FAqs

A charter school is a public school.  Charter schools operate outside the school district.  Charter schools have a defined “charter” or a document which details, in full, what their learning model is as well as how the school will run. Charter schools have a defined approach towards education.  Our approach is Learner-Centered Instruction.  Charter schools still have to achieve the same standards as any other school.

Authentic learning means we are on the lookout for real issues for our students to learn from or learn through.  Some community members may choose to offer our students a service opportunity so we can work that into one method of learning called Experiential Learning.  Others may wish to help our school by allowing our students to focus on an issue or problem they have so we can turn it into the focus of a project.  Others may wish to donate time by teaching our students about their field of work.  Still others might want to support the school by providing resources or materials our students need to deepen their learning.

Once the state approves a charter school, patrons in the service area may apply to have their child admitted. Every child has an equal opportunity to join the school as a student. Should there be more students interested in coming to the school than we have the capacity for, a lottery system is put into place.  A lottery system puts all the applications into a drawing and children who are drawn from the lottery are admitted into the school. 

In the meantime, you may fill out our Intent to Enroll form to express your earnest interest. 

The science of learning teaches us that there are levels of understanding as simple as remembering and as complex as analyzing.  Students would be taught to recognize what level of understanding they have achieved when studying content.  Additionally, students will be trained in metacognition.  Metacognition is the ability to track one’s own thinking and to use that knowledge to make educational choices moving forward.

This school would provide feedback on where students are in their learning according to a set of rubrics.  Parents would know what skill level their child has reached and what the next step would be.  High school levels, 9-12, would have this same assessment of their skills as well as a letter grade.

Yes!  By law, every public school or public charter school has to provide services to children with special needs either through Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) or 504 plans.  We have experts on our team that specialize in reading interventions, Special Education, and Gift and Talented programs.

Absolutely!  The authentic learning models that are part of the Learner-Centered approach have been shown to increase academic and cognitive success for all types of learners.

Yes!  Learner-Centered Instruction requires students to raise their level of mastery to higher levels of thinking across a diverse discipline field or across all subjects.  And because Learner-Centered Instruction is student-driven, students are able to follow their curiosity as they learn and deepen their understanding.  Every child wants to learn and engages in learning when they get to drive it!

Yes!  We believe that students need to master skills before moving on to the next level.  We determine mastery when a child has reached higher-order cognitive levels in key content areas. We also ask our students to master key knowledge sets like language literacy and math literacy as well as mastery across a range of learner dispositions. Children will each have an individualized learning plan designed by the student, the instructor, and the parent.  Mastery learning means children can learn at a pace relative to them with strong support from the school.

Through the authentic instructional models at our school, students aren’t just mastering content and cognitive skills, they are mastering their emotions and their interpersonal skills.  Authentic learning deals with a lot of collaboration and personal responsibility.  Because of that students get a chance to learn things like empathy, grit and perseverance, honesty, curiosity, respect, and kindness.  We know your child already comes with great personal attributes that we would like to encourage!  We would also like our educational model to help your child continue to grow in these worthwhile attributes.

We believe that a robust education system should be full of choices and options.  Every parent and child should be able to choose what works best for their education and for their unique situation.  Adding a charter school to this area will help provide a broader range of choices so that each member of this community has the ability to better shape their child’s future.

We see parents as their child’s first teacher and we want nothing more than to partner with parents in helping design a learning experience that maximizes a child’s strength and encourages growth in any areas of weakness.  Parents will have a powerful voice at our school to help shape policies and procedures.  Parents will work in partnership with instructors.  We also welcome any help parents want to give as we facilitate projects and learning experiences.  We believe that the best team for any child’s success is one where parents and teachers work together.

The Education Program, which is centered on Learner-Centered Instruction is the model for this school.  This particular model is built on continuous innovation as needs arise within the student body.  With the learner at the center of everything we do, any changes to the curriculum, the schedule, or anything else will be to put the learner in the driver seat and give them the best learning experiences possible. 

We encourage any input about Endeavor Academy as we value the contributions of parents and the community.  Please see our CONTACT page at the top and send us your information and thoughts. 

Charter schools have actually been known to help improve the educational offerings and programs in the communities where they are located.  Charters are often a place of new ideas and models of instruction.  Other area schools benefit from getting to collaborate and learn from charters schools and vice versa.  In other circumstances where there may be some overcrowding in public schools, charter schools can help alleviate some of that by accepting students from anywhere within the established boundaries. Look for a video on our website that explores this question very soon!