Since opening its doors to the community in 2001, Genesee Community Charter School (GCCS) at the Rochester Museum & Science Center has been a proud member of the EL Education Network. In that time, GCCS has set out to do exactly what charter schools were intended to do, create greater flexibility for innovation within public education. GCCS offers a unique program that sets us apart from other schools in our region. In addition to our diverse population, place-based curriculum, community culture, and arts integration, GCCS is designed to make an impact beyond the walls of our school. We are a community school by name and by action with the expectation we contribute to a better world.

At GCCS, we believe that the community is our classroom. From Kindergarten throughout their career at GCCS, students are immersed in Rochester’s development through time. Students learn from experts in the field rather than from textbooks and place their fingertips on primary source documents to feel their “history heartbeat.” Students develop a deep investment in who has walked the streets before them and therefore feel compelled to give back before they leave GCCS.

Students create authentic products for the community such as an online teacher’s guide for the Sam Patch, a local vessel that tours the Erie Canal through the Rochester area. In 2018, sixth grade students spent several months working with a local artist and community advocate to develop murals for neighborhoods in the Rochester community. As a museum school, our community is also committed to collaborating with the Rochester Museum and Science Center. In 2017, first graders highlighted several members of the Haudenosaunee who live in Rochester today in panels that were permanently installed in the Native Peoples exhibit in the museum. Currently, our fourth and fifth grade teachers and a focus group of students are advising designers on a permanent exhibit focused on women’s rights throughout history.

GCCS defines “community” broadly and therefore, our school serves the EL Education Network and organizations in the Rochester region. Every few years, Genesee Community Charter School organizes a Site Seminar to invite teachers and leaders from around the country to observe classrooms in action and attend teacher-created workshops to learn more about our curriculum, instructional strategies, and culture-building techniques. Additionally, we have hosted schools from countries around the world including India, China, and Canada within this charter term. We also collaborate with St. John Fisher College to host Classroom Management courses for education students and we have also partnered with University of Rochester Medical Center’s Pediatric Residency Department to provide tours to the resident doctors as part of their study to learn more about the Rochester community.

The most exciting and significant community collaborative effort is the relationship with Roberto Clemente School #8 in the Rochester City School District. GCCS was awarded a 3-year, $500,000 Federal Dissemination Grant to pilot EL Education's K-2 Reading Foundational Skills Curriculum and work with School #8 in a collegial partnership. This three-year partnership created a life-long relationship between a district and charter school. The cultures and student literacy at both schools benefited from this dissemination grant and plans are underway to keep the partnership sustainable beyond the funding.

Our small school may seem small, however, the impact of our work ripples beyond the walls of GCCS. We are leaving a lasting impact the Rochester community, the EL Education network, and the global education community as a progressive and innovative school to learn from. Welcome to our community.

School Mission

Accolades & Honors