August 2016

      PUC’s annual CSUN week for sixth-graders: The near-disaster that turned into a blessing The first day of middle school can be a pretty nerve-racking experience for almost any kid. You don’t know anyone, you have no friends, you don’t know where your classes are, you don’t know your teachers, you don’t know the rules and you don’t know what is expected of you. But PUC Schools, an independent charter organization that operates 14 schools at LA Unified, has taken a different approach to the start of middle school aimed at calming those anxieties while also inspiring students to set...

As part of a 17-year old PUC tradition, the incoming 6th grade PUC middle school students in the Northeast San Fernando Valley begin their middle school years on the campus of California State University Northridge. This tradition began when the facility for the first PUC School, Community Charter Middle School, was not ready on time for the school’s opening in 1999. The University generously provided a temporary home for the middle school students on their campus that lasted for 6 weeks. The impact on the students was so profoundly positive that founder, Dr. Jacqueline Elliot, decided that every year thereafter, incoming 6th...