Academy

At Cedar Cove Academy, our teachers are able to successfully educate the “whole” child because they use what they know about each child’s unique academic and personal needs when planning for instruction. Throughout the school year, our educators use a wide variety of assessments in order to specifically target where each child is on his/her learning journey. Cedar Cove Academy teachers design differentiated learning centers that allow children choice and experiential practice, and the students have the opportunity to carry out a wide variety of engaging projects throughout the school year. Students learn to collaborate, think critically and respond to the world around them as they gain independence and responsibility within a loving community.Since Cedar Cove Academy is a public school program, our teachers use the Common Core Standards for English-Language Arts and Math, Next Generation Science Standards, and California State Standards for Social Studies in order to determine what needs to be taught. We are not a textbook-based program. Instead, the teachers use the state and national standards to create an exciting curriculum that is more authentic, hands on, and personalized. Even though our students attend classes 4 days a week on our campus, Cedar Cove Academy is still a home-study program. Parents account for approximately 30% of their child’s education during the course of one school year.

At Cedar Cove Academy, we believe that children learn best by engaging in curriculum through real world and hands-on experiences. Learning centers seek to engage students through various learning styles and multiple intelligences including: kinesthetic, spatial, musical, verbal/linguistic, logical/mathematical, interpersonal and intrapersonal. Centers take real world materials and create meaningful learning experiences for students to work both independently and cooperatively. Centers span all subject matters and allow students to work at differentiated levels so every child can achieve success, build on prior knowledge and reach their individual learning goals. Centers are aligned with the Common Core and CA State Standards and span multiple grade levels. Centers are engaging in that they often take on the form of games, investigations and mini projects. Students look forward to participating in the centers daily, as they are both challenging and developmentally appropriate. Centers allow children to grow exponentially and they are always being modified so that learning stays fresh and exciting! You can find out more about learning centers by viewing some of the research done, which supports the use of learning centers in the classroom.

As a publicly funded school, our K-6 curriculum is based on Common Core and California State Standards. Our innovative teachers excel at designing differentiated, engaging lessons across the grade level subjects. Our project-based learning model fits in with the mission of the common core standards which is “…to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need.”

Parents are responsible for approximately 30% of their child’s education during the course the school year. This instruction takes place whenever there is a home-study day. Home-study days include every Friday and a few other days throughout the year. During a home-study day, children work on completing project components and/or other activities that the teachers assign. Our teachers provide detailed and scaffolded project directions so that the children and parents are clear on what is expected.

At Cedar Cove Academy, we strongly believe that everyone deserves to be respected no matter what happens. When an unfavorable situation arises during a school day, Cedar Cove Academy teachers and other staff members try to get to the heart of the matter. Those involved have opportunities to share their feelings, reflect on what happened, apologize when appropriate, and focus on problem solving in an attempt to make the situation better. Discussions about what happened always take place in a private way. Since we believe the all of the children are capable of solving their own problems, Cedar Cove Academy educators create a space for the students to show appreciation for each other and to help each other solve problems. This space is created in the form of weekly circle time meetings. The children share their feelings, frustrations, and concerns with each other in a very peaceful way, and they use “I” statements. We focus on building each child’s character at our program, so the children learn not only how to be while at school, but they also learn how to be in the world around them.

In 2024, Cedar Cove Academy decided to make the transition to a full Spanish Immersion program in order to meet the growing demand for bilingual education and to be a leader in California’s Global Initiative to increase biliteracy in students. We are proud to maintain our same philosophy of “challenging every child to achieve success in a nurturing environment” – simply in a new language, Spanish.

How will it work?

In the Fall of 2024, Kindergarten and 1st grade students will be instructed in Spanish for 90% of the time and in English for 10% of the time. This is called a 90/10 dual immersion model.

Students begin learning within the 90/10 model. As they progress through dual immersion grade levels, the percentage of Spanish instruction decreases. By grade four, students will be instructed 50% in English and 50% in Spanish with a pathway to biliteracy and bilingualism.

Each year, we will add a Spanish immersion grade level. For example, in 2025-2026 we will offer K-2 Spanish immersion classes. When the current English speaking 1st graders are promoted from 5th grade, our current & very seasoned English teaching team will become the English teaching component of our Spanish Immersion program. We are fortunate to be able to maintain the longevity of our incredibly experienced staff as we add additional, bilingual, teachers to our team.

All support staff and Ed Specialists will continue their roles supporting students in the classroom and on the playground throughout our journey to a dual language immersion school.

Our TK program will continue to be offered in English, with Mrs. Vega, for the foreseeable future.