Peabody Charter School

General Information

Grades Served: K-6
Address: 3018 Calle Noguera, Santa Barbara, CA 93105 | Map
Phone: (805) 563-1172
Fax: (805) 569-7042
E-mail: Ms. Kate Ford
Principal: Ms. Kate Ford
School Mascot: Panthers
School Colors: None
Web Page: www.peabodycharter.org

School Highlights

Peabody Charter School was constructed in 1927. It is situated on the north side of the City of Santa Barbara. From the original six-classroom building, Peabody has expanded to its 33 classroom campus for K-6 students.

In 1993, the staff, parents, and students reached a consensus that becoming a charter school would allow the ability, flexibility, and latitude to provide innovative curriculum, development, and instruction. Working together with the Board of Education of the Santa Barbara Elementary School District, a contract was negotiated to create a charter school as permitted under Senate Bill 1448 of the State of California. As a charter school focused on meeting students’ needs, the school functions with the freedom to create its own academic programs, teaching methods, measures of success, community and family involvement guidelines and fiscal responsibilities.

Among the school’s program highlights are: extended school day/late start Fridays; Gifted and Talented Education program; art enrichment; the Splash Zone, which hosts ceramics and fine arts classes daily with our artists in residence; Peabody Peacemakers, a voluntary cadre of upper grade students trained in conflict resolution vocabulary and strategies; second language instruction in English or Spanish; sports.

School Recognition

California Distinguished School (1997, 2000)

Feeder Schools and their District

Peabody Charter School feeds into Santa Barbara Junior High School.

Assessment Results

California’s testing program seeks ways to create a cohesive system that is fair to all students, provides reliable comparisons, and measures what students are expected to know. The Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program is the centerpiece of state testing. STAR has three basic components, all of which are multiple-choice tests: California Standards Test (CST), which is an achievement test based on state standards, California Achievement Test, 6th Edition (CAT/6), which is a nationally normed achievement test, California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA), for student with severe cognitive disabilities, and Spanish Assessment of Basic Education, Second Edition (SABE/2) for newly enrolled English learners. These “on demand” assessments are administered to all students in the grade level that is being tested. In addition to the “on demand” assessments, student achievement is continuously monitored by the classroom teacher(s). If you have additional questions regarding student testing, please direct them to the Santa Barbara School Districts’ Office of Research and Evaluation.

Test Results

Academic Performance Index (API)

The Academic Performance Index is a system of measuring each school’s academic performance and progress in reaching established goals.

API Reports

School Safety / Disaster Preparedness

All schools in the Santa Barbara School Districts periodically conduct fire and earthquake drills. Each school has a disaster preparedness plan and works in coordination with local law enforcement and other public safety organizations.

School custodians address daily cleaning and maintenance needs. The Districts’ maintenance team visits each campus regularly, according to a defined rotation schedule, and addresses specialized needs (e.g., painting, carpentry, etc.). In the event of a facility emergency at the school site, the District maintenance team responds on an immediate basis.

Student Enrollment and Ethnic Distribution

Enrollment and ethnicity information is gathered from the California Basic Education Data System (CBEDS). CBEDS information is updated each October as a California Department of Education reporting requirement. Comprehensive and comparative CBEDS data for all Santa Barbara County schools is available at: http://www.sbceo.org/districts/cbeds.shtml