Our Mission

The mission of the Joshua Tree Arts & Technology Academy is to offer an outstanding academic curriculum with fine arts and technology instruction of the highest caliber to a diverse student population.  In a supportive, forward-thinking, financially sustainable learning environment, JTATA produces educated, self-motivated, competent, life-long learners who are compassionate, creative, community-minded, and productive members of society.

Joshua Tree Arts & Technology Academy is attempting to serve students who seek an independent study core academics education expanded and complimented with unsurpassed in-person, hands-on arts and/or vocational training and education.  Recognizing that children’s learning modes and paces differ, not just across children but also for the same child across subjects, this school creates and implements a curriculum that is designed to individually address these differences and maximizing learning for each student. JTATA believes and understands that all students, regardless of their backgrounds and resources, have the ability and capacity to learn and receive an outstanding education — and in the environment best suited for them, they feel motivation, accomplishment, and joy in doing so.  

JTATA will be ideal and designed for those students who have chosen to be, find it necessary to, or who excel and do best in a home schooled/independent study environment.  For those students desiring to focus their education in an art or related vocational field, JTATA allows them to excel in their core academics through enhanced, teacher-guided independent study, which enables them to allocate more time toward learning their chosen focus or other areas of academic and personal growth.  For other students who seek an academic post-secondary education, the infusion of arts and technology into their core college-prep academics will create more well-rounded and better educated students.

JTATA believes that exposing children to the arts helps them become more successful students, better connected to their communities, more confident in their personal development, and better prepared for their careers—whatever those may ultimately be.  The effectiveness of integrating arts into the curriculum is borne out by research, and a preponderance of evidence suggests that “students who study and participate in the arts do substantially better than those who do not on almost every academic measure.” For example, sustained learning in music and theater is highly correlated with higher reading and mathematics achievement.  A 2005 The College Board study found that SAT math scores improved by almost 40 points (from 502 to 540) and by almost 50 points (from 485 to 534) when students received four or more years of arts instruction. In addition to math and reading, involvement in the arts is associated with gains in “cognitive ability, critical thinking, and verbal skill.  Arts learning can also improve motivation, concentration, confidence, and teamwork.”

By connecting the arts with core subjects such as math, reading, and science, students are able to gain a greater knowledge, comprehension, and appreciation for academic disciplines as well.  The arts require creativity, self-discipline, imagination, critical thinking, and confidence.  They help students build valuable problem solving and other cognitive development habits that stay with them throughout their educational and professional careers.  An arts and technology based curriculum coupled with staff specialists in a community context is the ideal way to help students identify their strengths and capitalize on their intelligences.

As emphasized in our Mission Statement, we employ an arts-integrated, project based curriculum based on a constructivist philosophy of learning that also includes Independent Study core curriculum paced to each student’s ability.  Our philosophies stem from a strong belief in a that every child can learn, every child brings strengths to their class/group exercises, and every child has a unique and personal approach to learning.  These philosophies stem from a large body of research on how students learn.  Furthermore, at JTATA will will consistently use research-based pedagogical strategies to help our students develop the skills and qualities necessary for the 21st century.

At the heart of our school lies a fundamental belief in the importance of the arts in education.  Students explore and learn core subjects of language arts, math, science and social studies through direct experience, using a hands-on, experiential curriculum with an arts-integrated focus.  They also study the arts as distinct disciplines that become more formalized as students progress through the grades in the middle and high school years.

In accordance with our mission, we believe that exposing children to the arts helps them become more successful students, better connected to their communities, more confident in their personal development, and better prepared for their careers.

OUR VISION

The mission of the Joshua Tree Arts & Technology Academy is to offer an outstanding academic curriculum with fine arts and technology instruction of the highest caliber to a diverse student population.  In a supportive, forward-thinking, financially sustainable learning environment, JTATA produces educated, self-motivated, competent, life-long learners who are compassionate, creative, community-minded, and productive members of society.

540,534

SAT Scores (Math,Verbal) after 4+ years of arts instruction.

502,485

SAT Scores (Math,Verbal) with one-half year or less of arts instruction.

Source: 2005 College-Bound Seniors: Total Group Profile Report, The College Board, 2005, Table 3-3; SAT Scores of Students Who Study the Arts: What We Can and Cannot Conclude about the Association, Kathryn Vaughn and Ellen Winner (Fall 2000).

Joshua Tree Arts & Technology Academy (JTATA) recognizes the importance of receiving a robust arts and technology education and the far-reaching positive impact of such an education on the overall well-being and academic achievement of our nation’s children.

JTATA is also aware that the youth in the areas it serves is largely underprivileged, and therefore likely would not otherwise receive such an arts and technology education from traditional sources.  Our program provides a first-rate arts education to all children, regardless of their socioeconomic background.

At JTATA, we believe an educated person in the 21st century is a creative problem solver, a respectful collaborator, and a motivated life-long learner.

We are committed to instilling in our students a love for learning and an appreciation for intelligence in its multiple forms, working to equip students with both a strong academic foundation and valuable life skills.  This means that learning is so much more than mastering knowledge and acquiring skills; it is also about understanding how to learn; having the self-motivation to ask questions, test solutions, and consistently learn from mistakes; understanding how to work collaboratively and communicate effectively with others; and developing creativity, inquisitiveness, persistence, and a passion for learning that extends far past the walls of the school.  The foundation of our school is a strong belief in the role of the arts in learning, and we expect our students to leave JTATA as joyful learners who can utilize creativity and innovation in all subjects, including artistic disciplines.

Finally, we believe that an educated person has not only academic skills; but also skills in social and emotional domains, as well as community awareness and a commitment to social justice.

JTATA values these skills as we aim to prepare students for the 21st century. Traditional knowledge-based education is insufficient to meet the needs of the future. Perhaps Ray Peacock, former research director of Phillips Laboratories in the UK, described it best:

Lots of people think knowledge is what we want, and I don’t believe that, because knowledge is astonishingly transitory. We don’t employ people as knowledge bases, we employ people to actually do things or solve things… Knowledge bases come out of books. So I want flexibility and continuous learning… and I need team working. And part of team working is communications… So the things therefore are the flexibility, the team working, communications, and sheer persistence.

At JTATA, our goal is to create students who are ready for the 21st century.  But our goals extend beyond that, as we also want students who are joyful and creative learners who have an appreciation for the power of the arts.  

NOV 7

San Bernardino County Board of Education formally receives the Charter's appeal petition.

DEC 5

Public hearing and presentation to San Bernardino County Board of Education. (Parents, students, and supporters encouraged to attend!)

JAN 3

San Bernardino County Board of Education vote on Charter approval. (Parents, students, and supporters encouraged to attend!)

Living in the Hi-Desert, one serious concern for parents is the absence of diversity in schooling options for their children. A charter school with an Arts / Music / Theater / Tech focus will fill a huge void!
Barnett EnglishJoshua Tree Music Festival
A school of this type and caliber is exactly what our area needs to keep our children focused—not only on academic achievement but on personal life interests. Too many times I see children go down dark destructive paths because they do not have the outlet or support to direct their energies in a productive and positive way.
Amy AngelSupportive Parent