What Choice Charter School is All ABOUT! | Creating Connections
Iowa Choice Charter School is changing learning for Students who have become disengaged from their current educational pathway. The foundation of our work is building strong connections among our Students with others, including their peers and our Staff. It is these relational interactions that empower our Students by providing multiple on-ramps to reengagement. Additionally, we’ve worked to implement a variety of research-supported changes at our school including creating a sense of place, using time as effectively as possible, and creating individualized pathways for learning.
We Lead the Race in Creating a Sense of Place
Our virtual Campus, called the Charterverse, helps Students’ brains engage in “going to school” by creating a virtual sense of place where Students can interact in authentic ways. During the pandemic, Zoom Meetings and Google Meets featuring talking heads were relied upon as the primary mode of serving Students. For over a year, slide decks with graphics were the closest many Students could get to a classroom environment. Through our partnerships with 100 Roads, a virtual environment designer, and Workadventure, a Metaverse environment, we have created and maintained a campus that is interactive, fun to work with, and allows connections to form organically.
No Matter the Time, We Know how to Use it
Our school year is divided into 6 terms (hexes) and is designed for Students to earn 12 credits per year. Students work on two courses per hex. We use time differently, even if takes more than a hex to complete a class. We NEVER FAIL a Student. We NEVER make a Student start a class OVER. We truly believe all Students can learn at their own pace, so Students are allowed to continue in their courses until they meet the competencies established by our teachers using the state standards.
We Light the Way Each and Every Day
Each Student who chooses to come to our school has a personal mentor that meets with them twice a week to set S.M.A.R.T. Goals, discuss concerns, and celebrate successes. A secondary mentor meets with our Students during our Friday homeroom to explore career interests and expand job skills. Although our virtual Campus is open for Students beforehand, our live classes do not begin until 10 A.M. Plus, Teacher office hours allow Students time for individual help and support. Our Educators are dedicated to making sure all Students learn at their own pace and use a variety of methods to give Students a voice in their work. At Iowa Choice Charter School, ALL assignments can be changed to better meet the unique needs of our Students. And, Staff Members regularly communicate with families and Students. As a result, our pace is not kept to a cadence of “everyone on the same page on the same day,” but individualized to “where are you and where do you need to go?”
Showing Up to Stand Out
Iowa Choice Charter School Students know we care. Not only do they know we care, but they also know that we will always be there for them and will NEVER give up on them. Our one-of-a-kind virtual Campus alongside our flexible class scheduling structure focused on accommodating Students allows us to stand strong as an unparalleled Public School option in the state of Iowa. Plus, our mentors set us apart from all other online options in our area as they help Students with coursework while supporting them in developing executive functioning skills, locating resources, and addressing personal needs. No other school engages the help of a caring adult assigned to each individual Student based on compatibility considerations like we do at Iowa Choice Charter.
Our school is now in year 2 and 98% of our 188 Student body has come to us through referrals from our Students themselves! This speaks volumes of our consistent growth as well as the type of work we are doing for Students in Iowa who have found that traditional education options are not meeting their needs. With an approach that is Student-centered and relationship-focused, Iowa Choice Charter School is filling the gap for some of the almost 5,000 Students each year who are voting with their footsteps and walking out the door of brick-and-mortar school buildings in our state. We are excited to continue to be recognized as a change agent for ALL Students in the state of Iowa.