Located behind the Lompoc Unified School District offices, Mission Valley School offers alternative education opportunities to students in kindergarten through 12th grade, including hands-on field trips and workshops in math, science, and the arts.
Formerly known as The Learning Center, Mission Valley School is a home- and independent-study program run through the Lompoc Unified School District. The school uses the same district curriculum, but supplements it with specialized workshops, field trips, and other activities.
Retired Allan Hancock College biology professor Jim Morrow recently visited students at Mission Valley School to teach about the Chumash culture. The lecture was part of the Santa Maria Children’s Discovery Museum’s “Museum in Motion” program, which brings hands-on museum learning experiences to the classroom.
“It was more than a lecture,” said Brenda Crane, a kindergarten through 8th-grade teacher at the school. “The kids got to grind acorns and do cultural face-painting.”
The students have also participated in a presentation of the La Brea Tar Pits, for which Morrow “brought in about 40 different specimens for the kids to look at,” Crane said.
Other field trips organized by the school include trips to the Cabrillo Aquarium in Lompoc and trips to local theaters to see plays.
The school’s hands-on ideology is also applied inside the classroom, Crane said, through workshops in math, science, and the arts.
“The students really love the workshops, and they supplement the curriculum,” she said.
During the workshops, a credentialed teacher working at the school guides students through a subject they specialize in. The workshops enable the students to get more one-on-one time with teachers while learning new material. One popular offering is a creative writing workshop taught by kindergarten through 8th-grade teacher Mary Coggins.
Another advantage of the curriculum, Crane said, is that older students enrolled in the school are still allowed to participate in electives and activities at their respective middle and high schools.
“The students meet with a credentialed teacher once a week to get the curriculum and assignments,” she said.
“They still attend their normal school five days a week. Usually the school will group the classes together,” she explained, so Mission Valley School students can attend workshops or work on their independent study projects.
“We offer individualized curriculums,” Crane said. “We have honors students who want to work at a more accelerated pace, we have others who need to catch up, and then we have others whose whole educational philosophy is home schooling.”
Applications to Mission Valley School can be picked up at the school office, 1301 North A St., room P-10. High school students interested in the independent study program can also talk with their counselors at Lompoc High School, Cabrillo High School, or Maple High School about being referred to Mission Valley School. If the student is accepted into the program, a teacher will be assigned to conduct the orientation and start the independent study sessions.
For more information about the school, visit www.missionvalley.lusd.org or call 742-3253.
School Scene is compiled by Staff Writer Amy Asman. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, e-mail, or mail.
This article appears in Nov 26 – Dec 3, 2008.