A Word From Our Director

Whether you are already a member of our Pacifica Community Charter School family or interested in finding out more about us, we welcome you to our community of learners.

As you navigate our website looking for specific information or to get a picture of who we are and our goals for educating young people, keep in mind that we are deeply committed to six basic pillars of education – parent participation, democratic process, constructivist project-based learning, humanistic education, diversity, and compassionate communication.

We strive here at Pacifica to support our students in becoming lifelong learners.  We value inquiry and children’s natural curiosity as a catalyst for developing curriculum to learn basic skills and standards. We develop with our students the tools and study skills that allow them to grow into proficient and self-directed learners.

Our humanistic philosophy attends to the development of the whole child. We honor self-expression as a right of each person in our community and we ask that each person take responsibility for their actions and words. As a part of this philosophy, we support and validate children in processing their feelings. We support them though active listening and reflect their thoughts, to ensure understanding. This process allows our students to grow in their ability to clearly articulate their thoughts and feelings and attaches a sense of value to self-reflection.

As a California public school, the California State Standards are an integral part of our whole child education goals. Blending our philosophy with State Curriculum Guidelines, we strive to offer a child-friendly, developmental approach to education. We look to meaningful, relevant, real-life learning activities to maintain children’s interest and strong desire for learning.  We believe students must also acquire the skills necessary to become collaborative workers, effective communicators, community contributors, and critical thinkers.

It is our goal that students grow in the areas of understanding and compassion as we embrace diversity in our community. Our commitment to anti-bias education principles and multiculturalism asks all members of our community to stretch beyond the superficial levels of simple interaction. We ask for mutual respect of all members of our community of learners. By working together students, teachers and parents foster a thoughtful learning environment that includes a sense of compassion, awareness and sensitivity to each other.  Children learn and work best in a cooperative, non-competitive environment where student’s thoughts and opinions are honored and respected.

We also strive to create an environment where students’ wide range of interests and talents can be uncovered, encouraged and nurtured.  Learning best occurs through active participation where children have opportunities to freely explore, discover, question and investigate

As members of the Pacifica Community Charter School community of learners we know that childhood is a once in a lifetime opportunity. We have set ourselves ambitious goals and take joy in offering the absolute highest standards of teaching, learning, facilitating, mentoring and sharing with our families.

We welcome your thoughts, ideas, concerns, questions and total involvement in all we do.

Gary Winning, Director