Stellar Charter School
Everyone learns differently, and that’s why Stellar Charter School on East Bonnyview Road was started in 1999. For the past two decades, the K-12 Stellar Charter School has been a leader among not just charter education in the North State, but overall education.
“Student success (inspires us),” says Director Heidi Schueller. “Stellar is a great place to work and go to school.”
The school’s 13 teachers are dedicated to their students and partner with families to develop a personalized and enriching learning experience. Stellar provides flexible settings for students to work through homeschool-only classes, onsite enrichment classes at a minimum of two-and-a-half days per week or for high school students coming two full days with optional Friday electives.
“We promote a variety of options, including homeschool or onsite, with A-G approved courses,” Schueller said. “Our courses are standard-aligned and taught by highly qualified, credentialed teachers.”
Stellar also partners with businesses in the community like the Shasta Family YMCA, Sun Oaks Fitness and gymnastic academies to supplement their curriculum.
Stellar Charter School is a WASC-certified public school open and available to all families.
It’s no wonder Stellar’s success rate, with nine in 10 students graduating, helps break stereotypes and misconceptions about charter school education. Began in California in 1992, charter schools are public and created as an alternative to traditional K-12 education.
Stellar exists “to meet the need of personalized learning and open more choices for families,” Schueller says. The school caps class size at 20 students, which allows a family feel and sense of community. “It offers a connection and relationship with a Teacher of Record offering individual support and consistency,” Schueller says.
But Stellar offers more than just a curricular load, as the school hosts musicals, talent shows, field trips, senior trips and MathCounts competitions. Students actively participate in classes such as art, robotics, ceramics, drama, Spanish, creative writing and instrumental music including violin, guitar, piano, ukulele and percussion. They also offer concurrent enrollment in Shasta College courses.
Some of the exciting electives offered include fiber arts, ceramics, drama, art, yearbook, photography and robotics, among others.
And, in a blessing in disguise, when the COVID pandemic hit, Stellar staff and students were more than prepared for the shift to distance education, a shift that traditional schools sometimes struggled to navigate.
Their website is a trove of information for students and parents, including a grading portal to keep up on assignments and grades. It also outlines course work with helpful tutorials to see if Stellar is a good fit for your student.
