The Lake County International Charter School (LCICS) is in the midst of transitioning its holdings into a central school facility in the Langtry House, located at 15850 Armstrong Street in Middletown, one block south of Highway 29 in the downtown area.
The school will offer full-day kindergarten through sixth grade instruction in the 2010-11 school year, along with creative arts and Spanish.
Previously, it offered seventh and eighth grade instruction, but school officials reported that demand for those classes wasn't high enough to continue offering those grades.
The charter school's staff and team are working with longtime Sonoma County principal Ceasar Camarillo to coordinate the changes and school opening.
“With school starting on Aug. 30, the staff and families are very excited,” said Camarillo. “Registration is happening every day for all grade levels. It’s great to see so many families coming by to help out the teachers before school starts.”
According to the California Department of Education, the school’s 2009-10 Base Academic Performance Index (API) scores for the school is currently 832, an increase of over 90 index points over the previous year.
“It’s one of the many reasons my children are attending here,” said Kathleen Noble, a school parent. “We’ve been here for four years and my children are doing great at LCICS.”
LCICS is a free public charter school, but is also an authorized IB (International Baccalaureate) World School, offering its Primary Years Program (PYP) to all K-6th students in Lake County.
“This program presents a unique educational option for our families,” said Charter Council member Gwendolyn Maupin-Ahern, whose own children attend the school.
“The IB program is not an off-the-shelf curriculum,” she explained. “Essentially, the core learning standards are intertwined inside project-based thematic units. Both teacher- and student-generated questions drive inquiry that motivates the students to be critical thinkers. So, in the end, the students learn much more than the basics. And because they participated in developing the learning projects, they stay focused and interested. ”
LCICS will host an open house from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28, for all current parents as well as the whole community.
The open house will feature teaching demonstrations, music, art, Zumba for kids, healthy lunch demos, food and more. The community is invited to join the school for the event.
For more information, please call the school at 707-987-3063 or visit the school online at www.lcics.org.
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