Welcome Letter
Dear Parents, Welcome to Marquez!
Perched on a hillside overlooking the vast Pacific Ocean lies a very special place we call Marquez Charter School. Marquez is an exceptional school where dedicated, highly trained teachers work closely with parents and the Palisades community to ensure that every child receives a quality education that will enable them to succeed in the 21st century.
Marquez Charter School has a long tradition of excellence in education. We have always proven ourselves to be one of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s highest performing schools. Marquez became a charter on July 1, 1994. Since then we have improved upon our achievements and have become a model for reform for other public schools. Marquez is part of the larger Palisades Charter Complex where schools are able to use their site-based autonomy and discretionary funds to enrich the curriculum and meet the changing needs of our students. The current Charter has been renewed until the end of the 2009-2010 school year.
Marquez Charter School is home to highly qualified, professional teachers. These educators are constantly improving their teaching skills through professional development by attending on site training as well as coursework at local colleges and universities. Marquez teachers are dedicated to every child they serve. They are true artists at developing differentiated instruction that meets the needs of the gifted and talented students, students with special needs as well as English language learners. Teachers continue to look for new and innovative ways in which to enrich the curriculum and strengthen their skills ensuring that Marquez students get the best possible education imaginable. But they don’t do it alone.
Parents are such a huge part of the success of Marquez. Their continued support in our school is unparalleled. Through Friends of Marquez, our program has expanded and our students are now supported with art, science, music, physical education and class size reduction teachers. Parents are not only supportive of an enriched curriculum, but also have ample opportunity to participate in a variety of committees and are encouraged to volunteer in classrooms. At Marquez we value each and every parent as their child’s first educator and we value the trust they place in us to educate their child through the elementary school experience.
During the 2005-2006 school year a truly unique program was piloted at Marquez. The Digital Edge laptop program supported by Apple Computers was introduced. The program was so well received by the teachers that piloted the program and the students in their classrooms, that the entire teaching staff was elated when it was possible to bring this cutting edge program to the entire school beginning in 2006-2007. Laptops were purchased at a ratio of 2 students to 1 laptop in grades 1-5 and 3:1 in kindergarten. This program promises to transform instruction and learning to prepare our students for the 21st century.
The sense of pride at Marquez is pervasive. It is truly a gem where teachers, parents and students all come together to make it the best possible learning environment. It is a great place to work, but even a better place to be a child. From now until years to come, we can be sure that Marquez will continue to be on the forefront of instruction and learning.
