About Us
TK - 8th Grade
Our school is TUITION FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
The Barona Indian Charter School (BICS) is a publicly funded K-8 charter school located on the Barona Indian Reservation. Established in 2002, the BICS continues to serve the Native-American student population as well as students from the surrounding communities of Lakeside, El Cajon, Poway, San Diego Country Estates, Ramona, and Santee.
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The BICS curriculum is based upon the State of California Academic Content Standards, and participates in all state-mandated testing. Our academic focus is Continuous Learning; Continuous Progress. Students are engaged in active goal setting and personally evaluating their own achievement. Central to this focus is our reliance on the Northwest Evaluation Association, Measures of Academic Performance/Assessment Program.
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In addition to the core academics, all students have an exposure to the Kumeyaay/Digueño culture through the school's K-8 curriculum. This program allows the BICS to utilize the nationally recognized Barona Cultural Center and Museum and its staff. Art, dance, and music are features of our elective program. Physical education classes are lead by a credentialed physical educator with access to the fully-equipped Barona Recreation Department facilities.
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All classrooms have both teacher and student workstations fully networked with access to the high speed internet. Additionally, students regularly utilize a wireless, networked laptop lab for web-based lessons and activities. E-readers and e-tablets are used in certain learning environments. Typical classroom sizes could run from 8 students to a multi-age class of 20 students. Our total enrollment is limited to 100 to 110 students to accommodate our unique learning environment.
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We take great pride in ensuring that our faculty is comprised of fully California credentialed educators who truly care for the children, the community, and the mission/vision of our school.
Vision Statement
BICS empowers and equips students with the skills to achieve success in a rapidly changing world while maintaining the unique traditions and character of the Kumeyaay people. Our children soar to success, while standing on a culturally rich foundation with a global perspective, to become leaders that shape our future.
Academic Performance
At Barona Indian Charter School, accountability means we are responsible for student learning. To be truly responsible, as educators, we utilize timely and easily administered assessments and informative reports. These assessments are aligned with California State Content Standards and provide prescriptive data that allows Barona Indian Charter School to efficiently plan and implement instruction. Using the web-based North West Evaluation Association (www.nwea.org) Measures of Academic Performance (MAP), we systematically monitor and adjust student grouping and instructional practices. Through this approach, we are able to maintain our academic focus of continuous learning; continuous progress.
In our first year of MAP implementation, Barona Indian Charter School improved its Academic Performance Index by 44 points. We are confident that Barona Indian Charter School will continue to improve student performance with the use of the MAP system.
Following on our improvements, the students of Barona Indian Charter School have made additional improvement. We will continue to work with the MAP system as a means of further individualizing instruction.
Common Core Handbook
This handbook gives parents and introduction to California's Common Core Standards and a summary of what students are expected to learn as they advance from kindergarten through grade 8. The standards are designed to reflect the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. A common set of learning goals helps teachers and parents ensure students are challenged and making appropriate progress.
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Why Common Core Standards?
California educators have joined a national movement to adopt common standards and assessments for English language arts and mathematics. Currently, standards for what students should know and be able to do vary among states, as does the difficulty of the assessments used to determine whether students are meeting those standards. Common standards allow for collaboration among states on best practices and professional development.
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Common learning goals provide a clear vision of what educators and parents in all states expect. These learning goals provide a clear vision of what educators and parents in all states should aim for these learning goals help ensure that students meet college and work expectations, are prepared to succeed in a global economy and society, and are provided with rigorous content and application of higher knowledge thinking. Benchmarked against international standards, the Common Core Standards assist students in their preparation to complete the requirements for enrollment at a California public university.
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California's Adoption of Common Core Standards
Adopted in California in August 2010, the K-12 Common Core State Standards were developed through a state-led effort to establish consistent and clear education standards for collaborative discussions. Literacy standards that focus on reading and writing instruction during history/social studies, science, and technology also were included. In mathematics, standards were added to demonstrate a stronger emphasis on number sense and algebraic thinking. ​
