Barack Obama Charter School, in Los Angeles, CA is part of the Ingenium Schools’ charter school campuses. How are they different from any other school? Ingenium Schools use the RISC (Re-inventing Schools Coalition) philosophy and model, a model that has won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the toughest standard for organizational performance in the country.

At Barack Obama Charter School, students learn at their own rate, and teachers engage the children in learning. With parental communications, parents know exactly what their child needs to achieve in order to master the next academic level. Ingenium Schools’ focus is helping all students develop a passion for learning and fulfill their individual potential.

At Ingenium Schools you will find a deep commitment to children. Every child will learn, every child can meet high standards, and every child can succeed in life. By combining this dedication and belief in children with a learner-centered approach, we provide each student the best opportunity for success.

Why use a learner-centered rather than a teacher-directed approach? Students become leaders of their own learning process; they buy into it. Teachers become a guide to learning instead of always being the director. Students are expected to demonstrate a much higher level of mastery for each of the California State Standards. Each child’s knowledge and progress towards proficiency is evident to all. In a traditional system, time is the constant and learning is the variable. In a RISC system, it is the opposite: learning is the constant and time is the variable.

Students move at their own pace, continuously being motivated and challenged by their teachers, while honoring each student’s natural developmental differences. This learner-centered approach is at the core of the RISC model and drives all choices. The first and final question that is discussed before making any decision is: how does this affect the students? This is imperative when decisions determine how to relate to the school’s shared vision, what kind of changes need to be made in the way we instruct our students, how the school leadership can improve, or how we can never settle for mediocrity. All of these questions are continually considered with your student’s best interest coming first. When thinking about the education that you hope to provide your child, what could be better than this?