Southwest Charter School is a K-8 school which offers a different educational experience, encouraging exploration of the natural world and involvement in the local community through the arts and sciences. Southwest Charter School is a small, public school community that emphasizes safety and caring, a place where neither race nor economic status will determine a child's potential for success. Our core principles include:

• A dedication to a small school size – Our maximum size will be approximately 200 students.
• A commitment to small class sizes – Our goal is to keep classes around 22-24 students per class.
• Place-based learning – We involve the social and natural community in our students’ learning to help them develop a connectedness to their community.
• Science, art and civics – These are the three lenses that guide our exploration of the community and world around us.
• Equity – We are dedicated to being a community that welcomes learners from diverse backgrounds.
• Assessment – We assess students’ accomplishments in a variety of ways to guide their learning.
• Parent involvement – We rely on and desire parents to be involved in many aspects of our school community.