About the Paramount Bard Academy

The Paramount Agricultural Companies are committed to increasing the number of students who graduate from high school prepared to succeed and complete college.  Paramount consistently invests considerable resources to foster educational programming in local Central Valley communities.  The Paramount Bard Academy is the most innovative educational initiative undertaken by Paramount.

Working in collaboration with Bard College, a private liberal arts college in New York, Paramount will build on Bard's success in operating two public high schools in New York City. In these two schools, students earn a high school diploma and a two-year college degree.  Bard’s Master of Arts in Teaching Program (MAT) works closely with schools in the Hudson Valley and schools in the Bronx, supporting school change while educating teachers at the graduate level. Paramount is partnering with Bard's MAT Program to create a model charter school that builds on the accomplishments of the Delano School Districts. A primary goal of the Paramount Bard Academy is to graduate no less than 95% of all students with the expectation that 75% or more of these students will go on to graduate from college.

The school will open in August 2009 for the 2009-2010 school year. Two hundred students (100 students per grade), in grades 6 and 9 will be admitted in August 2009, adding 2 grade levels of 100 students per grade each year.  In 2012, the school will have 700 students in grades 6-12. In 2014, the school will begin enrolling at kindergarten, adding 100 students per year until 2019, reaching a capacity of 1300 students, K-12.

Charter schools are public schools with no cost to families to attend. The school is open to children of any and all interested families in Delano and surrounding communities without prerequisites and with a goal of maintaining the same demographic diversity as the surrounding school districts.  If more applications are received than spots available, a lottery will determine the attendees.

How is this school different from a traditional public school?

• Ideal teacher-to-student ratio with class size limits of 22 students
• National Board Certified teachers
• Increased student instructional hours per year
• Challenging core curriculum with music and art supplemental curriculum
• Emphasis on student-centered and individualized instruction
• College courses taught on high school campus, open to all eligible students
• Welcome parent and community participation in school activities
• Emphasis on college preparation

Faculty

Paramount Bard Academy teachers are active in their fields of expertise and dedicated to fostering excellence in adolescent learning in rural communities.  Drawing from the talents of teachers from the Central Valley and dedicated college professors, the faculty will offer students an unparalleled academic learning experience designed to prepare all students for college.