Philosophy
History and Philosophy
Monte del Sol charter school is a small, rigorous, community-minded, independent public school of choice. It was born in December 1999 in a spirit of collaboration with and support from the Santa Fe School District. The school opened its doors in August 2000 with 121 students in seventh and eighth grades. and has added a grade per year until 360 students are enrolled in grades 7-12. The class of 2005 is the first graduating class of the school. In the summer of 2004, the school received a donation of seven additional, contigous acres to compliment its four donated acres. Again, a significant achievement for the entire school community.
The founders of Monte del Sol believed that learning best takes place in a small school environment where all students are known well. They believed that all learning is relational. They believed that interactive, engaged learning is an important key in learning, and hence a wide variety of instructional methodology including project-oriented teaching, discussion based, reflective journal writing, experiential education, outdoor education, independent projects and individualized instruction occurs at times as does traditional lecture. The 
school has an outstanding special services department serving the high numbers of gifted students and high numbers of special needs students that Monte del SOl enjoys. Homework is expected in most classes.
Every student has a faculty advisor with whom they meet regularly to set and monitor academic goals, social goals and in general to build a strong bond of relationship between student and adult. With few exceptions every adult in the school has such a "Home Group" of anywhere from 10 - 15 students. Parent/Advisor/Student conferences occur at the end of each quarterly marking period both to review performance of the quarter past and to set goals for the coming quarter. The school regularly gets 95% parental participation during these conferences.
Monte del Sol actively recruits for a diverse student body. That diversity is reflected in the 26% Hispanic students, 4% Asian students, 57% Anglo students, 13% bi-racial students and in the wide range of ability levels. Ted Sizer's Coalition of Essential Schools model serves as a guide to the development of the school.
The school has enjoyed a waiting list since its opening and, in the lottery for school year 04-05, had an 8 to one ratio of applicants to positions available. The school's charter was renewed in June 2004 for another five years and by all measures of success, the school has made a significant impact on education in the Santa Fe community.