Our School Philosophy

We believe that all children can excel at learning and that academic distinction can be achieved through inspired leadership and collaborative efforts that heavily involve the student’s interests and natural curiosities.  We create a “whole learning environment” where students not only learn academically but are nurtured and respected as individual members of a community.  In keeping with the high quality education standards of the Hillsboro School District, City View Charter School is dedicated to offering all families in our community an alternative school option that will address students with diverse backgrounds, abilities, learning styles and needs.

Our School Vision

Our school vision is to create a dynamic community-based school that:

• Treats all students as gifted and talented
• Embraces and encourages diversity in our school
• Builds, supports and values parental involvement
• Draws on our local and global community’s extensive resources
• Is dedicated to preserving student-centered learning
• Provides a safe, nurturing, and “whole learning environment” where students can take risks and achieve high levels of learning

Our Academic Program

City View Charter will teach students using the Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound approach.  The Expeditionary Learning component of Outward Bound USA was created in 1993 as a “break the mold” school design and is currently implemented in over 145 urban and rural schools throughout the country, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.  The program emphasizes learning by doing, with a particular focus on teamwork and literacy.

City View Charter students are encouraged to be active learners and are provided the support and guidance to challenge themselves and achieve higher levels of learning.  Lessons are taught across subject disciplines, through project-based curriculums called “learning expeditions”.  Students conduct sustained, in-depth investigations of a topic that lead to authentic projects, fieldwork, and service.  Expeditions bring experts into the classroom and take students out into the community to conduct research and fieldwork – providing authentic learning experiences both inside and outside of the school.  All curriculum and learning expeditions’ designs are directly aligned to the Oregon State Standards.  Character development and self-esteem building is inherent to our entire program, most notably when the student’s final products are taken back out into the community and seen as valuable in a larger context.  In addition to the standardized testing and benchmarking required by the district and the Oregon Statewide Assessment System (OSAS), student progress is regularly assessed using rubrics and project goals, student work portfolios, passages and exhibits.

Governance

Although the school is chartered through the Hillsboro School District and is a part of the public school system, we are not a district school.  Our school governance board is responsible for aligning the school visionary goals with functionality and accountability.  The school administrators are responsible for all of the school operations and are charged with maintaining overall accountability to all of the stakeholders of the charter school.

Family and Community Involvement

Parents play a significant role in the school. Families are encouraged to commit to developing a strong school culture of support and involvement.

We endeavor to create a parent network that is empowered to take active roles in parent -led committees, auxiliary and enrichment programs, classroom and teacher specific needs, and school-wide development.  Parents and other community members are recruited to serve as guest experts, attend exhibitions of student work, and serve on portfolio panels.

Enrollment

As a public charter school, we will enroll students on a basis of available openings in each grade without preference of race, gender, socio-economic standing, or student ability. City View provides a “whole learning environment” that addresses the needs of average students, high-end learners, low-achieving students, English language learners and students with special education needs.  The combination of a reasonable student/teacher ratio, cooperative learning groups, diversity of experience and expertise within the teaching staff, and the use of expeditions as the focus of teaching and learning will enable the school to address the needs of each student within an integrated classroom.

Need

The City of Hillsboro is a diverse and developing community that attracts a wide variety of people.  The city has an established concentration of high tech businesses, expanding state of the art medical facilities, and agricultural industry.  These industries together with a strong cadre of local businesses create a spectrum of cultural and economic diversity within our community.  The Hillsboro School District is the 4th largest district in the state, encompassing areas in West Portland, North Plains, Cornelius, Aloha and Sherwood.  City View Charter School provides a “public school of choice” for families that are seeking an alternative option for their children’s education.