Walton Charter Academy

Walton Charter Academy stands out for its intentional outreach to the Latino community and strong efforts to engage parents, helping to make non-native English-speaking parents feel comfortable and competent in the school. The intentionality makes a difference. Walton Charter Academy’s Latino students and English learners demonstrated growth above the state average in both ELA and Math for three consecutive years. Several factors that contributed to the commendable growth are frequent progress monitoring, small-group instruction, focused English Language instruction for those who need it, strong leadership and a steadfast belief that every child can succeed academically and behaviorally.

Undergirding it all is parent support. The school makes a concerted effort to ensure parents feel welcome and appreciated. All communication, whether by telephone, social media or print, is available in Spanish to make sure parents can engage in children’s learning. Translators are available at parent-teacher conferences if the teacher isn’t bilingual. And a teacher and a paraprofessional are assigned to every K-2 classroom, helping to ensure students have a strong foundation from the early grades.