Jennifer Ketring

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The Pacific Community Charter School has a small, family oriented environment. The instructional program integrates fundamental academic skills with meaningful real world experiences. The school aims to develop highly competent students who are both excited about learning and motivated to achieve their potential.

The Pacific School provides the California coastal communities from Salt Point (Sonoma County) to Elk (Mendocino County), including Gualala and Point Arena, with a publicly funded Kindergarten through 12th grade charter school. All K-12 students in these geographic areas are eligible for enrollment. No tuition is charged.

The Pacific School’s interdisciplinary curriculum is based on the State frameworks. Subject matter is approached through a variety of pedagogies. Staff develop specific curriculum to help students learn to think, communicate and relate. PCCS emphasizes self-knowledge, the interconnectedness of ideas, individual accomplishment and personal and social responsibility. 

The Pacific School is:

  • A school with multi-aged classrooms that serve diverse student needs and learning styles in a respectful and friendly setting which honors, welcomes and relies on a team approach with families, students, teachers and the community working together to reach goals.
  • A school where responsibility for learning is clearly understood and shared by students, teachers and parents.
  • A school where community and family members are invited to share their knowledge and expertise with students in a warm and welcoming setting managed and run by parents and teachers working together as partners.
  • A tuition-free public school and 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form (PDF), from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:


Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;
Fax: 833-256-1665 or 202-690-7442; or

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

Jennifer Ketring

K-8 February E-Newsletter

Hello everyone.

I want to start off this month and say a huge thank you to all of our families that have been helping out with school lately. Thank you Jessica Price for spearheading the amazing PCCS hoodie/t-shirt fundraiser. It has been really amazing to see all of the PCCS pride out in our community. I know that my hoodie has been keeping me warm and cozy during these cold and wet winter days.

Another huge thank you I want to send out is to Jody Rose and Aisling, and to Cassie Henderson and Griffin. They came last week to help us prep the location for our new outdoor classroom, and put a fresh coat of paint on the fence in the backyard. The structure will be arriving in the first week of February, and we will need more help from our families to get it installed. We will announce another volunteer day when it arrives. Remember, many hands make for lighter work! Thank you for your help.

Here at the Pacific School, we are doing our best to be informed of the constantly changing guidance on the Covid-19 pandemic. We are listening to sources at the federal, state and county level and are committed to bringing students in for in person learning when we can do so safely. At this time, outdoor learning is the safest option, so we are planning on increasing our in-person learning to two days per week for our k-5 students. Your child’s teacher will keep you informed about when the new in person days will begin.

Lastly, thank you to everyone for your stamina and perseverance with distance learning. Please remember to communicate with the school if your child needs to miss a Zoom class. Additionally, students will do best on asynchronous assignments if their parents are following up and making sure that assigned work is completed. I know that it is challenging for everyone, but you are all doing a fantastic job. This is an unprecedented time, but I feel confident that everyone; parents, teachers and students are doing their very best. As we move forward, we will continue to meet everyone where they are and to help our students rise to their potential.

Take care everyone. Stay safe, healthy and warm. Please reach out if you need any support. We are here to help. PEACE!

-Mr. Todd

Read the Full E-Newsletter Here

Jennifer Ketring

K-12 January E-Newsletter

News & Updates

Family Forum
Wednesday, January 13
5:30 PM

An all school K-12 Family Forum is scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday, January 13 at 5:30. We encourage all families to participate as this is a venue for us to discuss the current state of COVID and plans for the 2nd semester. Your input is essential for informing our decisions and next steps with any reopening plans. 

We will also be talking about the development of our outdoor classroom spaces which could use your help. Please join us on Wednesday!

Read the Full E-Newsletter Here

Jennifer Ketring

K-12 December E-Newsletter

The end of an unprecedented year for all of us is quickly drawing to a close! We are looking ahead to the New Year with the hope of coming changes that will help turn the tide of the COVID pandemic in our local and global communities.

To address those changes locally, we will be hosting a Family Forum on January 13th. I encourage all of our families to participate as this will be an opportunity for school-wide dialogue about continued distance learning and future reopening plans.

We are also ready to dive into designing and constructing outdoor classroom spaces at the K-8 and High School. These spaces will be one way that we can safely bring students back to school when the time is right.

In the meantime, please take a moment to complete the EduAct Internet Survey. They are trying to gather information about family internet needs before the end of the calendar year and we want to make sure that the needs of our students are considered.

The Odd Fellows have been hosting a Toy Drive and have received many generous donations. They will be distributing wrapped gifts this Saturday, December 19 in Point Arena. Be sure to stop by between 12:00 – 3:00 on Saturday if your family could use some extra help with gift giving this year.

I hope that everyone is able to enjoy some restful time over the Winter Break before we jump into the New Year!

Take care.

-Jennifer

Executive Director

Read the Full E-Newsletter Here

Jennifer Ketring

LCFF Budget Overview for Parents

Schools receive funding from different sources: state funds under the Local Control Funding
Formula (LCFF), other state funds, local funds, and federal funds. LCFF funds include a base level of
funding for all LEAs and extra funding – called “supplemental and concentration” grants – to LEAs based
on the enrollment of high needs students (foster youth, English learners, and low-income students). The LCFF Budget Overview for Parents is developed each year.

Review the Pacific School’s Current LCFF Budget Overview for Parents

Jennifer Ketring

K-8 December E-Newsletter

Wow everyone, I can’t believe that it is already December. In just a couple of short weeks we will enjoy a much needed and well deserved break. Thank you everyone for all of your hard work to stay connected, to complete asynchronous assignments and to make distance learning the best that it can be.

During these next couple of weeks, teachers and students will participate in NWEA assessments for Math, Reading and ELA. These assessments will help us to generate baseline data to help us see where our students are now, so that we can measure how much they grow during the last remaining months of school. Administering these assessments remotely will require a little more support from parents than the normal Zoom classes, but with help from classroom teachers, these assessments will go smoothly and generate information that teachers will use to guide instruction for the remainder of the school year. Thank you for your active participation in NWEA assessments. You can download a copy of the testing schedule.   

On Friday, December 18th, PCCS K-8 will host an Elves workshop online with our students. We will meet together on Zoom at 10:30, and have a variety of activities led by our teachers. Your child’s teacher will share more information about the Elves workshop this week. Additionally, we will still have a materials pick-up on this day so that students are prepared when we return to class on January 4th, 2021. Take care everyone, stay safe, read a little everyday, hope for rain and PEACE!

-Mr. Todd


Read the Full December E-Newsletter

Jennifer Ketring

High School December E-Newsletter

As we approach the closing of 2020, our focus is on testing and assessment to establish comparative data to inform instructional decisions. CLS class time is being used to implement our NWEA (North West Evaluation Association) test sessions. MAP Growth testing helps us to be better prepared to meet our students when and where they need it the most. The data from these tests will be used for instructional decision-making and can help inform a variety of programmatic and instructional decisions including:

  • Identifying and qualifying students for various instructional strategies.
  • Guiding teachers who do not regularly make decisions on instructional program choices for students.
  • Scheduling and grouping to meet students’ learning needs.
  • Screening for special or alternative instruction.
  • Staffing and resourcing.


Quarter Two (Q2) Progress Reports have been emailed to all of our families. The First Semester will end on January 15. During these challenging times, it is very important to stay connected and schedule one-to-one meetings (Zoom or phone call) with teachers to help support class assignments. Attendance on Zoom is improving, however the assignments and homework need more focus and attention. Our academic tutor is available online and in-person for small group support on site (Covid-19 Safety Protocol). Contact the school to make arrangements.

The Mendocino County Office of Education is continuing to offer parents and teachers the opportunity for Professional Development during Distance Learning. Please connect with us for specific details to work together as partners in education. We welcome open communication and sharing strategies to help our students be successful in these challenging times. We value our family partnerships and want to continue meaningful involvement in our students education and in the life of school.

Stay Safe & Take Care,

-Michele

Jennifer Ketring

School Hoodies and Tees

School hoodies and tees are available! We have cotton hoodies, short sleeve tees and long sleeve tees in youth and adult sizes. Current group order due December 18, 2022! Check back for future order dates. 

  • Hoodies available in 2 colors. Cost: $52.
  • Short sleeve tees available in 3 colors. Cost: $22-25.
  • Long sleeve tees available in 1 color. Cost: $30.

Order Online by December 18, 2022!

Jennifer Ketring

K-12 November E-Newsletter

I’ve had the opportunity to work with many of our teachers over the dozen plus years of being a parent in the Pacific School community. From teaching electives to organizing events and chaperoning field studies, all of these opportunities allowed me to get involved and actively participate with my boys’ teachers. They also provided a chance to get know those teachers in a deeper way—these opportunities for family engagement are something I value as a parent, and now as the Executive Director.

This past Sunday, I learned that one of those teachers, Jef Schultz, passed away. Jef was teaching 4th-5th and middle school Language Arts and History when I got to know him. To me, he epitomized the spirit of our school. A place committed to creating and cultivating community. A place that encouraged students to be active and contributing members in the local and global world. A place where we could express our authentic selves. His commitment to real-world learning and his fearless spirit of adventuring in the world with the kids—these are characteristics that I truly value and am committed to keeping alive in our school.

As we prepare for the upcoming Thanksgiving Break and conscious time of gratitude, I would like to honor Jef and thank him for all that he brought to our school. I am also grateful for this opportunity to help guide our school and work with all of you.

With gratitude.

-Jen

Read the Full E-Newsletter Here