St. Augustine’s newest charter school, Treaty Oaks Preparatory Academy, is hosting a “Family Fun Day” on June 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Treaty Park located at 1595 Wildwood Drive.
The free event will spotlight Treaty Oaks Preparatory Academy’s sports and after-school programs along with games and activities, a photo booth and food trucks.
Brian Gifford, the school’s founding principal, said that he’s excited to meet the community and give the students a chance to meet each other and the staff as the school prepares to open in this fall at 1565 Brinkhoff Road, near Treaty Park.
“We offer something completely different than any other school in St. Johns County for students of all abilities, talents, and passions,” he said in a news release.
Treaty Oaks Preparatory Academy offers a village-model educational approach, which emphasizes collaboration and real-world learning. Learning is based on a stage, not age, approach. Students and teachers work together in large community groups, before convening in small-group breakout sessions where students learn at their own pace and work together on problem-solving and cooperative projects.
Classes are staged with sofas, standing desks, wobble boards and erasable white board desktops separated by modular walls. Treaty Oaks Preparatory Academy describes the data-driven education model as a way for students to “reach individual goals and achieve high academic, social and emotional success.”
“We offer something very unique with our village model, which allows us to provide an innovative learning environment where students can collaborate, be supported, and be challenged,” said Gifford. “Our Family Fun Day will give parents and students an opportunity to learn more about this model especially if their children are not thriving in a traditional classroom lecture setting.”
Treaty Oaks Preparatory Academy will initially serve kindergarten through sixth-grade students. Grades seven and eight will be added later.
Enrollment for Treaty Oaks Preparatory Academy is underway. For more information or to apply online, go to www.treatyoaksprep.org.
This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: Learn more about the new St. Augustine charter school, Treaty Oaks, at Family Fun Day June 7
Reporting by Lucia Viti, St. Augustine Record / St. Augustine Record
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