Almond Acres Charter Academy is built on the philosophy that each child is unique, and that by teaching to the individual — every student achieves optimal levels of success and becomes a great citizen. The four pillars of our school mission to ‘grow great kids’ are heart, mind, body and soul. The body aspect of this quadrumvirate includes recreation — play, exercise, and movement. Plus nutrition, sleep, and healthy physical habits. Our PE program is better known as our Recreation program because we want all of our Almond Acres Charter Academy (AACA) students to learn how to have fun and recreate.
All AACA students have weekly recreation classes with our credentialed Physical Education Teacher, Sean Sommerville. Our recreation ethos focuses on grade-level state standards, as well as building stamina. By having ongoing walking/running challenges, we elevate collaboration and cooperation. Our students work together, set goals and practice recreational habits that can last a lifetime.
We offer elementary and middle school competitive sports, too, including cross country, volleyball, basketball, football, ultimate frisbee, and track & field. In addition, every year our school comes together for our much-loved Read and Run Relay and fundraiser.
In a typical year, our collective K-8 school’s goal would be to:
Read 100,000 minutes
Run 250 miles
Raise at least $30,000
This year, with the pandemic, our Read and Run Relay goes virtual. On April 1st, students will be challenged to a 1-hour read-a-thon AND a 1-hour jog-a-thon. Every student will get to participate by reading and running on their own, but stay connected to each other through Zoom. Plus each year an Almond Acres student designs our tee-shirts for the event via a competition during our art classes. Monies raised go towards the purchase of books, digital reading apps, and equipment to enhance our Recreation program at Almond Acres.
“This event is wonderful because it is inclusive. Academics, athletics, and art are all brought together for families and the community to celebrate and support our students.” Erin Colegrove, the AACA Read and Run Relay event coordinator
“By allowing students to show off their skills, whether they love reading, running, or a combination of both, we are honoring the whole student: heart, mind, body, and soul. By celebrating each child’s unique makeup, we get tremendous buy-in from the students, and that is how we are able to set and achieve such big goals.”
Bob Bourgault, Executive Director, Almond Acres
Every student has innate skills and talents, and it is incredibly rewarding for us to watch each child learn about, and become, the best version of themselves: heart, mind, body, and soul. At Almond Acres, it’s not just about physical education. It’s about learning how to recreate.
Donations to the 2021 Read and Run Relay can be made using this link.
About Almond Acres
Every child is unique. At Almond Acres tuition-free public charter school, we serve grades K-8 and we educate the whole child: heart, mind, body, and soul. Our focus on meaningful educational experiences within our community embraces service and project-based learning. We also emphasize character development and strong citizenship standards alongside our robust curriculum. We are enrolling now. We grow great kids!
Most of the schools in town are traditional elementary and middle schools — K-5 and 6-8. This format means students switch schools after fifth grade no matter what. Throw in preschool, and that’s three scholastic transitions before high school with the shift from elementary to middle school being the most significant and potentially jarring.
Transitioning from school to school is disruptive and can impact students academic performance, social emotional health and sense of safety. At Almond Acres, the benefits of a K-8 education include specialized instruction, deeper student/teacher/community relationships, ongoing structure and routine, fewer transitions, and robust leadership opportunities.
Attending a K-8 feels more comfortable, relaxing and safe; students perform better academically than students at a traditional 6-8 or 6-12 school. As confirmed by a recent study from the AMERICAN EDUCATION RESEARCH JOURNAL, we agree that our K-8 school is beneficial to our kids academically and socially.
“In a K-8 system, there isn’t that transition, and even better, our older kids become leader examples to our younger kids, and they have a relationship almost between different generations, and it creates a much more family oriented experience.“
We meet our AACA kids where they are developmentally. Our K-8 model allows us to curate a challenging curriculum, but in the context of an intentional, safe school that nurtures. At this age, AACA middle schoolers are naturally developing leadership abilities. We introduce, encourage, and ignite the responsibility that aligns with being the oldest students in our charter school.
And for students transferring into Almond Acres, at any time and grade, our middle school offers a true community. It is possible to attend a middle school that is a positive environment for growth and development as a tween and early teen. Our middle school embraces sixth to eighth graders as current AND future leaders, ideators, problem-solvers, and independent contributors. Our students, teachers and parents love our middle school, an age and stage that can sometimes get overlooked for quality education, so much so we wrote a blog about it.
Middle schoolers lead tours for prospective families, help with our Shared Start morning assemblies and more. Due to our small size, 1:28 teacher-to-student ratio — our middle schoolers can each be known for who they are. And as an example of what they can do together as a class — our seventh grade recently created a Family Forum where families came together to discuss issues pertinent to middle schoolers while playing games in a relaxed atmosphere. Family Forum created a casual platform for conversation about challenges our middle school kids are currently facing. Not only was the event well-executed, the middle school students showed tremendous maturity and willingness to both share and listen.
With our new school facility opening in fall of ‘21 in time for our the 2021-2022 school year, every K-8 kid will have an innovative and state-of-the-art academic experience. Our new school includes indoor and outdoor play spaces, collapsible classroom walls to invite collaboration and shared learning, small meeting spaces for faculty to collaborate, and a combinable gym and atrium to hold large events. Our middle school will have science labs and a college-inspired academic library. We can’t wait to celebrate learning together, for years to come, at this intentionally designed learning environment.
Every year, another graduating AACA 8th grade class heads off to high school. It makes us very proud to see how our Almond Acres students find success beyond our walls — as leaders, academics, problem-solvers, artists, athletes, ideators and good citizens. The only thing that eases melancholy as we see our beloved students move on, is welcoming each and every new student into our doors. We’re enrolling K-8 at our compassionate, dynamic K-8 tuition-free charter school. Join us!
About Almond Acres
Almond Acres is relocating to Paso Robles. Almond Acres Charter Academy is a public, tuition-free K-8 school that employs credentialed teachers and administers state-mandated testing to provide families in northern SLO County an additional choice in public education. Open to all students in all communities, the school is currently located in San Miguel and moving to Paso Robles for the 2021-22 school year. AACA’s mission is to help students succeed academically and socially by educating the whole child: heart, mind, body and soul. We grow great kids!
Charter schools started about 30 years ago for two main reasons. The first reason was to provide families with an alternative to their neighborhood public school. The second reason was to allow educators to do something different with public education — to be innovative and creative in ways that are new and distinct.
How Charter Schools Are Different
Charter schools often have smaller classes and readily focus on the individual learning styles of each student. This is certainly the case at Almond Acres Charter School (AACA). Not only do we focus on growing great kids in our small classes, our highly qualified teachers bring unique and intentional lesson plans to our classes each day. Our K-8 charter school uses project-based and service-based learning to instill a sense of self-confidence. We help our kids unlock how they’re smart alongside meaningful ways they can contribute to their community.
Charter schools are public schools that are tuition-free and funded by tax dollars. Charters must meet academic goals in order to have their charters upheld and re-approved. At Almond Acres Charter Academy (AACA), we have been chartered since 2010.
“AACA is a very unique school because they are so encouraging and passionate about everyone.” AACA student alumni
At AACA, our mission is to grow great kids. As our Executive Director
Bob Bourgault, or Mr. B as he is affectionately known by our students, says,
“Our kids are great. We need to grow them…to treat them with respect and dignity to become the very best version of themselves.”
Identifying How You’re Smart
Each AACA child has his or her own mind, their own way of thinking, and is smart in their own way. Almond Acres charter school enables every student (and faculty and staff member) to identify the ways they individually learn. We created our kite model; a visual, child-focused system to explore and explain how every individual is smart.
We ask the question, how are you smart, not how smart are you? We do this in three different ways: affirm, stretch, celebrate.
Affirm
We affirm how our AACA kids are smart and how they’re developing. We help them establish their strengths and their struggles. We give our students a sense of confidence that with both their strengths and their struggles — they can learn.
Stretch
We stretch our kids. By using their strengths to stretch into their struggling areas, we help our kids to be a better version of themselves, and to learn the things they need to learn.
Celebrate
We celebrate. We celebrate by high fiving. We celebrate by enjoying cake. We announce wins in our all-school morning meeting. We actively celebrate the awakening of creativity and its accompanying success.
It’s a simplistic way to think about educating children and even parenting them. Affirm first, then stretch and then — celebrate!
“Small classroom sizes offer a unique and individualized school day. The teacher really knows where the student is struggling.” AACA Parent
Moving to Paso Robles
Finding our new location and the space to create the facility of our dreams was no easy feat. Our tuition-free public charter school currently serves over 300 students in North SLO County. After the new site is built we will serve over 500.
“I’ve been a part of the AACA facility team for five years. We’ve been actively looking for a home that we can call our own in which we can grow and thrive as a school.” AACA Board President Samer Mohamed
A seven-year search for a property that met the school’s budget and safety requirements ensued. Our facilities team is now fully immersed in building and preparation for the fall 2021-2022 school year. Our state-of-the-art charter school will include indoor and outdoor play spaces, collapsible classroom walls to invite collaboration and shared learning, small meeting spaces for faculty to collaborate, and a combinable gym and atrium to hold large events. Our middle school will have science labs and a college-inspired academic library.
At Almond Acres Charter Academy we believe strongly that when we affirm, stretch and celebrate — we create kids that are intelligent, confident, successful, creative, happy, and caring. They become leaders in our charter school community — and throughout their lives.
About Almond Acres
Almond Acres is moving to Paso Robles. Almond Acres Charter Academy is a public, tuition-free K-8 school that employs credentialed teachers and administers state-mandated testing to provide families in northern SLO County an additional choice in public education. Open to all students in all communities, the school is currently located in San Miguel and moving to Paso Robles for the 2021-22 school year. AACA’s mission is to help students succeed academically and socially by educating the whole child: heart, mind, body and soul. We grow great kids!
North Coast Engineering recently featured the Almond Acres school construction project in Paso Robles on their blog.
February 10, 2021 – North Coast Engineering was selected to be part of the design-build team by Canyon Building and Design, LLC to prepare the Civil design for the Almond Acres Charter Academy project. The scope included:
Grading and drainage design that meets post construction stormwater control requirements from California’s RWQCB,
Utility design including a sewer lift station design
Frontage improvements including accessible curb ramp design
SWPPP development
NCE continues working on the project by assisting with construction administration and construction staking for the construction Contractor, Spurr Co.
Almond Acres Charter Academy is a tuition-free K-8, public school that has been known on the Central Coast since 2012. The school is currently located in San Miguel and is open to all students in all communities. The construction of the new campus takes place on Niblick Road just west of Creston Road. The 32,000 square foot building will serve to support Almond Acres’ unique educational experience and add more functionality to the learning environment.
Project-based learning is a dynamic approach to learning. It encourages students to learn by getting hands-on and exploring content in a more interactive way. Our Almond Acres students acquire deeper, more meaningful knowledge by actively exploring real-world situations and challenges.
Project-Based Learning (PBL) is a key component of our instructional program. We integrate PBS across all subject areas and in all grades whenever possible. Our PBL enriches student knowledge by utilizing themes, unit-based queries and a variety of hands-on methods. Our innovative PBL efforts also enhance community connections via field trips, guest speakers, and our highly rewarding service-based projects. Our project-based learning is always driven by a question.
Service and project-based learning is a creative outlet for our students that also encourages partnerships with our broader community. Last year we had 43 different
businesses, both for profit and nonprofit, work with our school! Here are a few examples:
Our kindergartners visit Annette Lodge, and learn how to listen to stories, and learn how to tell stories. Both generations tell stories and listen to stories. For our kinders, the PBL question here was, why are stories important?
Another class, our third graders, spent time caring for the beach as they sought to answer the question, how can I be a steward of the ocean? First they learned about the importance of waste — and what happens to it, how it can end up in our oceans. And they learned about caring for the wild animals who call the beach and oceans home. We were visited by experts from SLO County Integrated Waste Management Authority for this PBL experience.
Our third grade class displays their science project in the Paso Robles City Library
and in Studios in the Park. They are excited to showcase their artwork and also support and serve our community by providing a beautiful 3D mural to different locations in town.
Our eighth graders enjoy PBL in several different spaces. Previously, they focused on entrepreneurship. They took a tour around Paso Robles City Park and visited about a dozen different businesses. We asked what does it mean to be an entrepreneur,
and how do you start your own business? Our eight graders met with different businesses, and practiced being interviewed by each other, too. Says our Executive Director, Bob Bourgault, “It was a beautiful dialogue to help kids understand the power of inspiration; to start a business or engage in entrepreneurial efforts.”
This year, our eighth grade students visited the Allegretto Hotel to understand the wide array of art on display here. Our middle school class will create an art piece for our new school’s atrium, and this visit was the first step to answering the question, how does art live on?
For our fourth grade class the question was, what best tells the story of the California missions? Instead of just researching a mission project in a traditional method, our AACA students investigate an artifact from the mission. It might be a stone, or a bell, or a cross. It might be a gravestone or a well. Our students research and share what they’ve learned about this particular object that represents life in the California mission.
Project-based learning is meaningful. It involves making decisions, solving problems, and interacting in or with something or someone that’s real. It’s always engaging and provides a longer-lasting impact on the students. We love PBL at AACA!
About Almond Acres
Almond Acres is relocating to Paso Robles. Almond Acres Charter Academy is a public, tuition-free K-8 school that employs credentialed teachers and administers state-mandated testing to provide families in northern SLO County an additional choice in public education. Open to all students in all communities, the school is currently located in San Miguel and moving to Paso Robles for the 2021-22 school year. AACA’s mission is to help students succeed academically and socially by educating the whole child: heart, mind, body and soul. We grow great kids!
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