Pat
Tecopa, CA 92389

Death Valley High Academy is a tiny rural school for grades 7-12. Located in Shoshone, CA, DVA (as the school is often called) serves students who live in Death Valley National Park as well as students who live approximately 45 miles southeast of Shoshone, CA. The small school enrollment (often 12-15) allows teachers to form strong bonds with students and to make every attempt not only to educate them but also motivate students to reach their highest academic potential and to be confidently prepared for life as an adult in more largely populated areas, from higher education, to military enrollment, to trade schools, to the workforce.DVA maintains dual-credit course capability with Cerro Coso College as well as enrollment in online high school courses to supplement what can be offered in our tiny school environment.Bullying and violence are virtually nonexistent at Death Valley High Academy.

Shoshone Elementary is a tiny K-6 elementary school east of Death Valley National Park and near the California-Nevada state line. Students, most of whom live 45-65 miles from the school campus, come to school via a school bus. All classes are multi-grade-level experiences, with it common for pre-K through grade 3 to be together as a single class and grades 4 through 6 to be together as a class. Classes commonly contain about 8-12 students.Students come from varying economic backgrounds, from underprivileged to professional middle class. Approximately half the students are native Spanish speakers. Valid statistics on student achievement on standardized tests do not exist due to the small number of students and due to privacy issues that exist in very small schools. Shoshone Elementary has a strong reading program, and, as is true with schools of much larger size, Shoshone Elementary students range from Gifted and Talented to Special Needs.Shoshone Elementary is clean, safe and peaceful, a place where young people may socialize (in an area with very few children and where other opportunities for them to be together are virtually nonexistent), make friends, learn and grow into productive and capable teenagers.Teachers are fully qualified professionals, many of whom have 20+ years of CA public school experienience.