I've had a few people reply to my initial reviews of Scholarship Prep, asking me how I feel about…read morethe school now that my son has been attending there for more than a full year now. I stand by my initial impressions of this outstanding center of academic and personal excellence. One of the founders is former Senator Gloria Romero, who was well known for her stance on equity in education - all children deserve a quality education regardless of their socioeconomic status, neighborhood, or any other factors that may otherwise bar them from some of the more affluent schools. My autistic son was just beginning sixth grade (very young starting, as he began a special education placement for Pre-K just after turning 3 years old). I was unaware that the principal herself was manning the booth for the school, but until then, I'd always thought charter schools were for wealthier children from backgrounds where they'd already been high achievers in the area of academics. Ms. Douglass, the principal of Scholarship Prep, was not only happy to answer my questions regarding admission criteria, she managed to dispel everything I'd ever believed about charter schools until that day.
Scholarship Prep seemed almost too good to be true. Within a week, he was enrolled in their school, and the school psychologist, Dr. Beam, along with so many others who helped my son as he first began to acclimate and then went on to excel at his new school. There was no room for excuses or complacency - he had expectations placed upon him unlike those he had ever received in the generic, catch-all programs that did little to teach in any sort of real world environment (there aren't separate grocery stores, libraries, banks, or other establishments for individuals who may have different ways of learning or struggle with certain concepts. We all share the same facilities, so segregation in classrooms not only hurts the child being taught - it also prevents the peers of these children from being exposed to those who may be different, and sends a message to the students that different is not equal...different doesn't belong in the same place as they do...different is somehow not a positive thing. Diversity is welcomed and celebrated at Scholarship Prep.
Scholarship Prep has managed to bring my son, who was reading far below his grade level, within one or two levels of where his peers are at. He's learning beginning concepts of statistics and ratios...time and money have already been covered, and he's receiving a well-rounded education. Most schools are so focused on standardized testing preparation that any and all other learning opportunities fall by the wayside. Scholarship Prep provides him with a full bodied knowledge base. He's learning Mandarin, studying visual and tactile art, including famous artists and their differing styles. He is learning about the geological environment of Mars; and Astronomy is one of his core subjects this year (next year, he will get to go to Astronomy Camp along with the other eighth graders...last year, 6th grade took a 3 day field trip to study oceanography at a special camp on Catalina Island. He's learning medieval European history, and has electives like basketball and soccer. Performing arts are an option too, but he's more interested in sports. He has homework every night, sometimes on weekends too; because that's how it is in college, and the name "Scholarship Prep" isn't just a clever moniker. Every classroom is represented by a university, with the idea that scholars (the term for students who attend the school) are aiming for a college education one day. They have Pep Rallies every Friday, and they watch CNN every morning to learn about pertinent issues from around the globe. In an education system that has grown stale and focused more on test scores for Language Arts and Mathematics, it's refreshing to see a school with such a robust education.
Kindness is one of the core values emphasized at Scholarship Prep, and Personal Responsibility is part of the main foundation for the entire student body. Honesty, integrity, Kindness, Participation, Pride in personal and group achievements...these are the building blocks that have helped bring my son, who spent the majority of elementary school with little to no expectations placed upon him and exempted from standardized tests (at Scholarship Prep, they have adapted standardized testing that I'd never even known existed before I saw the results from his sixth grade tests) not only closer to grade level than he's ever been throughout the duration of his academic years, but also has helped instill important values in him like hard work and always doing your absolute best, and for the first time ever, he's talking about college.
