As part of the 2013 reform of education funding in California, public schools – both district and charter – were given broad latitude about how to spend their state funding dollars. This reform, called Local Control Funding Formula or LCFF, eliminated most programs that were targeted for specific purposes and gave schools the latitude to spend their state funds on what the schools felt was important.
In exchange for this added local control the legislature created an accountability framework that required schools to have a written plan, called the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP), that addressed a specific list of priority educational areas, as well as to craft those plans in a public process with opportunities for input from stakeholders, including parents of disadvantaged pupils.
The primary mechanisms for stakeholder involvement in the RVC LCAP development process are the Leadership Council, Community Council, and RVC's ELAC. The Councils meet monthly and are made up of parents, teachers, and administration.
Beginning at the February meetings of these groups, the School Director makes a presentation on the current LCAP and how progress on the LCAP is being monitored and presents a schedule for the next four months during which the next LCAP will be developed before being presented to the Governing Board in May and June for its review and adoption.
With a foundation of progressive student-driven learning, social-emotional development, academic rigor, and inspiring, project-based education, Ross Valley Charter makes learning come alive for students. Our immersive, hands-on approach creates lifelong learners who act on their confidence, both inside and out of the classroom.
Multi-age, project-based education has a natural emphasis on collaboration and teamwork and helps create an environment of mutual respect, and kindness. The projects that our students undertake require real applications of Common Core lessons, and result in performances, presentations, exhibitions, and academic reports that the students take great pride in sharing.