Balboa City School syllabi meet and exceed the California Framework for educational achievement. Seminar style classes of 8-12 students enable each student to learn how to dialogue and explore intellectual areas they have not been able to access previously. BCS also specializes in bringing students up to grade level if they have fallen behind in previous programs. Three years academic progress in 11-12 months is not uncommon when children have previously been failing in larger classrooms. It is expected that all students will learn to work at or above grade level with regard to academic content in most classes.
BCS subscribes to the California Framework with regard to academic rigor and is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges as a college preparatory primary and secondary school. For the last six years BCS has obtained approval for its syllabi from the University of California and has been sending students to University of California colleges.
At Balboa City School we emphasize both a traditional curriculum and character education. Visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning experiences are placed on a par with pedagogical demands. We have an Artist/Visual Consultant who collaborates with teachers and members of the community to design curriculum enrichment that teaches conversational skills and vocabulary acquisition with English, history and science. Through these experiences our students build links between their own learning and the broader world. In addition to core academic classes, we offer a dynamic collection of elective classes designed to broaden students’ knowledge of music, art, writing, nutrition, and physical fitness. We utilize computers and the Internet in every classroom as a tool to acquire computer and information literacy.
In addition to the educational curriculum, upper division student participate in the BCS work ability program. This program provides career assessments, pre-employment training, job placement assistance and vocational support and guidance and internships within the San Diego business community. This program is funded in large part through a “Workability I” grant provided by the California Department of Education.
Upper division students also participate in PEAK, an outdoor leadership program that uses the natural environment as a classroom. The PEAK curriculum is designed to teach teamwork, cooperative goal setting, self-esteem, environmental awareness and natural science. Camping trips and day trips are scheduled throughout the year.
Lower division students enjoy the benefit of our state of the art Motor Lab facility on a daily basis and have the opportunity to play sports at Balboa Park, which is located just across the street from our school. The park, zoo and museums offer a large range of resources and are an important part of our curriculum. Homework is assigned Monday through Thursday of each week and is comprised of independent practice of previously learned skills. Our student/teacher ratio in the lower division is approximately 1:8. Immediate feedback and positive reinforcement, which includes a Student Store, helps our students build self-esteem and feel successful in the academic setting.
All BCS students are assessed yearly with a variety of standardized test to ensure that instruction is appropriate and they are making acceptable academic gains.