.

                    TEMECULA VALLEY CHARTER SCHOOL                       

Parent Involvement Helps Cougars “Roar” to Success

Jo Ann Burnett, Temecula Valley Charter School Principal,,leads a group of dedicated parent volunteers, passionate teachers, and excited students.  TVCS is a school of choice in which parents volunteer at least twelve hours per month.  Because of their charter status, the school enjoys an autonomous approach to decision making.  Teachers are encouraged to find alternative curriculum while following state standards.  Direct instruction in the classroom is supplemented by the following programs: a strong Visual and Performing Arts program (in which outside professionals teach music and dance on a regular basis), the Pageant of the Masters, musicals held in conjunction with the community center, plays, readings, poems, thematic instruction, a variety of hands on projects, Spanish instruction K-8 (3 days per week for all students, and so successful that most students test out of Spanish I in high school), competitive sports programs, field trips in Ocean Studies to the Birch Aquarium and whale watching, Wild Animal Park, Indian Hills, Pat and Oscar’s, Fire station, Planetarium, eighth graders team with kindergartners for as “Reading Buddies”, student created science books become library books, science camp, “SPARKS” PE program, a ropes course, as well as a well supplied art lab.  Teachers enjoy smart boards, new computers a minimum of every other year, lap tops and overhead LCD projectors for each teacher, monthly lunches, an entire week of teacher appreciation, team teaching, extra preparation time, choice in how to spend funds, Each teacher gives the principal a welcomed end-of-the-year evaluation.  Through their unique approach, TVCS keeps students motivated, parents involved, and teachers inspired.