"We are a private school with a public mission. This means we treat parents as partners, teachers as leaders, and students as individuals. We aim to be a model for what schools can be, both in terms of engagement with the broader community and in cultivating professionalism in the education field."
These are some questions that were asked during the creation of CLC:
- Can curiosity survive an education?
- Is it possible to have both high standards and choices for students?
- Can education be engaging and fun while still being meaningful and lasting?
- What if schools embraced teachers as leaders and parents as partners?
- What might be possible if a school focused on the whole child — mind, body, & spirit — first and foremost.
Service learning is an important part of the CLC curriculum. regular field trips are scheduled such as planting Long Leaf Pines, protesting at the capital for the lake Jackson Ecopassages or bills related to solar energy rebates. They also are the first school in Leon County to have solar panels.
Science is taught through gardening until middle school. The maximum class size is 18/22 students per grade.
After 12 years, CLC is now an accredited award-winning school where students can be found engaged in active learning, service learning projects and academics that apply basic skills in novel contexts. Teachers enjoy the support and professional respect of the administration, and parents take on a number of leadership roles within the school. The result is a school of the people, by the people, for the students.
