IDEA Center High School

1. IDEA is a Project Based Learning (PBL) school. PBL courses center on students collaborating on a group project. Part of the course assessment is the students’ overall collaboration with their groups and participation in a “showcase” at the end of the quarter and/or semester. The showcase is an evening where all students will verbally present their learning from their PBL courses to the Maverick Community. For some classes this can be a sizable part of the students’ final grade.

2. The school operates on a 4 X 4 quarter system. This means that students can have 4 classes per day and 4 quarters in a school year. Each quarter is approximately 9 weeks long. On a normal school day, classes are 95 minutes each with lunch between periods 2 and 3. Since we are on a quarter system, students may only need to take 3 of the 4 periods offered each day. In a quarter class, we cover in 18 weeks what a traditional school site does in 36 weeks. Therefore, our students can potentially take up to 20 more credits each year than a traditional school site.

3. Students will be issued a chrome book computer to use during their time at IDEA and families may opt to get insurance on it as well. Chrome books will be used during most school days. At IDEA we try to train our students to be good digital citizens and also responsible users of all technology.

4. Teachers use each 95 minute period to instruct, support, and advise students in preparation for projects, and ongoing demonstrations of learning.

5. Our periods 1 and 4 MAY operate on a A/B format depending on the course taken. If a class is on an A/B schedule, that class will share the period time with another class, but meet on different days. These classes will meet like this for a FULL CALENDAR YEAR and they are NOT on the quarter system. For example, Math and Spanish both meet period 1. Math meets Mondays, and Thursdays during period 1, Spanish meets Tuesday and Fridays also during period 1. Each Wednesday is a collaboration day, and each week students will switch between having Spanish period 1 one week and math period 1 the next week. This will happen for all 36 weeks of the school year.

6. We have several different bell schedules that we will use throughout the year to enhance academics, student social-emotional needs, state testing, and WASC.

7. Juniors and seniors will normally take two core classes, a Career Technical Education (CTE) Class, and an elective class each quarter. Freshmen and sophomores will focus on their core classes and a variety of electives.

1600 N. Cuyamaca Street

El Cajon, CA 92020

(619) 956-4332

(619) 258-3753

ideacenter@guhsd.net

Grossmont Union High School District programs and activities shall be free from discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying based on age, gender, sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, nationality, ethnic group identification, ethnicity, marital or parental status, physical or mental disability, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation or the perception of one or more of such characteristics. (GUHSD Board Policy 5145.3)
4119.26 BP Employee/Student Interaction Policy
Additional non-discrimination and related policies

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