Navigating a Digital World

by | Feb 28, 2022 | Blog, School Culture, Technology

Today’s parents are raising children in a world very different from the one in which they were raised. Our kids are increasingly connected via the internet and rely on technology for a large portion of their learning from smart tech to computers. And it’s no secret that despite the convenience of connection at our fingertips, technology and social media can have a big impact on our children’s development. 

Almond Acres is acutely aware of the challenges parents face in raising children to be well-rounded, secure, and confident adults. You are tasked with helping kids balance time spent online with time outdoors; with using tech to your advantage or taking a break for mental health. You are working hard to navigate the ever-changing relationship between kids and technology. 

Almond Acres wants to reduce the stress of technology on kids and families today. The best way we know to do this is through education and helping students make informed choices. Our comprehensive mission to grow good digital citizens is effective and visible: our middle school teachers and families report fewer instances of social media drama or bullying. 

The absence of online drama translates into confident, engaged, more content middle school students. Early education works and we are proud of our efforts. 

Our Mission

More than ever, we know that parents can’t do it alone.  That’s why being a good digital citizen is built into our curriculum. It’s our value. We’ve even written it into our mission statement:  

Almond Acres Charter Academy will promote and model positive uses of digital spaces in every classroom. We will build a culture of digital health across our school by incorporating character building into our digital citizenship instruction. 

We realize that our children will be shaping the world of tomorrow through their online identity

and digital footprint. It is our job as educators and parents to make sure they are prepared to share their voice with confidence and without regrets. 

We will ensure this happens by demonstrating the value of technology in enhancing achievement, improving students’ attitudes about themselves, and promoting the value of citizenship in the 21st-century digital world.

How We Do It

Starting in kindergarten, we begin talking about how to use technology responsibly and respectfully. Young students are exposed to different types of media and are guided as they explore the World Wide Web.  

Digital footprint is a phrase our students know well. From an early age, we teach that what we do online is an extension of ourselves that is very difficult to erase. We believe in always acting with integrity online. 

Throughout the elementary years, students are introduced to the concepts of online privacy and media literacy. We talk about navigating media and news outlets and how to evaluate a source for trustworthiness.

Our commitment to the whole child means that we weave decision making and social emotional skills into everything we do. Strong character is essential to support students as compassionate leaders among their peers.

AACA middle school students on field trip to Camp Roberts Historical Museum

Tech & the Middle School Years

Teens and tweens, with their rapidly growing brains, are in a particularly vulnerable place when it comes to technology use. Middle schoolers are making sense of the world around themselves and developing an identity among their peers. And they are very savvy tech users—and have probably surpassed their parents’ understanding! 

The power couple of digital citizenship and social emotional learning, has shown to improve academic performance and decrease conflict between students. Almond Acres students gain leadership skills and develop empathy so they can be a shining example of positive social media use. 

Almond Acres middle school students are invested members of our community. They know they are held accountable for their actions while also given the space to stretch into themselves. Our well-rounded curriculum and engaging environment provide a safe, supported place for middle schoolers to navigate the world.  

As always, our students know that they can talk to us about anything they see on-line.  We have zero tolerance for bullying and we encourage students to stand up for their peers and friends to report social media abuse when they see it. We are here to help students solve problems and care for each other.  

Common Sense Certified School

Almond Acres is proud to be a Common Sense Certified School. Teachers incorporate digital citizenship lessons into classes each year that are age appropriate and designed to build upon each other as students age up. By the time students reach 8th grade, they have had the opportunity to develop lifelong habits.

Our time-tested and well-balanced approach to learning means our students have the opportunity to develop in all ways—heart, mind, body and soul.  We create balance through exposure to arts and sciences, athletics and our Habits of Mind program, preparing students to enter the digital world with a little prudence. 

For 10 years, Almond Acres has partnered with K-8 families to help children navigate a digital world. We are proud of our outcomes and think you will be, too. Enroll today to get started for Fall 2022.  

About AACA

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. Located in Paso Robles in a newly built, state-of-the-art facility, AACA is open to all students from all communities. 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! 

Technology: Love it or Leave It?

by | Apr 7, 2021 | Blog, Philosophy, Technology

Feelings about technology are complex right now. 2020 changed our perspectives and our reality in so many ways. Technology is one such reality shift. As it pertains to our Almond Acres K-8 students, we use technology as a means for exploration, for research, and for responsibility. 

All AACA middle school students, grades 6-8, enjoy their own personal laptop, or school provided Chromebook, and the responsibility that comes along with it. Our youngest K-5 students enjoy iPads or Chromebooks and are experienced using them in class and with online learning. Some Almond Acres students are members of our AHA! — Almond Acres At-Home Academy. They’re using technology in many ways, everyday. Chromebooks are used across all curriculum areas. We, as a faculty team, use Google Classroom to manage school work.

women with three children wearing unmatched socks

We want to minimize the use of technology, because we heartily desire kids talking to each other…and to us, their adults.  We want our K-8 students reading books. We like to see our kids working and playing outside. We also enjoy our students building things with their hands.  We hope our students carve out time and employ space for creativity, for recreation, for thinking. Our students deserve unstructured downtime, as an end result in and of itself.  

So we’ll use technology as is appropriate and effective for teaching and learning, and we’re champions of getting kids doing things outside and off of screens, too. Our digital mission statement sums up and truly captures our thinking: 

Almond Acres Charter Academy will promote and model positive uses of digital spaces in every classroom. We will build a culture of digital health across our school by incorporating character building into our digital citizenship instruction.  

We realize that our children will be shaping the world of tomorrow through their online identity and digital footprint. It is our job as educators and parents to make sure they are prepared to share their voice with confidence and without regrets. 

We will ensure this happens by demonstrating the value of technology in enhancing achievement, improving students’ attitudes about themselves, and promoting the value of citizenship in the 21st century digital world.

boy working on laptop

We’re a Common Sense School

From the Common Sense Schools website, “Earning the Common Sense School badge is a symbol of a school’s dedication to helping students think critically and use technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate.”

Cory Houdyshell, Second Grade Teacher at Almond Acres, spearheads our Common Sense School initiative. He says:

“Being a digital citizen starts in kindergarten here at AACA. It is all about using technology responsibly and respectfully. This is especially important in the younger grades as our students begin to be exposed to different types of media and start to explore the world wide web. 

The earlier students can be taught about their “digital footprint” the safer they will be as they create their online identity. Common Sense Media’s “citizenship” lessons scaffold up each year with repetition of key concepts and core ideas. The grade level appropriate structure to these “digital citizenship” lessons will lead to lifelong habits by the time our students reach 8th grade.” 

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!