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The Gabriella
Charter Schoolis a K−5
dance−themed
public elementary school−−funded
and established by theGabriella
Axelrad Education
Foundationin September of 2005. The
elementary charter school offers a challenging
and innovative standards−based curriculum that
is complemented by the focus, discipline and
creativity of dance in order to stimulate children
to STRETCH, REACH, EXPLORE, PRACTICE and
PERFORM as a means of achieving excellence in
the classroom. GCSis committed to providing an
educational program that builds on a child’s
natural curiosity and promotes joy in both the
learning process and in the mastery of skills.
SCHOOL LOCATION
631 South Commonwealth Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90005
GCS is located in a gated historic site opposite
Lafayette Park and Felipe De Neve Library, ½
block north of Wilshire Boulevard.
STUDENT ENROLLMENT
100 students in year one (K−3), 125 and 150
students in years two and three respectively
(K−5);
possible expansion would add three
additional classrooms. 20 students in grades K−3;
25 students in grades 4−5.
ACADEMIC SCHEDULE
Traditional schedule, September−June
Faculty start date: August 21, 2006
School hours: 8:00- 3:30, 1:30 dismissal
Thursdays for teacher meetings.
GCS ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM
- Liza Bercovici is the Founder and Executive
Director of the Gabriella
Axelrad Education
Foundation(GAEF) to which GCS is linked
financially, philosophically and
administratively. She practiced law for 20
years before establishing the Foundation and
School in memory of her daughter, Gabriella.
GAEF’s “everybody
dance!” program has
provided 117 weekly classes in ballet, jazz,
tap, modern and hip- hop to over 1000
children in the Pico−Union, Rampart and
Koreatown communities.
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- Susan Gurman, Principal of GCS, has over 20 years of teaching administrative
and
consulting experience in California schools. As a public school teacher, she was the
recipient of the Stolz Award for Excellence in Teaching from the University of California at
Berkeley.
- Chippy Zuniga, Assistant Artistic Director and GCS Dance Coordinator,
comes to GCS with
a strong background in dance education and a commitment to the integration of dance
instruction throughout the academic curriculum. She served as the Childhood Dance
Director and dance instructor at the Harvey Cavalier Camp, Park Pre-School and the River
School in New York and taught dance at the Westwood Charter School and the Faith
Intercommunity Church in Whittier, California. She earned an MFA from New York University
with concentration in Dance Education K- 12 and has danced with the Kaleidoscope Dance
Company, the Pasadena Civic Ballet Company and the UCLA Undergraduate Dance
Company.
TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS
Four out of five of our current classroom teachers are
Teach for America graduates. We
have found that TFA training and philosophy are compatible with the GCSgoal to provide
engaging and challenging, standards−based
curriculum to a traditionally underachieving
population.
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About Us
