November 2013
What is your school enrollment? Student-to-teacher ratio? Average class size? What resources does your school offer (i.e. library, computer lab, science hands-on lab, band instruments, school counselors, on-site nurse, etc.
School enrollment next year 220
Student to teacher ratio
Average class size
25:1
23
Resources:
-
Library
Choir
Hands-on Science
Computer Lab
-
Recorder
Water Color Painting
Pottery
-
Yoga
Garden and Gardening Classes
Regular field trips
-
School Counselors, Intervention Specialist, Speech, Movement, Waldorf Inspired Curative
Support
Mentoring
Tell us about your school’s safety protocols and campus security. How do you deal with disciplinary issues (including bullying)? How are food allergies addressed?
 Emergency and Safety Procedures align with those of OUSD
 See the Community School FAMILY HANDBOOK
(www.communityschoolforcreativeeducation) (pp.12-16) for
Emergency and Safety Procedures;
-
Health and Safety Plan;
Discipline Policy.

Food allergies are addressed to meet the need of the child in collaboration with teacher, principal, and cook.
Do you offer arts, music, and drama courses as a regular part of your curriculum? What sports do you have? What clubs and other extra-curricular activities are available? Are these fee-based or subsidized? Is Before and/or Aftercare available?
Arts:
The focus of this Waldorf inspired school is that all core content is brought through the arts.
Main lessons, the first block of the day, begin with “circle time” of singing, recitation, kinetic mental math and other movement exercises.
Story telling is a distinctive artistic way the school introduces and deepens core academic content.
Each class does weekly water color, gardening, handwork, a rotation of pottery, movement, and drawing, and an end of year play and more.

-
Extracurricular Activities:
In addition to the activities noted above…
Community School won a grant to launch its soccer program 2014-15.
Extracurricular, from field trips to choir, are free of charge.
After care is available every school day till 6pm at subsidized rate.
How do teachers communicate with parents? How does the school communicate with parents? How actively involved are the parents at your school in volunteering and/or fundraising?
How do Teachers Communicate with Parents:
Home visit by teacher once a year
-
Tuesday Envelope weekly
Grade level meetings on regular basis
Parent Teacher Conference at end of first and second marking period
One on ones, emails and phone calls as appropriate.
How does the School Communicate with Parents :
Internally, with Principal through:
Tuesday ‘Letter from Principal’ weekly
-
Back to school night once a year
Collaboration with School Site Council
Collaboration in various committees from Fundraising Committee to Outreach Committee
One on ones, emails and phone calls as appropriate.
Parent Involvement:

Philosophy:
Community School knows parents are our children’s first teacher.
-
Community School encourages parents to volunteer in their child’s classroom and across the school through committee work and through direct support to the child’s classroom.
Community School was founded by parents through Oakland Community Organizations
(OCO). OCO is a key Community School partner. In collaboration with OCO, the school’s focus is on parent collaboration and leadership development.

Internally, parents are involved in:
School Site Council
Classroom Reps
Fundraising Committee
Outreach Committee
Festival Committee…and more

Externally, parents are involved in:
Actions to strengthen education at the city, county and state level
Actions to strengthen our San Antonio community and wider Oakland.
How does the school meet the needs of those with learning challenges as well as those who are
GATE identified? What class electives do you offer? What is the school philosophy around testing and how does it affect the curriculum? What does 6 th grade orientation look like? How do you prepare the new students for their new school?
For Those with Learning Challenges and those Identified as GATE:
Waldorf Inspired Continuum of Care for All
Community School focuses on prevention rather than only intervention and on success for ALL, from far below and below proficient to advanced proficient. Community School employs the Response to
Intervention (RTI) method to carefully monitor and support children in their learning on an ongoing basis. In this way learning challenges are identified early and addressed.
Our Model:

Community School for Creative Education and Lincoln Child Center, with the support of
Friends of Waldorf Education, have invested in a break-the- mold comprehensive model,
Waldorf-Inspired Continuum of Care for All.
The model is designed to provide our students and their families with the highest quality academic, behavioral, social-emotional and multi sensory support.
Supporting those with Learning Challenges:
For years, Lincoln has partnered with families, communities and schools to provide innovative care at the most critical points of need. Lincoln is grounded in its commitment to provide a continuum of care ranging from early interventions to Special Education services.
For 100 years, around the world, Waldorf education – often referred to as therapeutic education for all -- has done the same. Friends of Waldorf Education has partnered with
UNESCO globally to do this work in areas where children suffer trauma and stress. Since
2012, this team has come to Oakland to support Community School and Lincoln Child Center to build the Waldorf Inspired Continuum of Care for All model.
Community School’s Waldorf Inspired Continuum of Care strengthens the school by:
aligning resources toward early intervention
supporting students before they fail
integrating academic and social/emotional and behavioral support services
Mental health professionals are part of the school staff so that the support is embedded and ongoing, with focus on prevention and intervention.
Challenging High Performers through GATE
The Continuum of Care engages all children. Community School has a GATE program through inclass differentiation and pull outs. The highly differentiated approach of our Waldorf inspired instruction allows GATE children to stay at their growing edge. Regular pull outs offer further support to accelerate. In reading and mathematics, GATE children have the opportunity to join a higher grade based on careful evaluation.
Electives
Grounded in Waldorf education, the class stays together in their experience of the rich curriculum rather than separating out through electives.
School’s Philosophy Around Testing
-
See Community School Mission and Reading North Start
(www.communityschoolforcreativeeducation.org) for detail on the role of ongoing assessment
FOR learning. The school’s RTI model of ongoing assessment ensured ongoing support.
-
Community School is working in partnership with the Stuart and Hewlett Foundations and
Bay Area Performance Based Assessment and Waldorf teacher educators to build developmentally appropriate assessments throughout the curriculum.
-
The school conducts benchmark assessments three times a year.
How does your education program educate the whole child? What type of student thrives at your school, and why? What students don’t and why? What are your greatest challenges and how are you addressing them? What is your school most proud of?
Community School for Creative Education is the country’s first urban tuition free multi cultural and equity focused Waldorf inspired school. As such, the program focus is on the whole child, head, heart and hand. The year, the semester, the month, week, and day are all structured by a rhythm to address all three, head, heart and hand.
The type of child that learns by playing, movement, doing and creating will be well served here.
A child that would need to sit at a desk and work from the board and through direct instruction only is less well served here.

Our greatest challenge is that of any school who places children at the center: it is to serve well the wide range of students who come to us. We are proud of the gains we have made in our first three years. We continue to grow and innovate to meet the needs of all the children we serve. Community
School is one of the most diverse schools in diverse Oakland. Parent participation is strong.
Children and adults learn to work together across a wide range of cultural and socio- economic backgrounds, with focus on the whole child. Academics and social emotional learning gains are in evidence.
We are proud to be an innovation site for other like Waldorf inspired urban charters.
We are proud of the students who are thriving and leading.
Come visit our school and see for yourself.
Let a rising 6 th Grader be your docent,
Meet with the Founding Director, Principal and other parents.
School Tours are weekly during the school year Tuesdays, 9am – 10am.
Contact: Ms Alejandra Baez (info@communityschoolforcreativeeducation.org/ 510 516 2723)