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Educational Horizons Charter School

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  • Educational Horizons Charter School to Celebrate National School Choice Week

    Educational Horizons Charter School to Celebrate National School Choice Week

    During the week of January 28-30, 2015, Educational Horizons will participate in National School Choice Week 2015 with an Open House each day.

    National School Choice Week Brevard

    The Open House, which will take place from 9:00-11:00 each day at the school. This is a great opportunity for interested parents to visit the school, meet our teachers, as well as observe students in the classroom working with Montessori materials. You will also have a chance to meet other interested parents, and complete the application form for the upcoming 2015-2016 school year. We hope you will join us!

    National School Choice Week is a non-partisan, non-political effort that raises awareness about the importance of effective education options for students. More than 9,000 events are being planned across the country to celebrate National School Choice Week.


    Post by Educational Horizons Charter School.

  • 2013-14 ESEA School Public Accountability Report

    The 2013-14 Elementary and Secondary Education Act School Public Accountability Reports (ESEA SPARs) are now available. The SPARs meet the ESEA’s requirement for schools and districts to provide parents with an annual status report at the beginning of each year.

    Educational Horizons Charter School reports can be found here.


    Please contact us if you have any questions.

    ESEA SPAR Indicators

    The following list shows the indicators that are required for the annual public disclosure reports under ESEA provisions, as well as additional indicators providing data of interest on the status of Florida’s public schools.

    October Membership
    Kindergarten Readiness
    Federal Uniform Graduation Rate
    Five-year Graduation Rate
    High School Dropout Rate
    Student Test Results (FCAT 2.0, EOCs and FAA) Reading, Math and Science
    National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) scores at the state level
    New Teachers and Staff
    Teachers by Professional Degree Level
    Classes Taught by Teachers Teaching In-Field/Out-of-Field
    Classes Taught by Highly Qualified Teachers
    School Performance Grade
    Learning Gains for the Lowest 25% for Reading and Math
    Identified Schools for ESEA Flexibility
    Annual Measurable Objectives
  • 4th Grade Butterfly Garden

    4th Grade Butterfly Garden

    Recently our 4th grade students worked hard to build a butterfly garden in our front courtyard.

    The students chose specific native Florida plants based on factors such as: color, the type of butterflies it attracts, cost, and availability. Students called local nurseries and totaled the cost of their proposed order.

    edh_butterfly_garden

    edh_butterfly_garden(2)

    Watch the Students Prepare the Garden

    edh_butterfly_garden(3)

    Make sure to check it out the next time you’re at the school!

  • Montessori and Google: Early Influences Count

    In a recent article in The Guardian: How Google’s Larry Page became a responsible entrepreneur, by Carol Sanford (actually an excerpt from her new book The Responsible Entrepreneur). Below are some excerpts from that article:

    To understand Google’s orientation toward creating global change, it’s helpful to know a bit about four influences that helped shape Larry Page’s world view: his grandfather’s history in the early labor movement, his education in Montessori schools, his admiration for the visionary inventor Nikola Tesla, and his participation in the LeaderShape Institute… These helped build in Page the desire and confidence to take on large-scale systemic change.)

    An unconventional education was a second significant influence in Page’s life. Like his Google co-founder, Sergey Brin, Page attended Montessori schools until he entered high school. They both cite the educational method of Maria Montessori as the major influence in how they designed Google’s work systems.

    This we’ve heard before, although corroboration is always great. But what’s also great is how she gets Montessori:

    The Montessori Method believes that it has a “duty to undertake, in the school of the future, to revolutionize the individual.” Montessori’s ultimate goal of education was to create individuals who could improve society and were unafraid to take on seemingly impossible tasks. In fact, Montessori spoke at length about education for peace. “Everything that concerns education assumes today an importance of a general kind, and must represent a protection and a practical aid to the development of man; that is to say, it must aim at improving the individual in order to improve society.”

    The first quote is from long out-of-print Pedagogical Anthropology, believe it or not. The second is in From Childhood to Adolescence, p. 59 in the Clio version. Continuing on:

    Maria Montessori believed that the liberty of the child was of utmost importance. For her it was imperative that the school allow a child’s activities to freely develop. Without this freedom, children could not grow the personal agency that would allow them to serve a social purpose as adults. Thus, Page’s childhood education promoted independence. It encouraged students to grow at their own rate. They were allowed large chunks of uninterrupted time to work on projects they created themselves. Students were encouraged to take on small-scale but real-world challenges and to invent ways to solve them.

    It’s easy to see how Google’s well-known policy of encouraging all engineers to dedicate 20% of work time to projects of personal interest grew directly out of this educational history. And why collaboration without supervision is core to Google’s work culture. And why Page repeatedly exhorts his colleagues to generate “10x returns” with regard to the social benefits they are striving to create. He is recreating the inspiring learning environment he had as a child, where the focus was on growing free people with the capacity to transform society.

    This nails it. It wasn’t about early literacy, clever and intuitive materials, or a comprehensive approach to the study of the universe—although Montessori has all that. It was liberty, freedom to develop, independence, uninterrupted work, and growing “the personal agency that would allow them to serve a social purpose as adults.”

    This article first appeared on The Montessori Observer

  • How and Why Charter Schools Do More With Less

    How and Why Charter Schools Do More With Less

    When most people think of funding for public education, chances are they don’t think about funding for charter schools. There is a widespread misconception in Florida that charter schools are not really public schools. The truth is public charter schools have been a vital part of Florida’s K-12 education system for almost two decades and they are, indeed, public schools.

    florida_charter_schools_inequality

    Charter schools are accountable in ways that traditional district schools are not. For example, they are required by state statute to help students make academic gains and because their students are there by choice, not assignment, charter schools must meet the high expectations of the families they serve – providing high quality education, helping students achieve academically and, in many cases, preparing them for college — or risk losing those students to another school. And public charter schools must meet those requirements with significantly less funding than a district-run public school while being fiscally sound and maintaining financial integrity.

    According to a recent study by the University of Arkansas, Florida’s charter schools received 20.7 percent less funding than district schools; that’s $8,047 vs. $10,154 per pupil in 2011. Charter Funding: Inequity Expands reveals the disparity is greatest in major cities and that the funding gap has grown in recent years. If all Florida school districts received the same level of per pupil funding as charter schools, districts would have received over $5 billion less in total revenues.

    “These figures indicate inequity built into our current state education funding policies. However, there are a few who seek fairness for all students. Just this week, on April 29, 2014, the House of Representative took a brave step to protect charter school students and allocated $75 million to facilities funding,” explains Robert Haag, President of the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools.

    More than 239,000 families in Florida have chosen public charters as the school for their children, but they didn’t know this choice came with built-in inequity. School districts and charters both receive funding based on individual student needs. The formula also adjusts funding based on school district characteristics, such as size or location in a rural or urban area. Charters do not receive this adjustment, but are given a statewide average instead.

    The formulas may be complex, but the math is simple. Charter schools in Florida receive an estimated 80 cents for every dollar a district school receives. Is it because charter students are worth less than other public school students? No, it is because the state funding priorities have not kept up with parental demand.

    As demand for charter schools from parents around the state grows, and as charter schools continue to help Florida’s children achieve academically, funding and fairness for all children in public education should follow.

    Originally published on the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools website.

  • Making and Developing Meaningful Friendships: Ways Parents Can Help

    Making and Developing Meaningful Friendships: Ways Parents Can Help

    children_developing_meaningful_friendships

    1. Teach your child to be a friend.

      • Repeat these rules often:
      • Be Kind – (Smile. Use good manners with words like “please”, “thank you”, “you’re welcome” and “excuse me.” Listen to understand others.
      • Be respectful to others – Don’t use hurtful works or tease others. Don’t kick, bite or push others. Include others by not leaving them out when you play.
      • Be respectful to others things – Treat others personal belongings with respect by not touching them without asking permission or not throwing or breaking them.

    2. Be a positive role model, ask people that care for your child to reinforce the rules of “How to Be a Good Friend” and acknowledge your child for getting along peacefully with others.

      • Be a good example by being kind to your own friends.
      • Manage your own anger and peacefully work out conflicts.
      • Maintain a close relationship with anyone who cares for your child.
      • Reinforce positive behaviors whenever you observe your child being kind and respectful to others. (Example: “I noticed that you were very cooperative today.”)

    3. Teach your child to share – Know what to expect:

      • Most 2 year olds don’t share well.
      • At age 3, children can begin to learn how to share and work out conflicts.
      • Most children are not able to share well or work out conflicts until they are at least 4 or 5 years old.
      • When observing your child at play with others, suggest that they take turns playing a game or toy.
      • Talk about how to ask for a toy.
      • Provide extra toys to share.
      • Tell your child it’s not OK to grab or hit.

    4. Teach your child to work things out

      • Let children first try to work out their own conflicts without adult help.
      • Ask questions and suggest what to do when you see that they may need assistance.
      • Step in if children start to hit or say hurtful words.
      • Tell your child what’s not OK and why: “Don’t hit. Hitting hurts.”

    5. Help your child to make friends. Some children make friends easily. Others find it harder. Your child may need additional help. Tell your child:

      • It’s easier to play with one other child than with a group.
      • Look for a child playing alone and ask to join in.

    6. Support your child’s friendships.

      • Stay involved. Know who your child’s friends are.
      • Make time for your child to be with friends.
      • Invite your child’s friend to your home. Invite children who are your child’s age or older. Limit the play to no more than 2 hours. Be sure your child is rested and fed. (A child who is tired or hungry may find it hard to play cooperatively). Be close by while the children play and make sure there are appropriate choices of things for them to do.