Alameda Community Learning Center (ACLC), formerly known as Arthur Andersen Community Learning Center, is a 6th–12th grade public

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

located in

Alameda, California Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for "Avenue (landscape), tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States, located in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is built on an informal archipe ...

, United States. It currently shares a campus with its sister school, Nea Community Learning Center. As a school ACLC was founded on the idea of democracy and student-led education.

Mission

To empower all youth to take ownership of their educational experience, to celebrate their diverse community, and to actively participate as members in a democratic society.

History

The Alameda Community Learning Center was created as a school in which the Graduate Profile of the

Alameda Unified School District The Alameda Unified School District serves Alameda, California, United States. The school district is a "unified" district (as of 1936), meaning that it includes K-8 schools and high schools in the same jurisdiction. As with all California sc ...

could live and breathe. The Graduate Profile is a document that was created at a visioning conference held by the AUSD in partnership with

Arthur Andersen Arthur Andersen LLP was an American accounting firm based in Chicago that provided auditing, tax advising, consulting and other professional services to large corporations. By 2001, it had become one of the world's largest multinational corpo ...

in 1992. Andersen funded the start-up costs for the school. After its first five years, the school became a charter school. In 2014 ACLC moved its campus, which was shared with Encinal High School at the time, to its current location on 1900 3rd street. This provided learners with easy access to college classes at the nearby

College of Alameda College of Alameda is a public community college in Alameda, California. It is part of the Peralta Community College District and was opened in 1968. Since 1970 the college has held classes on a 62-acre campus at the intersection of Webster Str ...

Leadership and self-governance

Judicial committee

The JC system, also known as the judicial committee, is made up of a group of five students elected by the student body and one teacher selected by the faculty. JC enforces the rules of the school by hearing cases submitted by learners and facilitators and deciding on appropriate consequences to specific actions. The findings of the JC are binding on all parties involved and may result in further action, including suspension or expulsion, if necessary.The JC meets five times each week to consider issues related to infringement of rules codified in the Rule Book developed by learners over the years.

Leadership

Leadership is one of the courses offered at ACLC. Leadership is similar to a student council, It works to plan events and activities. The group meets three times a week and works closely with a facilitator to create school spirit by running Contemporary Community Citizenship (CCC) and other events. Its responsibilities include codifying and enforcing rules, coordinating activities and field trips, and coordinating and facilitating the annual ACLC Constitutional Convention.

Courses

ACLC has a set of graduation requirements designed to meet

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

requirements. ACLC's hosts a large range of elective classes. As of 2024 these classes include

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

, digital art, digital music, digital video production,

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

pre-calculus In mathematics education, precalculus is a course, or a set of courses, that includes algebra and trigonometry at a level that is designed to prepare students for the study of calculus, thus the name precalculus. Schools often distinguish betwe ...

, visual communications, leadership (

student government A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizatio ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, judicial committee and

creative technologies Creative Technology Ltd., or Creative Labs Pte Ltd., is a Singaporean multinational electronics company mainly dealing with audio technologies and products such as speakers, headphones, sound cards and other digital media. Founded by Sim Wong ...

1 & 2. ACLC also offers honors courses to students. As of 2024 ACLC offers

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

, English 3 & 4,

US history The history of the present-day United States began in roughly 15,000 BC with the arrival of the first people in the Americas. In the late 15th century, European colonization began and wars and epidemics largely decimated Indigenous societi ...

, and US government honors courses.

School culture

ACLC refers to students and teachers as "learners" and "facilitators", respectively. time 0:52 ACLC's mascot is a hawk, and its school colors are purple and grey. The hawk's name is Harold, as determined by a vote in August 2024. As of 2021, ACLC learners produce a weekly news program called CCC News. It is primarily used to convey school-related information and events to learners. It was created by Saoirse Foltz and Alexander Hayden, who hosted it throughout the 2021-2022 schoolyear. Its hosts during the 2022–2023 school year were Samuel Yonas and Isaac Lu. Its hosts during the 2023-2024 schoolyear were Fionn Rooney and Finley Collins. Currently it is hosted by Benjamin Stoffmacher and Dashiell Young.

References

External links

* http://www.clcschools.org/page.cfm?p=350 {{authority control Educational institutions established in 1992 Charter preparatory schools in California Schools in Alameda, California High schools in Alameda County, California 1992 establishments in California