Element Education

Community Montessori is Officially a 2026 California School to Watch
We are excited to share that Community Montessori has been named a 2026 California School to Watch!
This recognition highlights middle-grade schools that demonstrate:

✨ Academic Excellence
✨ Developmental Responsiveness
✨ Social Equity
✨ Strong, collaborative leadership

The Schools to Watch program identifies model schools across California that support the whole child and serve as examples of best practices for others statewide and nationally.

Being part of this network means we are not only recognized for our impact but also connected to a community of schools committed to continuous improvement, innovation, and student success.

This recognition reflects the dedication of our students, educators, and families who make our school such a special place every day. 💙

Element is Everything is now being listened to in 23 countries and 209 cities, with the U.S., Germany, and Australia leading the way.

The most popular episode is “Let Go with Let Grow.”

Explore episodes from all five years at
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Element is Everything Join Terri Novacek on the Element Is Everything Podcast as she explores how interests and talents align for purpose-driven learning. On Apple & Spotify.

If you missed the December Element Education Monthly Minute Newsletter, you can check it out here:

Connect, Collaborate, and Empower Our Students! Email from Element Education Element Education Monthly Minute: Innovation, Community, Growth       The Monthly Minute     Keeping Our Element Real in an Age of AI As we navigate a world where artifici

🎉 Celebrating 24 Years of Element Education!

Today marks 24 years of empowering learners through personalized, self-determined education. Since our founding in 2001, Element Education has supported thousands of students across San Diego County through our charter programs — Dimensions Collaborative School and Community Montessori — helping each learner discover their unique Element and soar toward their goals.

Here’s to continuing our mission of inspiring lifelong learners and building community through choice, connection, and curiosity. 💙

AB 84 is currently on the Assembly Floor where it will soon be determined whether this bill will move to the Senate. Two sections of this bill would dramatically impact the financial stability of both Community Montessori and Dimensions Collaborative, while providing no additional support or level of accountability.

Funding Determination resulting in up to 30% less funding per student.

Increase of authorizer fee from 1% to 3%.


As nonclassroom-based charter schools, we already receive significantly less funding than district schools. With no funding for facilities, we are challenged with pulling from our general fund to operate our eight learning centers for our two county-wide benefit charter schools. Whether a student attends a learning center four days a week, or just one, the cost of the building remains the same.

The average enrollment of students with IEPs is 12%. Dimensions Collaborative has 19%; Community Montessori is 16%. Given Special Education is funded by average daily attendance (rather than the number of students with IEPs), simple math will show that we are already receiving less funding per student with IEPs than district schools. Last year, we paid $1.2 million from our general fund to cover the cost of mental health, medically fragile, LGBTQ+, and academic recovery programs. Adding a 2% increase in oversight fees and a 30% cut in funding would drastically impact our ability to serve special need students.

It is clear this is a targeted attack to cripple and close charter schools, even those who have been responsible stewards of public funds. The bill’s author, Assemblymember Maratsuchi, states that independent study programs are over-funded, yet he does not include district independent study programs in the bill. (Side note: district independent study programs are far less expensive to operate than charter programs due to the limited curricular options and low level of personalized support they provide). Another clue the intent behind this bill is less about accountability and more about shifting public charter school funds to districts is the exemption of district charter schools from the increased fee requirement.

There is no correlation between fees and oversight. In fact, higher fees pose a risk of negatively impacting the level of accountability as districts become dependent on the revenue for programs unrelated to charter school oversight. For example, when we were authorized by Dehesa District, they provided no oversight and used our 1% fee to build a playground structure. At the same time, A3 and Inspire were paying 3%, (2% more than the legal amount) and despite the efforts of local whistleblowers, the District turned a blind eye to their practices out of fear of losing the coveted 3%. More revenue only provides more incentive to ignore malfeasance. The A3 and Inspire debacle was a people problem, not a fee problem. Given there is nothing in the bill that requires authorizers to report how they use the funds shows this is not about accountability; it is just to punish charter schools while pushing more funds to districts.
Call to Action: Take Two Minutes to Email Your Local Rep: https://chartercenter.quorum.us/campaign/115259/

https://www.chartercenter.org/news/advocating-for-kids-a-legislative-training-for-charter-school-parents-families-and-supporters-3048?locale=en

Charter Schools Development Center - Charter Schools Development Center Character Schools Development Center

📚✨We are excited to recognize Cailyn Thomas, a 10th-grade student at DCS, for her outstanding achievement!

Cailyn recently published Birdsong—a heartwarming story that captures the unbreakable bonds of family.

Through lyrical text and beautiful watercolor illustrations, Birdsong follows Hummingbird, a young girl navigating the challenges of growing up, always knowing that her parents and siblings will be there to catch her when she falls. This poem is a wonderful introduction to poetry for children of all ages.

🎉 Congratulations, Cailyn! 🎉

🚀 New Episode! Element Is Everything Podcast 🎙️

A Digital Perspective on Passion and Purpose
Terri sits down with author and educator Michael Hernandez to explore how we can guide students in using technology with intention. Michael shares insights from his book Storytelling with Purpose, emphasizing that rigor and hard work can align with passion and purpose—we thrive when we work toward meaningful goals and causes we care about.

📲 Listen now: https://bit.ly/3DOpfCd

🎧 Subscribe to the Element Is Everything Podcast!
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Element is Everything Terri Novacek of Element Education connects with educators, parents, researchers, and authors to discuss the mindset and behaviors that help us discover and develop…