About Our School
Welcome to Shelter Cove Community Day School
Shelter Cove Community Day School serves up to 12 students in grades 6, 7, and 8 within the Fort Bragg Unified School District. Our mission is to deliver exceptional, engaging, equitable, and collaborative learning opportunities for every student.
Shelter Cove exists for students who need something different — young people whose behavior or attendance challenges have made success difficult in a traditional school setting. Once seen simply as a school for "problem" students, Shelter Cove has grown into a leader in innovative alternative education, a place where middle schoolers are met with structure, care, and genuine belief in their potential.
A Big Picture Learning School
Shelter Community Day School is a proud Big Picture Learning school. The Big Picture philosophy puts students at the center of their own education. Rather than a rigid, one-size-fits-all curriculum, students work with a dedicated Advisor to build individualized learning plans rooted in their own interests and goals — plans designed to help them create futures of personal meaning and develop the skills to achieve them.
Teachers at Shelter Cove are called Advisors, and the close, ongoing relationship between Advisor and student is central to how the school works.
How We Learn: The Learning Cycle
The school year is organized into three trimester-long learning cycles. Every cycle begins with students creating an individualized learning plan and ends with a public exhibition of learning — a presentation where each student reflects on their academic growth and personal development over the trimester.
Throughout each cycle, students grow through:
- Independent learning and self-directed exploration
- Advisor-led support and goal-setting
- Team problem solving
- Writing and reflection
- Real-world "learning to learn" experiences outside the classroom
The School Day
The Shelter Cove school day is organized into four periods, each designed to support a different dimension of student development:
Advisory
The heart of the Noyo experience. During Advisory, students work one-on-one with their Advisor to develop their plans, track progress, and build the community bonds and emotional resilience that carry them through school and into life.
Independent Exploration
Students pursue their own personalized learning during this time. They have access to our Maker Space, which is equipped for art, fabrication, woodworking, filmmaking, fashion design, cosmetology, and music.
Core Classes
Students recieve direct instruction in math and English to support their academic growth through project based learning.
Health & Wellness
Options for both physical and emotional wellbeing, because a student's whole health matters.
Design Lab
Problem-driven design classes where students work in teams to develop real solutions to real challenges.
Get Involved
Parent involvement is vital to the success of our students and our school. Advisors stay in regular contact with families through phone calls, email, ParentSquare messages, and texts. Learning plans are shared with parents, and families are encouraged to attend their student's exhibitions at the end of each learning cycle.
Parents can also get involved through the School Site Council, Student Study Teams, Pre-Enrollment Conferences, Student Attendance Review Meetings, Community Engagement Initiative opportunities, and a range of volunteer opportunities.
Our School Site Council approves the school's annual plan and some categorical budget expenditures. New members are always welcome, and Spanish interpreters are available at many school meetings.
To learn more about volunteering or getting involved, contact Principal Gary Lewis at (707) 961-2889.
School Information
Address: 250 S. Sanderson Way, Fort Bragg, CA 95437
Phone: (707) 961-2889
Fax: (707) 964-1017
Principal: Gary Lewis
Advisors: Eric Forrester
eforrester@fbusd.us | (707) 961-3612