Santa Barbara Unified School District
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This page was last updated on January 7, 2011.

Santa Barbara Charter School

Santa Barbara Charter School

General Information

School Highlights

Santa Barbara Charter School opened September 15, 1993, on the campus of Goleta Valley Junior High School. The school was founded as a result of the commitment of a group of parents and educators who wished to affirm their support for public education by creating an alternative for families who want to be involved in a nontraditional school. Enrollment is not limited to Santa Barbara School District boundaries.

The Santa Barbara Charter School is a parent/staff cooperative with a child-centered approach to education. The school’s curriculum is based on the California State Frameworks and the Santa Barbara School’s Student Goals and Learner Objectives. Elements of Waldorf, Montessori, and Humanistic models of education are incorporated. The theory of multiple intelligences is embraced as a foundation for both curriculum and methodology. Academics are taught through the arts, using drama, stories, music, art, and storytelling.

Among the school’s program highlights are a home-based partnership. Opportunities are available for home schooling children to attend school one or more days a week where they work with specialists, then join the rest of the school for recess, elective activities, and performances.

School Accountability Report Card

Current Reports Index

Content Standards

Current Standards Index

Assessment Plan

Current Schedule

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 Unified School District’ s Office of Research, Evaluation, and Technology.

Test Results

Academic Performance Index

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 Unified School District 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 District’s 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