As the 21st century dawns the availability of a first-class education has become a concern for parents and caregivers. Despite upward fluctuations in funding, inner-city schools continue to crumble. Last year in Los Angeles there were several full-scale riots on high school campuses. Massive, armed police response was required to regain the peace in each instance. The anniversary of the Brown Vs the Board of Education decision has brought public attention to what is referred to as the "Achievement Gap" in scholastic ability. The current one-size-fits-all approach has proved itself unable to reach certain segments of the student population.

Many would be pundits and theoreticians are quick to point the finger at the cause or causes of this, but a surprising few have been willing to work towards effective solutions.

A Japanese proverb says:

Fix the problem not the blame

Anyone who has spent time working in low performing schools can identify the problem. It’s not that children of poverty are incapable of learning. More often than not, for whatever reason, the child's own immediate environment conspires against all the best intentions of their teachers and schools.

It is nearly impossible concentrate on the intricacies of physics homework if you have drive-by shootings in your neighborhood. The delicate nuances of 17th century French poetry seem unimportant and impossibly distant when your family moves from one over-crowded apartment to another every few months. Physics and French poetry might not seem important to everyone but these subjects, and others like them, are absolutely necessary for success in university coursework. Wading through pollution, crime and the desperation that comes with poverty focuses the mind away from self-improvement, invariably, to simple self-preservation. There are innumerable theories about what causes these problems. At the Sequoia Odyssey School we believe we have found a solution.

Children need a safe, steady, stable place to live while they learn and grow into adulthood. By re-engineering the proven methods of private boarding schools we hope to fine-tune them for the needs of California's socially and economically at risk children.

We believe that a rural, rules-oriented culture combined with rigorous academics and regular responsibilities is the necessary formula for a maximized learning environment. There have always been schools that could provide this essential mix of services but the cost of attending such schools make it a dream well beyond the means of most families (Private boarding schools average between $18,000 and $40,000 a year.). Throughout the history of education the wealthiest among us have recognized the benefit of boarding schools in the education of their young.

We hope to provide what is available to the children of the wealthy at No Cost to the Family. This will be accomplished through a combination of Charter School Funding, Federal Education Grants, Foster Care Funds, the School Chores program and a number of other resources.

We propose to adopt the 1.2 million acre Sequoia National Forrest as well as half of the grounds of our 600-acre campus as an ecological and historical laboratory. Through the Sequoia Odyssey School Center for the Reintroduction of Native Species, students at all grade levels will be involved in the rearing and reintroduction of endangered flora and fauna.

The children care for the forest and the forest cares for the children. By learning to care for the forest and its inhabitants, we learn to care for ourselves and others.Sincerely, W.C. Starrett IIICalifornia Commision for Residential Education, Director