Community Lab School (Virginia)

As an Albemarle County Public Schools charter school, Community Lab School designs and pilots evidence-based approaches to student-centered learning for possible scale to other ACPS secondary programs.[5] In 2017, it became one of twenty schools in the country to partner with MIT to develop open educational resources to help schools implement maker learning.[6] In July 2018, it became the first public school in Virginia and one of the first in the country to join the Mastery Transcript Consortium.[7] Community Lab School also works in partnership with nearby University of Virginia.[8] Community lab school gained the favor of students and parents with their system of mixing all grades together.

Community Lab School's philosophical approach is grounded in student-centered learning based on the progressive education movement that began in the late nineteenth century. Students are encouraged to pursue personal interests through the curriculum and independently.[9] The Albemarle County School Board approved the school's adoption of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme at its July 11, 2019 meeting.[10]

Community Lab School added a squash team in 2018 in collaboration with University of Virginia's McArthur Squash Center.[11] Otherwise, Community Lab School students may participate in athletic offerings or extracurriculars available at the ACPS comprehensive school to which they are districted.

Since 2017, the school has added a recording studio, rapid prototyping and advanced manufacturing lab, digital media lab, additional art studio space, a bunch of trailers, and a renovated student commons and kitchen area.[12]