SCHOOL PROFILE
Vero school charts
worLdly study course
ED DRONDOSKI
Science instructor Terry Linley teaches an earth-space science course as part of the IRCHS integrated curriculum, focused on a different era each semester.
Challenging curriculum encourages students
54
to map out productive futures
Learning at Indian River Charter High School crosses
boundaries — traditional classroom walls. They disappear
as departments come together to embrace a
shared concept each semester: a different time in the
history of the world. Eight eras span the students’ four years
of study: Ancient World, Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque,
Classical, Romantic, Modernism and Post Modernism. By
the time a student ends his high school career, he has been
immersed in all eight.
The bottom line is to develop well-rounded graduates able
to live “productive, full and satisfying” lives, according to the
school’s mission statement. IRCHS was founded in 1998 as a
small, public, non-traditional high school, with an emphasis
on character development, academic achievement, career
preparation, and cultural awareness. IRCHS is a charter
school, meaning it operates under the Indian River County
School District but has a curriculum and administrative structure
that is independent of the district. The school is funded
by the school district and students do not pay tuition. The
campus is in a complex of buildings on the Indian River State
>>
BY WILLI MILLER
Trends In Education