Kinetic Academy is a public charter school located in Huntington Beach, California. The charter is authorized by the Huntington Beach City School District and serves students transitional kindergarten to 8th grade. It is this basic principal that guides the educational philosophy of Kinetic Academy. Chances are that you can remember some of the more involved projects that you did in elementary sch
ool. You are likely to recall the steps constructing a working volcano along with the ingredients to make just the right type of lava but you are less likely to remember the chapters you read about how volcanos form. We aim to implement a STEAM based curriculum via a Project Based Learning model. Though that volcano project could still be used here, the nature of the project or problem would change. Students may be given a scenario where they would have to design and construct the best building or bridge to withstand such a volcanic event. Research, discussion, teamwork, design, math, and reflective writing are all incorporated into a single, engaging project. Additionally we will offer enrichment in the form of foreign language, fine arts, physical education, and financial education. Community Service will be a requirement for every student with opportunities both outside the classroom and within using service based learning projects. Minds in motion and engaged in the subjects of science, technology, engineering, math, and arts because they are presented not as isolated subjects but instead as activities, projects, games and problems to be solved. These concepts of course exist today in small doses within our public schools but we aspire to anchor our program around them. In physics, the kinetic energy of an object is the energy that it possesses due to its motion. Applied here, we submit that Kinetic Academy’s energy is only beginning and that its journey, along with the students, teachers and community it serves will be in motion for years to come.
