Why Stephen Foster Elementary Charter?

Why Foster?

A Community of Learning Starts Here…

Stephen Foster Elementary Charter School is a small, diverse and close-knit elementary school, providing our students ample opportunity for individual attention and personal growth. Our attentive staff, eager students, proactive parents, and invested community members truly make our school a forerunner in a Community of Learning!

The Stephen Foster Elementary Charter School Community works hard to provide an educational experience that meets the needs of each child. Foster has a strong academic program, but there are several other pieces that make the educational experience at Foster special. Listed below are some of the pieces that Foster is especially proud of:

How We Learn

Flexible, personalized, high-quality instruction based on Common Core State Standards and the use of proactive, ongoing, systematic assessments to guide instruction and evaluate individual student progress

Grade-level service projects to enrich classroom instruction. Each grade-level fosters civic engagement and builds character by participating in projects that address community needs and/or concerns.

Diversity
is embraced and promoted by emphasizing and celebrating different cultures, values, and beliefs. Students have the opportunity to learn and reflect upon the value diversity can offer to any group or community through classroom activities, grade-level service projects, field trips, and school-wide special events.

Strength-based career exploration Foster staff helps students identify their strengths while
exposing them to a variety of careers that utilize those skills. Students explore different jobs within the community so they have an understanding of the career strands available and the educational requirements.

Family and Community Partnerships

Students at Foster benefit from the efforts of the larger Foster Community. Parents/Guardians volunteer in the classroom, attend special events and do whatever they can to show their pride in the school their children attend. Additionally, Foster has held a partnership with SECURA Insurance. Each year over 40 SECURA Associates dedicate thirty minutes each week to serve as a tutor/mentor to Foster students. SECURA helps Foster in a variety of ways that positively impact each student. In 2015, Foster worked with SECURA and Partnership Community Health Center to provide free backpacks with school supplies to students who got a back to school physical.

Foster’s partnership with the Boys and Girls Club is strong, with over 75% of Foster students attending Boys and Girls Club more than four days each week.

Education Beyond the Classroom

Foster students have ample opportunities to learn outside of the classroom environment.  Foster students participate in Fitness Club, Intramurals, and a variety of clubs that operate during the school day. Each year the Foster Honor Choir travels all over the city and state performing for groups ranging from the Appleton Area School District Board of Education to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Whole-child approach to education

Foster seeks to build partnerships with community health organizations so all children can access medical and dental care.

2018 Wisconsin School Health Award Winner
2017 Wisconsin School Health Award Winner
2016 Wisconsin School Health Award Winner

Safe and Welcoming Environment

Stephen Foster Elementary Charter School has been recognized as a state PBIS (Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports) School of Distinction for multiple years. Our recognition as a PBIS School of Distinction is a signal that each day, each student is able to learn in a respectful and safe environment.

2016 Wisconsin RtI Center School of Distinction - Behavior
2015 Wisconsin RtI Center School of Distinction
2014 Wisconsin RtI Center School of Distinction
2013 Wisconsin PBIS Network School of Distinction

Dedicated Staff

Foster staff truly believes in educating the “whole child.”  Each Foster staff member works to build strong relationships with their students and places a special emphasis on the strengths of each child. Foster staff believes that school is about more than math and reading; it’s about helping each child find their passion and giving them the confidence to fulfill that passion.

Our dedicated staff makes a difference in their students’ lives each and every day, placing a special emphasis on the strengths of each individual child. Let our staff help your student find their passion, and give them the confidence to fulfill that passion!