Charity Harang has worked with kids ever since she was young. She was an active leader with her church youth group, and in high school, she decided she wanted to be a high school counselor.
Her dream evolved after she started school at Point Loma Nazarene University when she realized she wanted to be a teacher. But through it all, her aim has always been the same: To help all students.
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Want to learn more about Ingenuity Charter School? Attend Ingenuity Charter School’s Open House starting at 11 a.m. on Sept. 26. You’ll get to meet staff members, participate in interactive art and science sessions, and get to visit Ingenuity’s Learning Resource Center.
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“All students can excel and achieve, it’s really about supporting the whole student,” Harang said.
What does she mean exactly?
Harang sees her position as an educator as a blend of being both a teacher and a counselor to help clear the barriers of learning for struggling students.
“Personal and emotional issues can hinder the learning process,” she said. “I give students emotional and mental support, supporting them in any way I can.”
And to do so, she says there’s no better place than Ingenuity Charter School, an independent study blended program that provides one-on-one support for students looking for a new learning environment.
Students take online courses, but visit the school on a scheduled, weekly basis to meet with teachers, like Harang, who make sure they stay on track.
Really, there’s no way to fail at Ingenuity Charter. The staff there do everything they can to help students succeed.
The school provides Google Chromebooks for students who can’t access their online courses, and bus passes for those who need help getting to campus. Once they’re in the classroom, Harang is there every step of the way.
She watches their progress on her end through the learning software program Edgenuity to see the curriculum students are struggling with and how she can help.
Harang says she struggled with certain subjects in school too, such as math, but it pushed her to work harder. She also had a great math teacher one semester, who showed her math can be understood and fun.
She hopes to be that kind of educator for her students at Ingenuity Charter. She says spending one-on-one time with them and seeing the look of realization when they finally “get it” is the best part about teaching.
Harang says the ideology of supporting the whole student runs throughout Ingenuity Charter and The O’Farrell Charter School, its partner school, which is why she was attracted to the teaching position at Ingenuity.
She also says Ingenuity Charter’s Principal Tiffany Degraffenreid made her choice even easier. They worked together in the past and Harang says their vision for helping all students is one and the same.
“I love being part of an independent study program,” Harang said. “We get to know students really well, and I can understand the students and how they learn.”
The school enrolled more than 160 students for their summer session, but with year-round enrollment, students can join at any time.