Almond Acres Charter Academy Archives

We’re proud of the schools we serve. Each one of these schools has a unique mission, and each serves a unique group of students. These schools are led by idealists, dreamers, compassionate optimists who not only believe in a better tomorrow, they believe in rolling up their sleeves and bringing that better tomorrow to their students. It is a privilege for us here at Charter School Capital to support these schools and help them thrive.

Here is a blog post from Edge High School, Tuscon, Arizona.

At Edge, students, staff and families listen to each other. Our open door, “no conversation is too hard” approach informs everything we do. We want to know when things are challenging and we want to share the joy in every accomplishment, even those that might feel small.

Respect and fairness are cornerstones at our alternative high school. We take a service-based approach towards every member of our Edge community and we make every effort to collaborate on what’s the next right thing. We have a zero tolerance for shaming of any kind and our teachers and staff embrace their opportunity to know every student as an individual and to support their academic dreams.

Listening, respect and fairness inform how and why we were created, as a school, way back in ’85. It’s also how we continue as a safe school. These aren’t buzzwords for us. We’re playing the long game for and with every student who joins our school. And their families.

In our recent survey of Edge families, we learned:

100% of parents know who to contact with questions or concerns

This matters to us on a deep level. It means that not only are we reaching our students — so they know who to call, email or meet online 1:1 with when they need us. Their caregivers, support people, parents and extended family know how to find us as well.

Image by Creatista

We are nothing without our students. 100% true. Our best efforts to support our high schoolers means we also support and honor the people who love them at home and in their community. That’s why we embrace the feedback that these support people know who to contact with questions or concerns.

We also know that sometimes we don’t know. And when in that scenario — we call in the experts. When it comes to supporting the health and well-being of all of our Edge family,

Edge is partnering with Jorgensen Brooks. The employee and student assistance programs provide access to free counseling services and other resources.

At Edge high school we value mutual respect and inclusivity. Our entire approach to high school and our time together revolves around equality and equity for all. We continually and enthusiastically strive together towards the same shared goal – to help our students achieve academic dreams and high school graduation.

We are in this together, no matter the credit discrepancies, unique learning needs or other barriers to success. You know where and how to find us if you need us!

And remember we are enrolling. If you know anybody who needs a different high school experience… send them our way. Enrolling now — and year-round.

About Edge

EDGE is a Cognia accredited, tuition-free, charter high school, with two campuses in the greater Tucson area. We provide an alternative to traditional education, meeting the diverse learning and life needs of our students with our blended curriculum and flexible morning or afternoon class schedules. Our high-quality, passionate teachers are dedicated to individualized instruction in our small academic classes. Be you. With us. At EDGE!

We’re proud of the schools we serve. Each one of these schools has a unique mission, and each serves a unique group of students. These schools are led by idealists, dreamers, compassionate optimists who not only believe in a better tomorrow, they believe in rolling up their sleeves and bringing that better tomorrow to their students. It is a privilege for us here at Charter School Capital to support these schools and help them thrive.

Here is a blog post from Almond Acres Academy, of San Miguel, California.

Bob Bourgault, Executive Director, at Almond Acres Charter Academy has invented a philosophical approach to raise the level of consciousness of self (and others) as we all journey on the quest to becoming the best version of ourselves. His model, used in all grades in AACA, is aimed at kids and for use in classroom and childhood environments, but also has specifics for teens and adults, and has been presented to businesses and organizations, too.

The model is represented visually as a kite — with four quadrants and four colors, each representing a different aspect of our intelligence, temperament, personality, and learning modalities. We are all a combination of learner and one who is learning.

Bob believes every one of us is smart, beautiful, spiritual and talented. And this kite model helps us understand our unique abilities, learning styles, and existence — even further.

What is a kite?

It is a simple system for children to categorize their innate disposition using colors, visuals, and words to help students recognize what kind of learner they are, and how they can use their unique set of intelligence to influence the world. While there are many personality tests for adults, such as Meyers Briggs or Enneagram, Bob’s system is unique because it is designed specifically for children, and adapted for teens and adults.

What are my strengths and struggles?

Every school year each K-8 student at Almond Acres creates their kite: a visual representation of their individual strengths and struggles in heart, mind, body, and soul. These four unique sets of intelligence are represented by four quadrants and with four colors on each individual’s kite — red, blue, green and yellow.

The question a child typically asks first is drawn from his/her personal temperament. There is a desire to seek answers that satisfy our inner curiosity. For example, a child with a strong blue kite has a dominant interpersonal intelligence and will likely be drawn to the ‘who’ question. A green kite thinks more intra-personally and asks why. The red thinker wants to know where and how because he/she is more hands-on and visually smart. The yellow kite considers the logistics of a question and asks what and when. If we follow the natural questioning path that a child travels, we are likely to lead him/her straight to the correct answers.

It’s the difference between being given a toy car and given a model to build a toy car. And with this visual model — students can realize how smart they are because they understand HOW they are smart. It’s a paradigm shift. Students also create a class kite — to represent their group dynamic — and every AACA teacher shares their individual kite with the class as well.

Asking questions like who, why, what and when or where and how helps to define an approach to thinking, creating and learning. Each of these questions represents two of the eight types of intelligence and the whole person:

Body: kinesthetic and visual/spatial
Mind: linguistic and logical
Soul: musical and intrapersonal
Heart: interpersonal and naturalist

“Our son has learned so much about his personal learning style and what makes him a unique learner and he can communicate that to EVERYONE at AACA because every year every student creates their kite: a visual representation of their individual strengths and weaknesses in heart, mind, body, and soul.”

At Almond Acres the kite is used in many ways including the school logo, uniform colors and on lunch tables. Kite cards, as they’re called, are round – to symbolize the whole person. AACA also believes we are all a whole person first. Once we affirm how everyone is strong — then every student and staffer can be stretched, and then celebrated as they grow, learn and fly!

About AACA

Almond Acres is moving to Paso Robles. Almond Acres Charter Academy is a public, tuition-free K-8 school that employs credentialed teachers and administers state-mandated testing to provide families in northern SLO County an additional choice in public education. Open to all students in all communities, the school is currently located in San Miguel and moving to Paso Robles for the 2021-22 school year. AACA’s mission is to help students succeed academically and socially by educating the whole child: heart, mind, body and soul. We grow great kids!