About Us
“We are all tied together by a garment of mutual destiny. ”
Mission and Vision
Our Mission
At Unbound Stockton we work to UNDERSTAND ourselves and our role in the community. We develop the knowledge, skills, and experiences that allow us to choose how to UNPACK and UNDO the systems that have divided us and, by learning together, UNLOCK the potential of an UNBOUND Community.
Our Vision
To be Unbound: A diverse community actively learning and engaging across lines of difference.
Our Commitments
Integrated Community.
We build intentionally diverse, welcoming, and equitable learning communities reflective of the societies we wish to see. We affirm all identities and work to celebrate differences while unpacking ideas of division to learn and live in an integrated world.
We put relationships first and develop social-emotional competencies to build a strong, safe, and supportive space for all students, staff, and families.
Enduring Success.
Instruction reflects high expectations, inspires curiosity, builds critical skills and promotes deeper thinking. Teaching not only includes knowledge and skills but the abilities to collaborate in a 21st-century society.
We ensure equity in outcomes and in educating all students, using various methods of personalization, so all students have the opportunity to pursue their passions.
Community Partnership.
We support students in their personal identity development, helping them to understand who they are and how they see themselves in the world around them. We understand our community context allowing students to understand how to confidently navigate our world.
Using both affinity learning spaces and mixed learning spaces, students learn to solve problems for themselves, the collective, and the community.
Our Foundations
Our Mission
Unbound Stockton Community School will be a unique addition to the community by creating an exclusively diverse, by design, 4th-8th grade school that supports students during critical student years for academic engagement, identity development, exploration, and choice. Unbound Stockton Community School will draw students from all across our Stockton and San Joaquin County community and represent students of all races, socioeconomic statuses, and locations in our community. Our students will have authentic experiences working in diverse teams and developing cultural competence, which they will apply and enact in the high schools of their choice.
Unbound Stockton Community School is located in the county seat of San Joaquin County (Downtown Stockton). This location provides both equal access for diverse students from across San Joaquin County to attend, but also enables access to community partners and learning experiences. Our school plans to open in the 2025-2026 school year serving 30 fourth-grade, 30 fifth-grade, 30 sixth-grade, and 30 seventh-grade students and will continue to expand until we are fully operational serving students in grades 4-8.
Students at Unbound Stockton Community School will not simply learn a pre-packaged curriculum within the four walls of their classrooms. Students will experience a highly immersive curriculum driven by the community that incorporates local knowledge and is tied to real-world issues prevalent in the community. Students will have the opportunity to connect weekly with leaders and organizations throughout Stockton to enhance their rigorous Common Core State Standard-aligned instruction.
Our Culture
As a community school, we also understand that a student’s support network needs to work in partnership with one another to develop their leadership. Our program is intentionally designed to create ways for everyone to work together, including:
Parents
Home visits, weekly family communication, monthly family events, and our Family Council are just some of the strategies we will use to have a strong relationship with every family we serve.
Educators
Our educators will have ample time for both planning and professional collaboration throughout the week to build rich curricular learning experiences to best design their teaching for their students.
Community
Weekly student community engagement will deepen everyone’s love for our community by having students be immersed in learning experiences where students will apply their academic knowledge.
Our Commitments
Intentionally Integrated
We will be a racially and socioeconomically diverse 4th-8th grade community school that allows students across Stockton to not learn about themselves but also how to work across lines of difference. We create safe, affirming, and inclusive spaces for students, and ensure our staff and board are likewise diverse and representative of our community.
Enduring Success
Students will be immersed in a rich academic program that is not only interdisciplinary and connected to real world partnerships, but they will learn the content knowledge and leadership skills necessary to be ready to learn and live in our 21st Century society.
Community Stewardship
Through frequent community engagement, students will develop a deep sense of care for the community and believe that they can use their skills and talents throughout their lives to foster a vibrant home for everyone.
Our Journey
The journey to expand our impact as a school has been over a decade in the making. Informed by years of learning and exploration of the interconnected components of an effective school, we are finally ready to move forward with bringing our dream to reality.
2008-2011
Our team began our journey exploring models for high-quality community schools. The idea for a diverse and inclusive school model for Stockton was born.
2011-2014
High Quality teaching was modeled and tested, learning and testing strategies that lead to student academic success. Our team members demonstrated strong records of success impacting student outcomes in both classrooms and entire schools.
2014-2018
We learned and tested strategies to cultivate diverse, equitable, and inclusive school cultures, including restorative practices, and deep community building. We piloted initiatives to connect students’ current school experience to the broader community as well as social emotional learning protocols.
2018-2020
We explored the operations processes that are critical to effectively run a school. We were invited to pilot and test our model through a number of education incubators and pilots such as 4.0 Schools, and the Diverse Charter School Coalition which promotes and supports Diverse By Design Schools across the nation. Research and movements in communities across the country sparked interest and demand for more diverse and inclusive school that serve students of diverse racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.
2018-Present
Despite the pandemic we piloted programming for over 150+ students, held focus groups, participated in community events, and learned from over 250+ parents and community members what was most important in a new community school model. We are currently towards the submission for authorization of Unbound Stockton Community School to the San Joaquin County Office of Education.
Co-Creating With Community
With over 80+ letters of support from leaders across the community, we believe Unbound Stockton Community School holds tremendous public value by:
Fostering Community Partnerships - Unbound Stockton Community School will be a central hub for professional learning by connecting schools and curriculum with the community.
Retaining Local Talent - Students at Unbound Stockton Community School will develop a deep love for our city and will be invested in building a stronger community for the rest of their lives.
Creating Change Today - Youth have the capability to create impact from an early age. Unbound Stockton Community School will help students gain the knowledge and skills to be active contributors to local issues to make change happen today.
Testing Our Learning Approach
WINTER CAMP
Our students activated their design thinking skills through the help of community. Students redesignied different spaces and reimagined new possibilities for education in our city.
UNBOUND SUMMER
Unbound Creation Kits helped students stay active and engaged over the summer to prevent summer learning loss.
FIELD TRIPS
Community Field Trips at Boggs Tract Community Farm helped students see firsthand how organizations in the community help address local issues like sustainability.
COMMUNITY MENTORS
Community teachers like Hatch Workshop help students see how STEM knowledge can help the community.
CONTINUITY OF LEARNING
When the pandemic began, we shifted our summer camp to provide educational activities that could be done at home.
CO-PLANNING WITH COMMUNITY
We worked with 10 local organizations to co-develop lessons that combine academics and community knowledge for a tailored education experience unique to Stockton students.