Historic Murrieta Ranch to Serve as Learning Center for Charter School

A landmark ranch that is part of Murrieta history will soon be used by students of a newly formed charter school.

Howard Gentry, who was born in Temeucla in 1903, bought the land at 31700 Los Alamos Road in the 1940s. He started the Gentry Experimental Farm, which specialized in plants that use little water and unusual cut flowers. Before that, the land belonged to the George Hind family, according to historical records.

Twenty-two acres still belong to the Gentry family, said Michele Smith, founder of Collaborative Community Education and Context Charter Schools. Smith said the Gentry family has agreed to let the charter school use the land as an anthropological and agricultural learning center.

"They really want someone who is going to be on the land and love it and take care of it," Smith said. "They would love the fact that the kids will be out there working."

Smith said the school's curriculum is unique in that it offers inquiry-based learning.

"The local community and its bioregion—its culture and heritage, ecology, economy, civic and social infrastructure and processes, all create the context for inquiry-based learning instruction and activities," Smith said. 

"...These 'classrooms without walls' allow students to interact with local experts, giving the student’s work real consequences."

The school, which is chartered under the Temecula Valley Unified School District, will serve students in sixth through eighth grades when it opens this fall.

"We intentionally chose middle school because we think that is where we can make the most impact," Smith said.

The school's full-time location is in portable classrooms next to the district office on Rancho Vista Road in Temecula, but Smith said the students will also spend time at the ranch.

"During the summer we'll use it for some team-building," Smith said. "There is nothing like getting out there on the land and getting our hands dirty."

Prior to opening for student use, Smith plans for the adobes and outbuildings on the ranch to be cleaned up and repaired by students, parents, staff and community volunteers.

In the first year, Smith said students, teachers and community experts will complete environmental, land and artifact surveys of the front acreage to identify the native and non-native plant species, map the site’s topography and uncover and restore any remaining artifacts near the original adobe outbuilding.

"The curriculum will engage students in exploring and using both historical and modern technologies to accomplish these tasks," she said.

Additionally, during that first year, students and teachers will grade and plant a series of small gardens. Students will investigate topics related to drainage and irrigation, proper land use management and organic crop care and management, Smith said.

Crops grown and harvested can be donated to local food charities serving Murrieta and Temecula, she said, and be taken home for students to share with family.

Eventually, Smith said Collaborative Community Education would like to offer grants to Murrieta and Temecula K-12 teachers to use space for short- and long-term projects.

The goal is to create the Murrieta Cultural Anthropology Learning Center, where artifacts can be displayed. Other plans include, with the family's consent, a Botanical Research Learning Center and Wildlife Preservation Learning Center.

"The Hind-Gentry Community Learning Center has the possibility to greatly enhance the learning opportunities of students in the Murrieta and Temecula districts," Smith said.

Registration is now open for Context Middle School. To find out more, click here.