The Sidney Gutierrez School’s charter is predicated on the well-researched notion that small class sizes and small schools can develop community, which facilitates authentic and personalized learning.  In small schools and classes, students can have a significant impact on each other, the school and their own leadership abilities.  In this environment, the School is able to focus on the following essential questions:

• What learning opportunities will our students need to participate in order to lead the information-based society of the present and their future?
• What skills and abilities will our students need to enhance in order to participate in and lead the communities in which they live?
• What social and intellectual foundations will our students need to guide their own lives and careers?

The School continues to recognize the following components as essential in achieving high student’s success:

• Standards-based Learning – School-wide implementation of state and national content and performance standards combined with empirically-based curriculum, quality instruction, authentic assessment and meaningful evaluations;
• Student Support – High expectations for student learning and behavior; caring and respectful learning and working relationships; and safe, healthy, and supportive physical learning environments; and
• Responsiveness of System – Responsiveness to customers (students, parents and community stakeholders); genuine engagement and collaboration with the local authorizer, state and federal education agencies and the like.