Welcome to Ladera Vista Junior High School of the Arts!

• Rigorous Common Core Academic Learning, Honors / GATE Classes
• State of the Art Technology and 21st Century Learning Opportunities
• Comprehensive Multi-Track Arts Instruction
• Research-Based Benefits & Meaningful Connections across Learning Disciplines.

At Ladera Vista, We Engage Every Student!

We challenge all students to reach their highest potential and offer a highly rigorous curriculum, including an Honors / GATE Track for our highest-achieving students. At Ladera Vista, student choice is a core component of our program, with opportunities for specializing in the arts, working in our school-wide Sustainable Garden and Bio-Safe Program, promoting fitness through Weight-Lifting, Physical Conditioning, and Dance, and learning about the world of lighting, sound, and set design in our L.V. Productions Class. There is truly something for everyone at Ladera Vista!

The Arts-Integrated Experience:

Numerous studies over the past decade have demonstrated the benefits of arts-infused education. Students who have access to the arts benefit from creative outlets, find greater success in mastering core subjects, have fewer disciplinary problems, and show significantly higher graduation rates. A 2011 study, “Reinvesting in Arts Education”, found that integrating the arts with other subjects also raises academic achievement levels. Arts Education doesn’t just raise test scores, but also supports the learning process itself. Studies show that students participating in the arts have been found to improve their IQ scores by several points. Other studies have reported similar scientific findings on the arts’ impact on the brain, showing that sustained arts education is an essential part of adolescent social and intellectual development.

Using a unique balance between challenging academic and arts curriculums, Ladera Vista Students experience an Arts-Infused Common Core Curriculum, through which they connect to a rigorous academic curriculum while integrating the arts. These courses include a strong emphasis on 21st Century Learning and Preparedness, with our 1:1 iPad program providing round-the clock access to technology.

Electives

We offer so many wonderful electives for students to select from at Ladera Vista! Students may select to be a part of our “Triple Threat Program” (Dance, Choir, and Theatre), participate in our
many Visual and Digital Arts Classes, be a part of our Instrumental Music Program, learn Spanish, German, or French, or try a little bit of everything. This is your time to Explore! Learn! Achieve!
Listed below you will find detailed descriptions of our electives classes. Students are asked to select six electives and to list them in the order of preference. You will be assigned two electives per
semester, and we always try our best to enroll you in your top choices. Requirements and Prerequisites: Please note that some electives require a full year commitment while
others require a semester commitment. The course descriptions indicate if there are prerequisites for each particular course.

1:1 iPad Program

New for the 2014 – 2015 School Year, our 1:1 iPad Program offers all students the opportunity to engage in fun and meaningful learning activities which promote the “4 Cs of Common Core” –
Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, and Critical Thinking Skills. Students will be assigned an iPad at the beginning of the year to use throughout their day. In addition, iPads will be taken home to extend student learning through meaningful homework assignments, many of which will involve an arts-based focus. We are delighted to offer this program for our students and will be disseminating more detailed information as the program gets underway.

Tutorials: Intervention & Enrichment

Our Tutorial classes, held for 30-minute periods each Tuesday and Thursday, provide you with an opportunity to participate in a variety of Enrichment Classes. From Web Design and Computer Programming to Jewelry Making and Sustainable Gardening, students experience new, fun and interesting learning opportunities in four-week blocks. Students who are not meeting grade level expectations are supported through intensive interventions in small learning groups during this time.

Homework Policy

Homework is an extension of our Ladera Vista program.  Students typically have homework each night in ELA, math, history/social science and science.  Some elective classes may also require homework.  Each student receives an agenda, which is used to record classwork and homework daily for each class.  A regular homework/study period of 60-90 minutes should be expected each day for most students.