California Partnership Academy Grant Format
The California Partnership Academy is a program of the California Department of Education. Below is an outline of a CPA Application...
A. Overview of the Proposed Academy
Focusing on conservation, sustainability, agriculture, natural resources, and building human potential, the Open Space Academy will train students for college and careers in the 21st century. We will blend content standards and project-based curricula to create a program that is challenging and engaging, maintains high expectations, and provides innovative, individualized instruction for all students. In addition to helping students earn a high school diploma and be prepared for college, we will help students learn relevant job skills and be prepared for business, work, and life in the emerging economic systems of the new millennium. A specific goal of the program is to prepare students for “Green Jobs,” and careers in new areas that currently being developed and imagined in the modern world. While we are starting small, we are thinking big. Initially, using an academy or small learning community model, this program will serve students in the La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District, San Mateo County Office of Education, and beyond.
B. Background information about the high school (and the county)
Pescadero High School is a small, rural high school in unincorporated San Mateo County along the Pacific coast in the hills of the Santa Cruz mountains. PHS has rich heritage hearkening back to the nineteenth century. We have approximately 100 students at PHS, and 340 district-wide. Our ethnic breakdown includes 45% White, 54% Latino, 1% Other. (San Mateo County has 93,672 students in K-12. Of these, 38% are Hispanic, 30% White, 3% African-American, 13% Asia, 34% Limited English Proficient, 37% are eligible for national free and reduced price lunch program.)
C. Identification of Needs for a California Partnership Academy
While the LHPUSD benefits from beautiful surroundings, being nestled between the ocean and the redwoods, we are challenged by a low, and potentially declining, student population. Developing an exciting and innovative program is needed to retain students that live within district boundaries and to attract new students to the district. Partnering with the San Mateo County Office of Education is essential to our success.
D. Organizational Components
Currently, PHS is on block system with four, approximately 90 minute classes, per day. In addition to a comprehensive college preparatory curriculum, students will take a number of UC-approved electives. Much of the project-based learning will focus on these electives, but strands will be woven into all the classes in the Open Space Academy curriculum. We will conduct at least one field trip per week to local preserves and properties using the LHPUSD school bus, and a key component of our program will be Mobile Learning. While the CPA model does not begin until the 10th grade, we will offer experiences in middle school to encourage future participation, and in the ninth grade begin to train students to be ready for the academic and physical requirements of the Open Space Academy.
E. Career-Technical Focus
The career-technical focus of the Open Space Academy covers a wide range of “Green Jobs,” and will emphasize land conservation and sustainable stewardship. Students will participate in a series of on-going projects that will emphasize five career choices...
1. Field Science
Students will conduct real world observations and experiments in biology, chemistry, and physics. They will study soil, water, and air - ecology, zoology, botany, geology, and meteorology.
2. Natural Resource Management
Students will assist in the monitoring and maintenance of various preserves and open space properties, and learn about the politics and economics of managing open spaces that are visited by the public. They will learn about bioremediation, habitat restoration, and support for endangered species. Students will also learn about disaster preparedness, fire protection, and safety.
3. Sustainable Agriculture
Students will participate in organic farming and gardening as well as animal husbandry and range management. They will learn about the production of crops and the care of farm animals, equipment mechanics, and they will participate in culinary studies, nutrition education, and food preparation.
4. Environmental Law and Economic Development
Students will experience the past, present, and future of the environmental movement with an emphasis on legislation and enforcement. Students will also develop profit and non-profit business models to provide for economic sustainability. In particular, students will study ecotourism, community development, and socially responsible investment.
5. Green Engineering
Students will construct and maintain trails and buildings on preserves and campuses. Additionally, students will study energy conservation, green energy production (solar, wind, biofuels, geothermal, etc.), and green construction practices.
Possible Extension - Campus Farm Operations
The Pescadero High & Middle School campus is rich in land. It is the resource we will use to create our academy program. For each of these projects, we plan to recruit corporate, government, or community partners to help sustain and maintain the projects on a long term basis (particularly during student holidays, weekends, etc.) Using a permacultural design plan, we will gradually develop our campus in the following ways:
A. A Biofuel Production Facility. Using the 8 acre piece of land at the corner of Cloverdale and Butano Cutoff Roads, we will conduct a variety of experiments in determining the most effective crops for the production of biofuels. Between the corner of the parking lot and the athletic fields, near the row of trees along the east edge of the aforementioned field, we will build a small biofuel production facility. This facility will be adjacent to both the agricultural field and truck/car access. It will be in a secure and locked enclosure, and will include a small laboratory for experimentation. The goal will be to eventually run our buses on our own biodiesel, and possibly sell biodiesel to the community.
B. Orchards. Using the two acre piece of land between Pescadero Creek and the soccer field and school buildings – and in landscape areas around school buildings depending on a permacultural design – we will plant predominantly deciduous stone fruit trees (apples, pears, peaches, plums, apricots, pluots, cherries, as well as persimmons, olive, and possibly cold-tolerant citrus). Students will be trained in pruning, grafting, and orchard management. Produce will be used in the district’s food program and will be sold locally.
C. Campus Farms. Using approximately one to two acres of land between the athletic fields, around school buildings, and particularly adjacent to the district kitchen, we will plant a variety of food crops for the district’s food program (lettuces, broccoli, cabbage, onions, potatoes, squash, peas, beans, carrots, radishes, etc.). Again, using a permacultural design and emphasizing good nutrition, we will grow crops for students, and possibly for the local community as well.
D. Animal Facilities. If the necessary support is provided, we may also include a number of farm animal facilities using other space on campus. Chickens, goats, and possibly sheep, cows, horses, rabbits, and other livestock may be grown and housed on campus. Students would learn about animal husbandry and they would possibly contribute to the district food program.
E. Miscellaneous Projects. If the necessary support is provided, we would consider viticulture, aquaculture, vermiculture, and other agricultural projects that have both educational and economic value. We would consider projects involving alternative energy production, including solar and wind energy. And we will consider various product development projects that have both educational and economic value.
F. Conservation and Resource Management. From our base on campus (and ideally transported in our own biodiesel-run buses), students will be involved a various projects in and around San Mateo County monitoring and maintaining our natural resources. Already we participate in the LiMPETS program through the Farallones Marine Sanctuary monitoring wildlife in tide pool and beach habitats along the coast. In partnership with various local agencies, we can participate in other programs monitoring our local watershed, forests and open space areas, agricultural lands, and other wildlife habitats.
F. School District Support, Business and Community Support, and Advisory Committee
The LHPUSD will support the Academy in providing teacher positions, facilities maintenance, and administrative oversight. Local government agencies, non-profit organizations, businesses, and community groups will be involved in advising and supporting the Academy. Business and Community Partners, as well as Advisory Committee members may be comprised of representatives from the some following organizations:
Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District
Peninsula Open Space Trust
San Mateo Environmental Resource Conservation District
San Gregorio Resource Conservation Center
Elkus Ranch
Pie Ranch
Blue House Farm
Harley Farms
Big Creek Lumber
Puente Del Costa Sur
South Coast Children’s Services
California State Parks
San Mateo County Parks
Pescadero Conservation Alliance
Coastal Alliance for Species Enhancement
Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education
Center for Ecoliteracy
UCSC Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association
Stanford University
UC Berkeley
College of San Mateo
G. Evaluation
Baseline data on grades, test scores, and attendance will be kept from the outset to compare and track on a biannual basis. Goals for improvement in GPA, Common Core Assessments - Smarter Balance tests, CAHSEE, SAT, ACT, and ADA will set and closely monitored. Satisfaction surveys for students, parents, staff, partners/associates, and the local community will be developed and administered on a biannual basis. All data and evaluation information will be readily available and regularly distributed.
H. Project Management and Professional Development
With on-going support from the SMCOE Superintendent, the LHPUSD Superintendent, and the Principal of PHS, the program coordinator will recruit students, faculty, community partners; manage the budget; organize events and activities; conduct program evaluations; and with the help of administration and faculty, schedule classes and conduct the educational program of the Open Space Academy
I. Timeline & Budget
August: Planning sessions at the school, district, community, and county levels
September: Begin nature/environmental component. Build partnerships, preliminary faculty meetings, develop program.
January: First Advisory Committee meeting, to be continued quarterly.
February: Student recruitment for next school year
March: Finalize Annual Goals and Curriculum Plans for next school year
April - July: Planning, curriculum development, partnerships roles, logistics, and more planning...
August: Initiate academy program. Activate all components of program and projects
November: Initial formative evaluations
December: First annual Winter Holiday Party
In the past, fully implemented California Partnership Academies have been funded with $81,000 per annum from the CDE, with a 100% match from partners. We will need to calculate direct donations, materials, and in-kind donations as our partnership network is established.
* * * * *
Alternative School
This proposal outlines an Alternative School program that would respond to Ed. Code 58500, serve a wide range of students, increase academic performance, attract students from outside (or back into) the district, and provide an innovative model of instruction. Using a school bus, laptop computers, and local resources, this alternative school program will strive to achieve the goals in the Ed. Code:
(a) Maximize the opportunity for students to develop the positive values of self-reliance, initiative, kindness, spontaneity, resourcefulness, courage, creativity, responsibility, and joy.
(b) Recognize that the best learning takes place when the student learns because of his desire to learn.
(c) Maintain a learning situation maximizing student self-motivation and encouraging the student in his own time to follow his own interests. These interests may be conceived by him totally and independently or may result in whole or in part from a presentation by his teachers of choices of learning projects.
(d) Maximize the opportunity for teachers, parents and students to cooperatively develop the learning process and its subject matter. This opportunity shall be a continuous, permanent process.
(e) Maximize the opportunity for the students, teachers, and parents to continuously react to the changing world, including but not limited to the community in which the school is located.
Features Facilities Format Mission Mobility Green STEM IEP=EIR OpenMindWalk Feedback
"Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher."
~William Wordsworth
The California Partnership Academy is a program of the California Department of Education. Below is an outline of a CPA Application...
A. Overview of the Proposed Academy
Focusing on conservation, sustainability, agriculture, natural resources, and building human potential, the Open Space Academy will train students for college and careers in the 21st century. We will blend content standards and project-based curricula to create a program that is challenging and engaging, maintains high expectations, and provides innovative, individualized instruction for all students. In addition to helping students earn a high school diploma and be prepared for college, we will help students learn relevant job skills and be prepared for business, work, and life in the emerging economic systems of the new millennium. A specific goal of the program is to prepare students for “Green Jobs,” and careers in new areas that currently being developed and imagined in the modern world. While we are starting small, we are thinking big. Initially, using an academy or small learning community model, this program will serve students in the La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District, San Mateo County Office of Education, and beyond.
B. Background information about the high school (and the county)
Pescadero High School is a small, rural high school in unincorporated San Mateo County along the Pacific coast in the hills of the Santa Cruz mountains. PHS has rich heritage hearkening back to the nineteenth century. We have approximately 100 students at PHS, and 340 district-wide. Our ethnic breakdown includes 45% White, 54% Latino, 1% Other. (San Mateo County has 93,672 students in K-12. Of these, 38% are Hispanic, 30% White, 3% African-American, 13% Asia, 34% Limited English Proficient, 37% are eligible for national free and reduced price lunch program.)
C. Identification of Needs for a California Partnership Academy
While the LHPUSD benefits from beautiful surroundings, being nestled between the ocean and the redwoods, we are challenged by a low, and potentially declining, student population. Developing an exciting and innovative program is needed to retain students that live within district boundaries and to attract new students to the district. Partnering with the San Mateo County Office of Education is essential to our success.
D. Organizational Components
Currently, PHS is on block system with four, approximately 90 minute classes, per day. In addition to a comprehensive college preparatory curriculum, students will take a number of UC-approved electives. Much of the project-based learning will focus on these electives, but strands will be woven into all the classes in the Open Space Academy curriculum. We will conduct at least one field trip per week to local preserves and properties using the LHPUSD school bus, and a key component of our program will be Mobile Learning. While the CPA model does not begin until the 10th grade, we will offer experiences in middle school to encourage future participation, and in the ninth grade begin to train students to be ready for the academic and physical requirements of the Open Space Academy.
E. Career-Technical Focus
The career-technical focus of the Open Space Academy covers a wide range of “Green Jobs,” and will emphasize land conservation and sustainable stewardship. Students will participate in a series of on-going projects that will emphasize five career choices...
1. Field Science
Students will conduct real world observations and experiments in biology, chemistry, and physics. They will study soil, water, and air - ecology, zoology, botany, geology, and meteorology.
2. Natural Resource Management
Students will assist in the monitoring and maintenance of various preserves and open space properties, and learn about the politics and economics of managing open spaces that are visited by the public. They will learn about bioremediation, habitat restoration, and support for endangered species. Students will also learn about disaster preparedness, fire protection, and safety.
3. Sustainable Agriculture
Students will participate in organic farming and gardening as well as animal husbandry and range management. They will learn about the production of crops and the care of farm animals, equipment mechanics, and they will participate in culinary studies, nutrition education, and food preparation.
4. Environmental Law and Economic Development
Students will experience the past, present, and future of the environmental movement with an emphasis on legislation and enforcement. Students will also develop profit and non-profit business models to provide for economic sustainability. In particular, students will study ecotourism, community development, and socially responsible investment.
5. Green Engineering
Students will construct and maintain trails and buildings on preserves and campuses. Additionally, students will study energy conservation, green energy production (solar, wind, biofuels, geothermal, etc.), and green construction practices.
Possible Extension - Campus Farm Operations
The Pescadero High & Middle School campus is rich in land. It is the resource we will use to create our academy program. For each of these projects, we plan to recruit corporate, government, or community partners to help sustain and maintain the projects on a long term basis (particularly during student holidays, weekends, etc.) Using a permacultural design plan, we will gradually develop our campus in the following ways:
A. A Biofuel Production Facility. Using the 8 acre piece of land at the corner of Cloverdale and Butano Cutoff Roads, we will conduct a variety of experiments in determining the most effective crops for the production of biofuels. Between the corner of the parking lot and the athletic fields, near the row of trees along the east edge of the aforementioned field, we will build a small biofuel production facility. This facility will be adjacent to both the agricultural field and truck/car access. It will be in a secure and locked enclosure, and will include a small laboratory for experimentation. The goal will be to eventually run our buses on our own biodiesel, and possibly sell biodiesel to the community.
B. Orchards. Using the two acre piece of land between Pescadero Creek and the soccer field and school buildings – and in landscape areas around school buildings depending on a permacultural design – we will plant predominantly deciduous stone fruit trees (apples, pears, peaches, plums, apricots, pluots, cherries, as well as persimmons, olive, and possibly cold-tolerant citrus). Students will be trained in pruning, grafting, and orchard management. Produce will be used in the district’s food program and will be sold locally.
C. Campus Farms. Using approximately one to two acres of land between the athletic fields, around school buildings, and particularly adjacent to the district kitchen, we will plant a variety of food crops for the district’s food program (lettuces, broccoli, cabbage, onions, potatoes, squash, peas, beans, carrots, radishes, etc.). Again, using a permacultural design and emphasizing good nutrition, we will grow crops for students, and possibly for the local community as well.
D. Animal Facilities. If the necessary support is provided, we may also include a number of farm animal facilities using other space on campus. Chickens, goats, and possibly sheep, cows, horses, rabbits, and other livestock may be grown and housed on campus. Students would learn about animal husbandry and they would possibly contribute to the district food program.
E. Miscellaneous Projects. If the necessary support is provided, we would consider viticulture, aquaculture, vermiculture, and other agricultural projects that have both educational and economic value. We would consider projects involving alternative energy production, including solar and wind energy. And we will consider various product development projects that have both educational and economic value.
F. Conservation and Resource Management. From our base on campus (and ideally transported in our own biodiesel-run buses), students will be involved a various projects in and around San Mateo County monitoring and maintaining our natural resources. Already we participate in the LiMPETS program through the Farallones Marine Sanctuary monitoring wildlife in tide pool and beach habitats along the coast. In partnership with various local agencies, we can participate in other programs monitoring our local watershed, forests and open space areas, agricultural lands, and other wildlife habitats.
F. School District Support, Business and Community Support, and Advisory Committee
The LHPUSD will support the Academy in providing teacher positions, facilities maintenance, and administrative oversight. Local government agencies, non-profit organizations, businesses, and community groups will be involved in advising and supporting the Academy. Business and Community Partners, as well as Advisory Committee members may be comprised of representatives from the some following organizations:
Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District
Peninsula Open Space Trust
San Mateo Environmental Resource Conservation District
San Gregorio Resource Conservation Center
Elkus Ranch
Pie Ranch
Blue House Farm
Harley Farms
Big Creek Lumber
Puente Del Costa Sur
South Coast Children’s Services
California State Parks
San Mateo County Parks
Pescadero Conservation Alliance
Coastal Alliance for Species Enhancement
Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education
Center for Ecoliteracy
UCSC Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association
Stanford University
UC Berkeley
College of San Mateo
G. Evaluation
Baseline data on grades, test scores, and attendance will be kept from the outset to compare and track on a biannual basis. Goals for improvement in GPA, Common Core Assessments - Smarter Balance tests, CAHSEE, SAT, ACT, and ADA will set and closely monitored. Satisfaction surveys for students, parents, staff, partners/associates, and the local community will be developed and administered on a biannual basis. All data and evaluation information will be readily available and regularly distributed.
H. Project Management and Professional Development
With on-going support from the SMCOE Superintendent, the LHPUSD Superintendent, and the Principal of PHS, the program coordinator will recruit students, faculty, community partners; manage the budget; organize events and activities; conduct program evaluations; and with the help of administration and faculty, schedule classes and conduct the educational program of the Open Space Academy
I. Timeline & Budget
August: Planning sessions at the school, district, community, and county levels
September: Begin nature/environmental component. Build partnerships, preliminary faculty meetings, develop program.
January: First Advisory Committee meeting, to be continued quarterly.
February: Student recruitment for next school year
March: Finalize Annual Goals and Curriculum Plans for next school year
April - July: Planning, curriculum development, partnerships roles, logistics, and more planning...
August: Initiate academy program. Activate all components of program and projects
November: Initial formative evaluations
December: First annual Winter Holiday Party
In the past, fully implemented California Partnership Academies have been funded with $81,000 per annum from the CDE, with a 100% match from partners. We will need to calculate direct donations, materials, and in-kind donations as our partnership network is established.
* * * * *
Alternative School
This proposal outlines an Alternative School program that would respond to Ed. Code 58500, serve a wide range of students, increase academic performance, attract students from outside (or back into) the district, and provide an innovative model of instruction. Using a school bus, laptop computers, and local resources, this alternative school program will strive to achieve the goals in the Ed. Code:
(a) Maximize the opportunity for students to develop the positive values of self-reliance, initiative, kindness, spontaneity, resourcefulness, courage, creativity, responsibility, and joy.
(b) Recognize that the best learning takes place when the student learns because of his desire to learn.
(c) Maintain a learning situation maximizing student self-motivation and encouraging the student in his own time to follow his own interests. These interests may be conceived by him totally and independently or may result in whole or in part from a presentation by his teachers of choices of learning projects.
(d) Maximize the opportunity for teachers, parents and students to cooperatively develop the learning process and its subject matter. This opportunity shall be a continuous, permanent process.
(e) Maximize the opportunity for the students, teachers, and parents to continuously react to the changing world, including but not limited to the community in which the school is located.
Features Facilities Format Mission Mobility Green STEM IEP=EIR OpenMindWalk Feedback
"Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher."
~William Wordsworth