Healdsburg Unified school district Project based learning

Healdsburg Charter School (HCS) opened in August 2011, after extensive visioning and community involvement, and has become a thriving school with a waiting list at each grade level. The school is housed at two sites, with K-2 students at Healdsburg Elementary School and grades 3-5 at Fitch Mountain Campus.
At Healdsburg Charter School, our program is focused on Project-Based Learning (PBL) where students work collaboratively to explore real-world problems and challenges while developing grade-level skills.
The vision of HCS is to prepare children to thrive in a complex and culturally diverse world, to learn how to think critically and creatively, and to work both independently and collaboratively. Project-Based Learning (PBL) is an active and engaging teaching method in which students gain knowledge by investigating and responding to an essential question, problem or challenge.
Each project has an open-ended question and is focused on teaching the students important knowledge, skills and 21st Century competencies, such as problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity/innovation. During this in depth inquiry, students use technological resources, go on field study trips, research and work on developing answers to a driving question.
A good example of PBL is our current fifth grade project focused on the Westward Expansion. The classes have been split into four groups, reprersenting explorers with the Lewis and Clark Expedition, businessmen building the Transcontinental Railroad, Cherokee on the Trail of Tears and settlers on the Oregon Trail.
Through weekly challenge questions, primary source documents and research, they are developing a deep understanding of the many difficulties individuals faced on these journeys. PBL projects allow our students to immerse themselves in their learning and bring context to the reading and writing embedded throughout the rest of their day.
Furthermore, it allows them to feel fully involved on a personal level. As they work through the weekly challenges, they discuss issues with their group, conduct research to find various solutions and then collaborate to solve problems on better solutions.
Not only has this experience helped the students understand the events of the past, but it has also given them a platform to understand how to succeed in the face of vast challenges – a skill they will certainly take with them as they move to junior high next year, and beyond.
At HCS, parents and staff work together to fulfill the schools’ outcomes, including providing an environment that fosters a love of learning, as well as rigorous academic standards for student achievement. Through real world experiences, instruction in a second language, the integration of the arts, technology and science across the curriculum and the development of the whole child, the community is committed to developing students who embody creativity, curiosity and joy.
Stephanie Feith (Healdsburg Elementary campus) and Amber Stringfellow (Fitch Mountain campus) are the Healdsburg Charter School principals.