Feb. 21, 2014
T he C oast News
Educational Opportunities
Exciting new charter school enrolling now in North County SAN MARCOS —Taylion San Diego Academy announces the opening of its newest location in San Marcos, offering a variety of unique and customized classes for students in grades K-12. The school presents a program that’s online, at-home, or a blended program of both, for gifted and talented students who are looking for a more
academically, physically, and mentally,” said Taylion’s Academic Director Vicki McFarland. “Taylion’s philosophy is that all students can succeed if they truly learn to believe in themselves. Our philosophy is to inspire confidence in a child through our belief that we can make a significant impact with each child by
Taylion San Diego Academy provides students a unique, holistic learning environment that prepares them for the 21st century academically, physically, and mentally.”
Vicki McFarland Academic Director, Taylion San Diego Academy
challenging curriculum different from a tradi-tional class setting. The Taylion program is an option for students K-12, who find that a traditional school setting just isn’t a good fit for them, academically or otherwise (bullies, etc.). A large number of their student population is high school students. “Taylion San Diego Academy provides students a unique holistic learning environment that prepares them for the 21st century
empowering all students to better understand themselves as individuals.” Taylion offers three sep-arate learning environments for students: an online component, a home-school program, and a blended program that includes independent study and classroom options along with online components. School officials say the program offers individualized learning, a safe environment with less distraction, higher parent involvement, credit recovery,
credit acceleration, greater access to new educational resources, and unparalleled flexibility in utilizing various instructional delivery methods based on the particular student’s learning style. “We are thrilled to be opening a school here in San Diego, offering a blended learning solution which is state of the art, but we are also very proud of our independent study and home schooling options as well,” said Timothy A. Smith, president of the school’s parent company, Learning Matters Educational Group. “We feel that we are going to be able to serve our students in the San Diego area very well with highly qualified teachers —dynamic teachers that are going to be able to personalize instruction for each child.” Taylion belongs to a group of charter schools that began in Arizona in 1996. The San Marcos campus is located at 100 N. Rancho Santa Fe Rd. #119, San Marcos, CA 92069. For more information regarding enrollment and upcoming parent information sessions, call (855) 77-LEARN or (760) 2955564, or visit taylionsandiego.com.
Pacific Academy...
brings out individual leadership qualities Under new management since 2010, Pacific Academy in Encinitas has led the way in student-centered education. Here, students’ needs, goals and interests drive the curriculum and overall educational program — alongside research-based best practices. The result is on-going modifications that best meet diverse student populations, increased demands for college admission and changing career trends while maintaining an enjoyable and meaningful experience. Summed up by Principal Dr. Erika Sanchez, “Education includes the person and the world they live in — an experience that should be fun, engaging, relevant and fruitful. Our students actually look forward to coming to school.” Last fall, Principal Dr. Sanchez (Ph.D. UC Irvine) teamed up with newly appointed Director of Education Vikas Srivastava (M.Ed. Harvard) to integrate a school-wide culture of Mindfulness and Leadership in addition to revamping their college counseling and developing a weekly Life Skills workshop. Mindfulness is a secular practice that has been proven to increase focus, reduce stress and stabilize emotions in any situation. Vikas Srivastava has led
the effort through student seminars, teacher trainings and school-wide management. He is a long-time practitioner, founder of The Center for Mindful Education and experienced educator. Srivastava integrates school-wide Mindful based practices in policies, procedures and protocols that integrate communication, compassion and cooperation with students, staff and parents. “The hope is that the integration of Mindfulness throughout the school will serve as a model for students of the reality of structuring one’s family, business and community around these principles,” says Srivastava. In addition, PAE firmly believes in bringing out individual leadership qualities in every student for whatever their path in life may be. “Leadership is the foundation of good choices,” states Dr. Erika Sanchez, Principal of PAE, “it supports growth of all students in everything they do.” The Leadership program consists of the same multi-layered approach with staff and student training and modeling the principles in practice based on Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” While PAE believes personal development is necessary for success, col-
lege planning is equally emphasized to ensure a fulfilling lifestyle. “College counseling is meant to empower students to envision their future goals and map a plan to achieve them,” says Dr. Sanchez, “...a good college education doesn’t solve all our problems -- but it will maximize one’s professional options.” Dr. Sanchez meets with students in groups and individually to guide college planning, the application process and the final choice to best serve the student. The Life Skills workshops is led by staff and guest presenters every Friday and includes seminars in mindfulness, leadership and college/career planning; as well as, outdoor education and professional skills. Outdoor education includes trips to state parks and reserves to hike, paint, research ecology and learn history. Professional skills includes communication, organization, technology and etiquette. Vikas Srivastava will be presenting “The Mindful School Project” at UCSD Mindfulness Conference the weekend of February 7th. Nancy Stern will lead a free 90 minute parenting workshop on “Effective Communication” Feb. 22 at 10:30 a.m.
B7