Grove High School

THE GROVE SCHOOL IS A CALIFORNIA PUBLIC MONTESSORI CHARTER SCHOOL SERVING GRADES 7-12.

GROVE HIGH SCHOOL (GROVE) IS A PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL WITH A MONTESSORI-BASED TEACHING PHILOSOPHY SERVING 105 STUDENTS IN GRADES 10-12 ON ITS HIGH SCHOOL CAMPUS. GROVE HAS HISTORICALLY SCORED HIGHEST ON STATE STANDARDIZED TESTING OF THE FIVE PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS IN REDLANDS. MOST GROVE STUDENTS SCORE AT OR ABOVE STATEWIDE AVERAGES ON CALIFORNIA STATE STANDARDS TESTS. MONTESSORI EDUCATION IS EXPERIENTIAL AND FOCUSES ON TEACHING THE WHOLE PERSON, WITH A LOT OF CROSS-CURRICULAR INSTRUCTION, AND FITS THE COMMON CORE MODEL. EMPHASIS IS PLACED ON REAL-WORLD APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND ON ENABLING STUDENTS TO ADAPT THE PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS LEARNED IN THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT TO SITUATIONS IN THE LARGER COMMUNITY. GROVE HIGH SCHOOL ENCOURAGES EACH STUDENT TO COMPLETE 30 HOURS OF COMMUNITY SERVICE AND 40 HOURS OF INTERNSHIP EACH YEAR TO FURTHER SUPPORT THEIR CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE. GROVE HAS 15.75 FULL-TIME TEACHERS AND AN AVERAGE CLASS SIZE OF 16 BETWEEN THE TWO CAMPUSES. IN ADDITION, IN 2021-22, GROVE EMPLOYED 4 PARAPROFESSIONALS TO SUPPORT SPECIAL NEEDS AND LOW-PERFORMING STUDENTS IN THEIR DISTANCE LEARNING. IN 2004, GROVE ADDED A MIDDLE SCHOOL LOCATED ON A 9-1/2 ACRE FARM. THE MIDDLE SCHOOL SERVES 130 STUDENTS IN GRADES 7-9. THE FARM COMPONENT EMBODIES MARIA MONTESSORI'S BELIEF THAT CHILDREN NEED TO BE OUTDOORS AND CLOSE TO THE LAND, TO OBSERVE NATURE AND TO UNDERSTAND THE ORIGINS OF AND LEARN RESPECT FOR THE FOOD THEY EAT, AND TO TAKE CARE OF SOMETHING THAT IS EXTERNAL TO THEMSELVES. GROVE'S FARM ALLOWS STUDENTS TO RAISE AND CARE FOR GOATS, PIGS, AND CHICKENS, AND STUDENTS GROW FRUIT, FLOWERS, AND VEGETABLES IN THE GARDEN, GREENHOUSE, AND FIELDS YEAR-ROUND. THE AGRICULTURE ELECTIVES PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH AN OPPORTUNITY TO RAISE ANIMALS AND TO EXPERIMENT WITH DIFFERENT PLANTS WHILE LEARNING ABOUT AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE. THE NURSERY PROGRAM WAS STARTED IN LATE 2019-20 THE FARM IS ALSO A SCIENCE LAB AND IS INTEGRATED INTO ART, HUMANITIES AND MATH CLASSES, AND PROVIDES A SPACE FOR WOODSHOP TRAINING. THE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS, LIKE THEIR HIGH SCHOOL COUNTERPARTS, ARE ENCOURAGED TO PERFORM 30 HOURS OF COMMUNITY SERVICE AND 40 HOURS OF INTERNSHIP EACH YEAR TO PROVIDE EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING AND TO REINFORCE THE IDEA THAT BOTH THEY AND THE SCHOOL ARE A PART OF THE GREATER COMMUNITY.