FAQ'sHow do I enroll?
Polaris is a 100% school of choice option within Poudre School District. To enroll all families must register through the School of Choice application process. Polaris then abides by the PSD Determining Availability of Space policies to determine if a student is accepted. What is the adventure program? The adventure program is a program where students from Polaris take extended trips to different specified areas. During these trips students learn more about themselves, others and their surroundings. The main focus of adventure is to practice leadership skills and the EL Design Principles. Trips can either be physically demanding in nature (Grand Canyon Backpacking, Rafting the Gunnison River, Backpacking in Canyonlands, UT.) or academically enriching (Wolf Reintroduction in Yellowstone, Heifer International Global Village in Arkansas, Geology in Black Hills, SD.), both types of trips aim to help students overcome their fears and discover they can do more than they originally thought. What does a typical day at school look like? Students take all the PSD required classes just like any other PSD student. But our students meet the state standards through Expeditions. Expeditions are in depth studies of compelling topics over an extended period of time. Expeditions typically include Fieldwork experiences, local expert panelists, and research of primary source documents. Expeditions are taught within a block schedule where students earn a year's worth of credit in a semester. Is there a lunch program? Yes, we serve lunch like every other school with student id and accounts. Our lunch is 40 minutes long and divided between High School and Middle School. We serve hot lunches usually with a couple different selection options. Click here for menu and prices. What types of electives are available at Polaris? Polaris is a school with few electives, but we make up for that in other ways. Intensives are one week electives taught by volunteers, teachers or professionals in the field of expertise. During intensive weeks we offer many different classes from cooking to music to backpacking in the Grand Canyon. Almost anything you want to do can be done during intensive week. Also, students can help and suggest intensives for the future. Some electives that are available may include but not be limited to: art, Spanish, French, health, P.E and the senior project class. We always have P.E, art, Spanish, and French but our electives can change on a yearly basis as well. We like to give the student responsibility for their own learning and so many options for learning are available and ever changing. What is fieldwork? Fieldwork is a classroom beyond school. It provides a living context for shared academic experiences and individual connections to the learning expedition. Field work can involve talking to local experts in the field about interesting topics or going to a national park to clean it up. The majority of fieldwork experiences improve students as individuals and help them understand how they can contribute to their local and global community. How are the Student- Teacher relationships? Students and teachers are partners in learning. In our current age of information we understand that students can get answers to just about any question they may have with the help of technology. The teachers at Polaris strive to help kids find credible sources of information, make sense of the information available, and understand how it may impact them as individuals as well as the global community. The primary task of an EL teacher is to help students overcome their fears and discover that they can do more than they think they can. What is the community like? Our community is comprised of students from all over the Fort Collins area and beyond. Because students come from every corner of PSD's attendance area, as well as Greeley, Windsor, Loveland, Ault, and Eaton, we all seem to embrace our unique perspectives and backgrounds. How are families involved within the school? Family involvement is one of the key foundations of Polaris in two ways. First, families are essential partners in the education and success of their student. Second, families are needed to help Polaris fulfill its mission by supporting the functions and development of the school. This involvement is what makes Polaris a learning community and not just a school. Visit the Parent Action Crew website to learn more about how parents are involved. |
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Polaris Expeditionary Learning School
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