Pocatello Community Charter School

Posted October 13, 2008

I moved here from a state that did not have Charter Schools, so I was a bit skeptical to enroll my two children here. I am so impressed with PCCS. The expedionary teaching/learning model is perfect for my children. The kids interact and learn together by problem solving, rather than just being told or taught out of a text book. I love the CREW motto at PCCS! I also love all the outdoor activities that the school offers. My kids have gone on overnight backpacking adventures, skiing, snowboarding, snow shoeing, rock climbing. I can't say enough wonderful things about this school!
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Posted May 24, 2007

My daughter has been at Charter for 1 1/2 years. She'll be in 7th grade. The pros: A creative learning environment, a nurturing of critical thinking and communication skills. (speech festival yearly), parental involvement, great sense of community, small class size. Cons: The teachers create the curriculum so if you don't have an effective teacher the kids suffer. My daughter's experience in 5th grade was with an incredibly ineffective teacher. 6th grade was what I had hoped for. Math skills are the biggest concern. They do a lot of math related projects but I'm not sure if they get the repetition they need on basic skills. The school has gone through a lot of changes and they have improved a lot! There are actually a lot of extracurricular activities, (choir,math counts,drum corps,x-country) however no competitive sports for 7-8th grades. If you stay involved with your child this can be a great school!
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Posted January 22, 2007

My oldest has attended this school since it opened 8 years ago. While it was definitely a gamble at first and I was very nervous, it has turned out better than I ever expected. The educational program, quality of staff, and level of parent involvement is unsurpassed in any school I've seen. I really feel my children have not only been given a great education, but also have learned skills the could use to be productive citizens and leaders in the community as well. The true test is coming up with the transition to high school. The only weakness would be availability of sports programs at the middle school level, but that is not something that is very important to me and the outdoors-based adventure program based on Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound more than makes up for it. I wish I could have gone to a school like this.
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Posted August 2, 2006

This school is wonderful. There are many opportunities for children to learn based on hands on/real life learning. Students are expected to help each other succeed, which in turn teaches great life lessons. Each 'crew' or class is a combination of 2 grades. The curriculum is geared toward the older grade, with the more experienced students helping the less experienced. Thus reinforcing what they have learned and also helping to foster an environment of cooperation. The classroom size is relatively small and numerous opportunities abound for field work. Students are required to provide service to their community and develop an educational portfolio.
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