Victor Valley’s Options for Youth Helps Kids Find a Path That Works for Them
Sponsored by: Options for Youth
Call it a school for dreamers. Because at Options for Youth Charter School in Victor Valley, CA, dreaming isn’t just spending idle time – it’s hard work, creating a plan for life and then making it happen.
One of the country’s first accredited charter schools, this unique public school grew from the simple belief that every student can learn, given the right environment.
The multicampus school now has all kinds of learners, from all kinds of backgrounds, who are finding their own path to success.
“We have kids struggling in schools, but also kids who don’t want a large campus, and kids who want to graduate early and want to take classes at a faster pace,” says Stefanie Montoya, Propel outreach specialist with Options for Youth.
“We have students who are parents already, we have foster students, homeless students, juvenile justice students. We try to support students in any way we can.”
Students ages 12-19 may apply for open enrollment middle and high school programs any time throughout the school year, which runs year round. The school then works with the student to ascertain what goals, learning style – what dreams – the student has and then develops an individual learning plan to realize those goals.
Options for Youth separates areas of interest into six general paths: creative, health, nature, helping, business, and building and fixing. Students can be headed to a two- or four-year college or university, specialized vocational training or the workforce.
They may need to accommodate existing work schedule, family needs, transportation, disabilities and their personal preference for online study or small on-campus classes. One-on-one instruction and mentoring are an important part of the program.
The school emphasizes hands-on experiences to help students explore possible careers.
Volunteering at community events is a high school requirement. And special field trips, like a recent two-week working trip to Blackbird Farms in Colorado, are exciting options.
“We believe the more students are doing things in actual practice, the more successful they will be in seeing whether this is a field they might pursue,” Montoya concludes.
