcome parents, mentors, employers, and other community members who wish to participate in student learning
• We believe in the engagement of parents and other caring adults to work in active, meaningful and rewarding partnerships with the school and participate with teachers, students and other stakeholders in the decision-making process and leadership of the school.
• We believe in providing a choice among many excellent educational alternatives, which support and enhance the educational priorities in the district.