| Challenger School | |
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| Scientia, Opus, Veritas (Knowledge, Work, Truth) |
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| Established | 1963 |
| School type | Independent |
| Founder | Barbara Baker |
| Location | San Jose, CA, Las Vegas, NV, Salt Lake City, UT, Boise, ID, United States |
| Campus | multiple, see article |
| Enrollment | approx. 10,000 systemwide |
| School colors | white, burgundy, black |
| Homepage | http://www.challengerschool.com |
Challenger School is a nonsectarian private school with 21 campuses located in Northern California, Nevada, Utah, and Idaho. Many Challenger schools have students from preschool through eighth grade.
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History
Challenger School was founded in November 1963 by Barbara B. Baker. She began a preschool program with six children in a small, remodeled house on Hamilton Avenue in San Jose, California. By the end of the second year, she had 100 children on a waiting list to get into the school, which only had room for 24 pupils. In 1966 she opened another, much larger school in Saratoga, California. In 1983 Challenger began offering elementary programs. Recently, Challenger has added new campuses in California, Nevada, Utah, and Idaho.[1]
School
Education
Challenger is widely known for a traditional-minded and in some ways accelerated curriculum. Reading instruction begins two years before kindergarten, employing a phonetic, rule-based approach. [2] The elementary and middle school curriculum consists of an accelerated course of various subjects, usually one or two years ahead of their public school system counterparts. Challenger promotes the American values of freedom, entrepreneurship, and democracy. Challenger teachers are carefully chosen for their abilities to think rationally and teach conceptually. [3]
Uniforms
Challenger has a strict uniform policy that applies to students in kindergarten through grade 8; preschool students are not required to wear uniforms. In the fall of 2006, they switched from using the Dennis brand uniform to ScholarWear, a company owned and operated by Challenger. Girls in kindergarten and grades 1-4 wear a jumper-like skirt and an oxford white shirt underneath with a sailor-like collar. Girls in grades 5-8 wear a skirt and an oxford shirt with the Challenger logo on it. Boys, of all grades, are required to wear belts, ties, and ScholarWear brand shirts, as well as pants (navy for K-4 and gray for grades 5-8). All students may choose to wear burgundy cardigan sweaters. On Thursdays and Fridays, students are allowed to wear optional items, such as slacks for girls. Jackets are permitted for outside wear only, and shorts may be worn from May through October. Casual dress days are limited.
Tuition
Tuition for the 2007-2008 school year, at San Francisco Bay Area campuses, is $10,781 for K-5 and $11,650 for grades 6-8. Challenger tuition is little more than half that of the average non-parochial private school in the San Francisco Bay Area. [4]
Comments about Challenger
written by quin.
Campuses
Twenty-one Challenger Schools are located in the San Francisco Bay, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and Boise areas.
California
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Idaho
Nevada |
Utah
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References
- ^ Challenger History. Challenger Schools. Retrieved on 2006-04-21.
- ^ Preschool Curriculum. Challenger Schools. Retrieved on 2006-04-21.
- ^ Elementary/Middle School Curriculum. Challenger Schools. Retrieved on 2006-04-21.
- ^ [1]
