Every school creates an incredible culture for many walking through the doors. The culture throughout the year can even create a placeholder into the very lives of the young scholars going there. But that culture doesn’t always stop at the doors. It can spread and reach out into the community. It can create a living force for the members of the community who care so deeply about the children attending there. One strong culture emanating it’s reach out into the community is the Catalyst Circle Rock Charter School. This Charter school is very much dedicated to “welcoming educational settings that nurture academic, social, and emotional growth” for it’s students. It’s effective practices highlight the very depth of how much it’s work reaches out to the students.
Academics:
High expectations and high accountability are the earmarks of the Catalyst academic curriculum.
Each of our campuses adheres to a “back-to-the-basics” approach that focuses on reading and mathematics. Our classrooms are highlighted by low student-to-teacher ratios, interactive lesson plans, and access to innovative technology. The Catalyst calendar incorporates longer school days and extended school years, providing us with expanded opportunities to educate our students and open them up to a range of curricular and extracurricular opportunities.
Catalyst strives to ensure that by graduation from eighth grade each student has achieved the following goals:
* Reading at or above grade level.
* Achieving grade-level (or better) mastery of basic mathematical processes.
* Speaking and writing the English language fluently.
* Comprehending basic scientific principles.
* Understanding U.S. history and his or her place in it.
* Forming a strong and positive relationship with Catalyst — a relationship that extends to each student’s family and support network.
Values:
Character counts at the Circle Rock Charter School. We provide an educational setting where academic success and ethical development go hand in hand.
The “Six Pillars of Character” embody our core values: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship. These values guide our teachers, inform our students, and enrich our communities. In our classrooms, hallways, playgrounds, and after-school activities, we teach students that integrity is the first step to success.
We believe that our students are poised to become agents of change in their families, neighborhoods, and wider communities. We instill them with the instincts of compassion, clear judgment, and dependability — traits that will propel them into positions of significance in society. As our students move on to high school, college, and adult life, they carry with them the confidence and drive that allows them to find success, overcome challenges, and make a positive contribution to the lives around them.
These values are taught alongside an academic curriculum marked by rigor, expectations, and excellence — a combination that prepares today’s Catalyst students to be tomorrow’s leaders.
