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Connecting Waters Charter School (Grades K-12)

12420 Bentley Street Waterford, Ca 95386
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209-874-1119 ext. 6
209-874-9531

Modesto Learning Center
4713 Greenleaf Ct. Ste. A Modesto, CA
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Ceres Learning Center
2600 Mitchell Road Suite G Ceres, CA 95307
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Phone: 209-541-1531
Fax: 209-541-1538
modesto@connectingwaters.org

Connecting Waters is a charter school that provides parents with the greatest amount of "choice" that I have personally seen in a charter school.

Once you are enrolled in Connecting Waters, you are assigned an E.S. (Educational Specialist) that is local to your area. Your E.S. is there to help you get your materials ordered, keep you informed about field trips and other outings, and to provide general support, insight (if you wish it) and oversight. An E.S. might be very involved with your children by choosing the curriculum and so on, or s/he might be involved quite minimally. This seems to vary with each family and is in accordance to the wishes of the parents (other than basic requirements).

You are required to meet with your E.S. at least once a month (some families opt for more visits). During this time the E.S. records what the children have been doing, may pick up work samples and may drop off any of your orders that have come in. Work samples required aren't onerous. You only need to turn in about 2 samples per subject per semester. Summer school requirements are different. You then need to turn in all of your child's work.

Another requirement is that your child must participate in STAR testing each year. There is also some additional testing depending on the grade level your child is in (such as the California High School Exit Exam for high schoolers). The school tries hard to be accommodating for these tests and tries to make it fun for the children with prizes and pizza parties.

The E.S.'s have an electronic instructional budget for each student which can be used to individualize curriculum choices. As of the 2006-2007 year the budget is $800 for grades K-8 a semester (a total of $1600 a year) and $950 per semester for high schoolers ($1900 a year). You give your E.S. an "order" for materials and s/he arranges for you to receive the items. There is a huge list of vendors. There are not only companies that provide things like books, art supplies, science materials, computer software, educational DVD's, magazine subscriptions and more but there are also services like correspondence courses, karate, piano, and the like. If you don't see a particular vendor listed that carries the specific item you are looking for, you can request they be added to the vendor list.

You can order a computer and computer peripherals (printer, printer ink, Internet, etc.) with your funds and other high cost items (with approval) that will be used for educational purposes (cameras, video cameras, and more) from the listed vendors. The items you order in general are not for you to keep though, unless they are consumables (such as workbooks, art supplies, etc.). When your family is done using them, you return them to the school to be recycled amongst the rest of the students and to stock the learning centers (where you can check out items). You may NOT order items of a religious nature.

Connecting Waters also arranges for field trips, camp and other outings which may come out of instructional funds. One child we know went to science camp this way. Last year there were ski trips, symphonies and more scheduled.

At the Learning Centers, a variety of classes are offered for all ages. They are all optional and sometimes use some instructional funding to pay for books and supplies. There are also specialists to help in specific areas (such as a math specialist) that you can arrange to meet with and go over certain concerns or just get some one-on-one instruction for your student(s).

For many families in Los Banos and the surrounding areas, Connecting Waters is an excellent public school choice. Families are given the freedom to educate our children in the way they think is best with an immense amount of choice concerning the curriculum ordered and used. They aren't "boxed" into a specific curriculum or philosophy of teaching.

As every homeschooling parent knows, each child is different from the rest. Maybe your child is ahead of grade level in some areas and behind in the rest. Maybe he needs a really hands on approach to learning or works best from a specific set of materials. With Connecting Waters you can get what is the best match for you and your child, unlike some other charter schools that choose everything for you.

Connecting Waters a much appreciated bridge between homeschooling on your own, and having access to what public schools provide. Parents know that their children are getting a top-notch education with excellent supplies and materials AND the one-on-one connection that homeschooling provides.

We encourage you to take a look at Connecting Waters, if you are looking for an alternative to the traditional public or private schools in Los Banos. There are lots of other families in our town that have chosen this option and are even meeting locally on a regular basis for additional activities. They would love to have you join them!

Official Website
I encourage you to visit Connecting Water's Charter School website to get a further feel for it and see if it's a fit for your family!

School Accountability Report Card

I encourage you to take a look at this report if you are interested in finding out more about Connecting Waters Charter School, although I don't think this report is as important to look at for this type of school as opposed to a traditional public school. There is a wealth of information such as enrollment numbers, school facility conditions, test scores, academic performance index, yearly progress, information on the teachers and their levels of education, class sizes, textbooks used, salaries of teachers and staff, spending per student and more. Because charter schools like this one are so "different" from traditional classrooms, all of the information won't pertain, but some might be interesting nonetheless (such as test scores).

Source for information:
http://www.connectingwaters.org/,
other websites and personal knowledge and/or experience.