The School's History

Founded by a group of dedicated parents and community members, Willow Creek Academy is a public charter school. Willow Creek received its first Charter from the Sausalito Marin City School District in the spring of 2001 and opened its doors in September, 2001.   Three years later, the Charter was renewed for five years.  In 2008, we will begin work on preparation of our next five year Charter Document.   As a public school, Willow Creek Academy follows all the rules and regulations of any public school.  The School employs credentialed teachers, offers special education services where indicated, and does not charge any kind of tuition or fees for attendance.  Enrollment is open to any California resident, providing they are willing to support the school's expectations as enumerated in the Parent Contract which every family must sign, and providing that there is room in the grade level for which a student is applying.

 

The school founders wanted to create an atmosphere of choice within the District, and Willow Creek was created with a flavor of Montessori philosophy combined with the belief that inquiry driven, project based learning would provide District residents, as well as out of District families, an opportunity to participate in their children's education.  As a Charter School, Willow Creek welcomes families from anywhere in California and, while the majority of its students live in the Sausalito Marin City School District or other communities in Marin County, students have come from as far as Fairfield and Vallejo because parents found the school to be a good fit for their child.

 

Starting with 37 students in grades kindergarten through fourth grade in September, 2001, Willow Creek grew through the next years to a population of 150 students by 2006-07 in grades kindergarten through eight.  The first eighth grade class graduated in June, 2006.   Those students are now having successful experiences in a variety of public, independent and parochial high school settings.   

 

Several features distinguish Willow Creek from a traditional District experience:

 

• Parent involvement is a condition of enrollment.  Families sign a contract guaranteeing to provide a minimum of 50 hours per school year in volunteer time to the School.  This support can be manifest in a variety of ways from working in the classroom to driving on field trips to assisting at fund raising events.

 

• Because a Charter School's population is drawn from beyond District borders, Willow Creek is the beneficiary of an extraordinarily diverse student body.  There is no significant majority of any specific socio-economic group.  As a result, students of a variety of backgrounds and beliefs learn to work together and support each other. 

 

• As a new school (2007-08 is its seventh year) and a small school, parents, students and staff have a strong voice in the direction the school will follow.  Working with the Willow Creek Board of Directors (in addition to being a public school, Willow Creek is also a 501c(3) non profit organization), parents and staff, and sometimes students, are able to shape the school in the image that the community desires.  Rarely does one have this opportunity in public education.

 

Willow Creek's community (parents, staff and Board) have been able to balance creativity and accountability as demonstrated in its many community oriented projects, support of individual students, and ever increasing standardized test scores for both the entire school and individual groups of students.