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Charter

What is a charter school and where can I find Topanga Elementary's charter?

The school has a ten member Leadership Council which includes an equal number of teachers, staff and parent/community representatives. The leadership council is the school's decision-making body. Unlike a traditional school, as a charter, the leadership council is part of a shared governance structure where representatives of all stakeholders groups have a voice in making certain school decisions. Topanga Elementary Charter School is a part of the Palisades Charter Complex allowing children to continue enrollment in the Palisades Complex through grade twelve.

Other benefits of being a charter include, being able to offer an extended day kindergarten program (on a space available basis), having flexibility on hiring teachers and staff, flexibility in setting school schedule and allowing children from outside our geographic area to join our unique learning community (when space is available).

 

Preamble: June 16, 2005     

It is the expressed purpose of the Palisades Complex of schools to work together to plan and sustain comprehensive educational goals and complex-wide articulation that was originally established five years ago by our multi-campus, K-12 Charter. We are seeking renewal as a fiscally dependent Charter school. To that end, the eight campuses within the Palisades Complex will continue to coordinate their mutual concerns and efforts through the Palisades Coordinating Council. The issues of mutual concern include, but are not limited to:

  • The selection of a common calendar for the purpose of scheduling complex-wide staff development.
  • The planning and scheduling of specific events. Such events may include: Back-to-School Night, Open House, complex-wide performance-based events and professional development activities.
  • The central focus of our coordinated professional development will be to maintain an aligned standards-based curriculum and instruction program from Kindergarten through Twelfth grade.
  • To secure future resources and to reach out to community service groups, potential adopters and to establish partnerships.
  • To continue to identify and implement grants for the mutual benefit of all Complex schools.

The Palisades Complex schools will continue to serve the communities and families identified during our first five years of charter implementation. Qualified enrollment shall come from:

  • The traditional attendance areas of Canyon, Kenter Canyon, Marquez, Palisades Elementary, Topanga, Paul Revere Middle School, Temescal Canyon Continuation High School and Palisades High School.
  • Traveling students from the established sending schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District, with transportation, as long as it is available, provided by the District.
  • Space available accommodations shall be determined through the enrollment process already established among the Palisades Complex schools.

Finally, it is our intent to encourage all students entering the Complex at any level to continue enrollment through twelfth grade graduation. Upon graduation, all students will have access to any post-secondary experience of choice.

Charter

The charter itself is available by clicking the hyperlink below.

It is 93 pages long and available as an Adobe Acrobat file (.pdf). You will need Adobe Reader or similar software to open the file after it downloads. Most computers have this software pre-installed. If you do not, then please go to the Adobe Download page and follow their instructions for downloading and installing this software.

It is a large file and those with a slow internet connection may find it a lengthy download.

Click here to download the Topanga Elementary School Charter.

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