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School Profile
ACADEMIC VOCATIONAL CHARTER INSTITUTE, Watsonville, CA
The Academic Vocational Charter Institute (AVCI) is located in Watsonville, California, just south of Santa Cruz and approximately an hour south of the San Francisco Bay area. The school was chartered by the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, and opened in 1999. It currently enrolls about 45 students in grades 11 and 12. AVCI's founders envisoned it as an alternative to traditional high school education that would offer a small and intimate learning environment with individualized attention designed to prepare students for a career and higher education following graduation. AVCI's lead administrator notes that the school was formed primarily as a response to students who were "slipping through the cracks" at two overcrowded traditional high schools in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District. A teacher adds that the school was designed to address "…the need for a school that would help at-risk students by giving them an applied, hands-on learning experience."
The core philosophy of AVCI is the belief that every student learns differently and should have access to the individual attention he or she deserves. As the school's lead administrator notes, "Our goal is to provide an education that will make the students more prepared for life after high school [by using] hands-on activities [and an] integrated curriculum." The focus at the Institute, according to its Web site (http://www.avci.pvusd.net),
is "to prepare students for a career and higher education following
graduation. "The workload is different than the traditional high
school, as the website notes, in that "…most students will
have jobs and learn vocational skills in addition to completing academic
requirements for a diploma. Students are expected to attend school every
day (much like a real job), complete school and job assignments and
behave in a responsible manner. In some areas of study, students spend
class time working with a local employer to gain hands-on experience."
INVOLVED GROUPS AND DECISIONMAKERS Groups that were prominently involved in the planning and development
phases of AVCI included educators, business/industry/trade nonprofit
employers, parents, and community advocates. These same four groups
of stakeholders, in addition to students, are also described as prominent
decisionmakers in terms of the school's policies, organizational mission,
and direction. Those that have been involved most closely with issues
of curriculum and instruction include the principal/director, teachers
and other school staff, and elected officials or staff of governmental
agencies. AVCI's governing board is characterized by the school's lead administrator as being "influential in all matters and issues including curriculum and instruction." Employers and parents play a wide variety of roles, ranging from governance to curriculum planning and development and providers of learning opportunities outside the school. AVCI also has a number of organizations with which it has partnerships of various kinds, including the SPOT (computers), Granite Construction, and EAA Chapter 119.
AVCI's curriculum is designed around three vocational fields in which
students receive a recognized vocational certificate: Aeronautics,
Business and Technology, and Culinary Arts. In the Business and Technology
program, students learn a variety of skills including specialized graphic
design and Internet publishing. In Culinary Arts, students master skills
such as menu design, meal preparation, and food safety, and have access
to further learning opportunities through the school's network of partners,
which includes the Sesnon House Cabrillo College, the California Culinary
Academy in San Francisco, and the Mission College Culinary program in
Santa Clara. The curriculum is described by the school's lead administrator as being
"more integrated with fewer class offerings," and is organized
around themes, topics or problems for a specific grade level or age
group. AVCI's Web site notes that "…The curriculum is designed
to be interactive, meaning that teachers are flexible enough to jump
from topic to topic depending on the interests of the class. Students
learn in our classrooms by asking questions that flow from their own
natural curiosity for the subject…They learn what skills and education
are required to be successful in that field, participate in internships
and develop strategic goals for higher education. Our students begin
their college studies with the end in mind, knowing exactly what they
need to study to break into the career they want." The AVCI curriculum is described as being stated and defined "somewhat precisely" for teachers, and has not changed significantly since the school's opening. In terms of goals emanating from the curriculum, it is described as "very important" that students both (a) are prepared for a particular career, career cluster or occupational cluster, and (b) understand links between academic subjects and adult life in the real world. Instructional methods at AVCI are described as "somewhat different" from those used in a traditional high school, with the most notable difference being "more individualized instruction career focus." Providing students with real-world learning opportunities is described
as a "strong emphasis" of the curriculum and organization
at AVCI, and administrators state that nearly all enrolled students
(75-99%) experience such opportunities. Specific forms that these real-world
practices take at AVCI include the following:
AVCI's lead administrator notes that the school has faced a number
of challenges, and has employed a variety of responses to meet these
challenges:
Academic Vocational Charter Institute Tel: (831) 786-2100
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