School History

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School History and Philosophy

What Is A Charter School?
The Charter Schools Act was passed by the California Legislature in 1992 in order to give California communities the ability to create self-governing, publicly supported schools that have the flexibility to meet locally identified needs. Since then, parents, students, teachers, and community members have collaborated to create a variety of schools across the state that are innovative, flexible, and responsive to the conditions and aspirations of their communities. As of 2018, there were 1,306 active charter schools in California, serving 628,849 students.

Plumas Charter #146
Plumas Charter School was founded in 1998 and became California Charter #146, operating for its first two years as a subsidiary of Plumas Unified School District. In 2000, PCS became an independent, or direct-funded, charter school. PCS was originally designed to serve the needs of the local homeschooling community, but in the school’s 20-year history, it has evolved to serve a broader spectrum of students and families and now identifies itself as a personalized learning school.

Personalized Learning
Personalized learning refers to Resolution 36 of the California State Senate, adopted in July 2004. Under this learning model, each student’s program is tailored specifically for him or her, using curricula, instructional strategies, settings, and pacing that have been selected to suit the student’s academic strengths and challenges, goals, interests, and personal situation.

Among the available components for a PCS academic program are classroom instruction, tutoring by teachers, web-based skill-building, online courses, independent study courses, extracurricular workshops, elective instruction from qualified enrichment teachers, and a wide range of texts and curricula.

The Plumas Charter School Educational Philosophy
Plumas Charter School identifies educated persons in the 21st century as being able to understand and function competently in the world around them. They will have realized their own unique interests, talents, and abilities, whether in the arts, the sciences, or other areas. To do this, they must be literate, able to solve mathematical problems, and able to think scientifically. They need to possess an overview of the history of mankind and an understanding of the political process. They also need to possess organizational skills and a sense of responsibility. Most importantly, these individuals will have the values necessary for making a positive contribution to their communities. It is the goal of this charter school to help our students to become educated individuals who are intrinsically motivated to learn, who have diverse yet well-developed interests, and who act effectively and constructively wherever they are.

PCS Code of Conduct
Plumas Charter School believes that a sense of respect is essential to a good education—respect for oneself, for one’s family, for adults and peers, and for the world around us. Each PCS student agrees to uphold this code of conduct.