About Our Community School (OCS)

OCS nurtures democratic citizens who will one day apply their talents and skills to improving the human condition.  Integrating rigorous state standards into a holistic, humanities core education, students are immersed in the democratic process through concrete applications and hands-on experiences.  They learn to internalize the value of human life, recognizing the commonality of the human spirit which binds people from every background together.  Opportunities for ongoing collaboration, real world experiences and self-assessment foster an intrinsic ownership of the education in every child.

OCS is situated at 16514 Nordhoff Street, North Hills, California.   The site is located in the San Fernando Valley, within the borders of the Los Angeles Unified School District.  The facility has eight classrooms, offices, multi-purpose room, staff resource room, conference room and full kitchen.  OCS is autonomous — responsible for all things pertaining to the daily operation and governance of the school, including its on-site administration, professional development, curriculum and methodology development, and delivery of instruction to an ethnically and economically diverse student population.

About Holistic Education

Holistic education nurtures the development of the child’s intellect, physical body, emotions, and spirit, recognizing that these four aspects of the child are integrally tied to one other, present in every moment of the child’s life.  The successful 21st century citizen must embody an amalgamation of self awareness, confidence, adaptability and ambition — coupled with a command of broad-based knowledge, communication skills, reasoning, creativity and collaboration. 

The Role of OCS in Educational Reform

OCS intends to prove that a humanities core curriculum can balance constructivist teaching methodologies with explicit, rigorous standards-based instruction — demonstrating that academic excellence can be attained through holistic education.