2013 August PASO Magazine

Could the California Youth Authority Site
Become a Charter School?
By Melissa Chavez
“What if...?”
Consider the number of cures and
groundbreaking discoveries that began with
“what if...?”
Several successful educators are asking
that very question. They are seriously
considering the former El Paso de Robles
Correctional Youth Facility as the perfect
location to establish the tentatively-named
Paso Robles Charter School & Youth
Center. The estimated 157-acre site is
located inside the city limits at 4545
Airport Road, just north of Highway
46-East.
Vision for a love of learning
Described as a collaborative learning
environment, Paso Robles Charter School
& Youth Center would offer a “hands-on,
diverse, relevant, dynamic and interactive”
curriculum. A primary goal is to ensure that
“students remain engaged and intrinsically
motivated to learn.” To help accomplish
this, the school would offer a program
with a variety of courses, including “discovery
learning camps, technology, the
arts, physical and character education, life
skills, service learning, and languages designed
to prepare students for educational
and internship opportunities.” After-school
programs would further enhance the daily
curriculum.
Among the co-founders are three longtime
area educators. Bob Bourgault is the
current Director/Principal of Almond Acres
Elementary Charter School in San Miguel
and past principal/educator at Liberty High
Continuation School in Paso Robles. Jim
Fotinakes is a past principal of Templeton
High School and co-founder of Almond
Acres Elementary Charter School, and Lyle
Porter, also a co-founder at Almond Acres,
is widely known as the founder of Mission
Prep High School in San Luis Obispo. Assisting
them are many supportive community
partners from all walks of life with career
experience in education, coaching and
business consultation.
Site use possibilities abound
When one considers the prohibitive costs
of new classroom construction, what already
exists is very attractive. A total of 44
structures on the level parcel includes classrooms,
offices, a main building with conference
rooms, two gymnasiums, swimming
and diving facilities, a theater, technology
buildings, sports fields and courts, a 200-
seat dining hall, kitchen and bakery, barbecue
and picnic areas, agricultural land, and
six single-family homes.
The site possibilities are wide-ranging
and would include a preschool, a charter
K-8th grade and charter high school,
after-school programs, language and arts,
tutoring and mentoring, trade-based
training and apprenticeships, a variety
of sports (including baseball, basketball,
volleyball, tennis, swimming, diving, and
track and field), onsite customer service
and entrepreneurial opportunities, an
Independent Study Support Network,
and an Autistic Center to service a growing
population of youths with very specific
needs.
Relevant, interactive and
hands-on learning
Classes in all grades would include a concentration
on English and Language Arts
(including cross-cultural immersion), an
emphasis on spelling, grammar and literary
arts, mathematics (tailored to learning style),
science classes (with seamless transferability
to/from other campuses), plus history and
social studies classes with an emphasis on
global issues. Visual and performing arts
curriculum would include multimedia, theater,
photography and video classes. Physical
education, nutrition classes and onsite
lunches would encourage children to eat
wholesome foods, not only for their physical
well-being, but also to enhance their
academic success.
12 Paso Robles Magazine, August 2013