School officials are hoping that by mixing the curriculum of charter and pilot programs will help alleviate overcrowding issues in Vernon Central.
Charter and pilot programs won bids to helm four schools on two new campuses in the Newton area starting in Fall 2011. The four schools were chosen from 27 who were bidding as part of the second annual round of Public School Choice (PSC).
The Public School Choice process allows the public to inform their district board members how they’d like their new schools to be organized: under pilot programs, as charter schools or under traditional LAUSD administration and curriculum.
LAUSD District Two board member Monica Garcia said she is confident a mix of charter and pilot programs works for the community, since it's worked for the newly-minted Quincy Jones Elementary School, which opened last fall.
“It’s one of the most collaborative, most exciting, most inspiring campuses,” Garcia said.
The same team of Synergy Charter and pilot programs proposed a plan for one of the Vernon Central campuses of PSC 2.0. Garcia said she tries to maintain objectivity when judging which programs are best for the community.
“I don’t have a preference — there are multiple strategies,” Garcia said. “Charters are part of the solution.”
Although they may be part of the competition, traditional schools must learn to coexist and benefit from cooperation with charters, said Santee Education Complex Principal Dr. Richard Chavez. Santee, a traditional school, has improved since its troubled start in 2005, raising its Academic Performance Index from the low 400s to 553 in 2010.
It all comes down to what each school has to offer students, Chavez said. Like charters, Santee opened as a campus split into five smaller schools including public service and social justice and fashion design and visual arts (a sixth was added in 2006). Santee offers AP classes, elective courses and all the clubs and social life that accompany a student body of 3,300; charter schools offer smaller class sizes and specialized track training.
But the smaller-population charters also lack community services. Due to its size and position under LAUSD, Santee is able to engage city services such as vocational training, mentoring and employment opportunities for students. In addition, Santee offers city services to families, from bus passes to food vouchers to employment for parents of students. Santee currently helps 100 families, Chavez said.
The first approved campus, Central Region Middle School #7, lies in LAUSD District 2 under Garcia and will be divided into a Synergy Academies Charter school, a school of the arts and culture pilot program and a business and technology school pilot program. CR MS #7 will relieve Carver and Los Angeles Academy Middle School.
Central Region High School #16 lies in LAUSD District 7 under board member Richard Vladovic and will be divided into a Synergy Academies Charter school and two Social Justice Schools: a Fine Arts Academy and a Global Issues Academy. CR ES #16 will relieve Santee Education Complex.
The board will also vote on PSC recommendations to repurpose existing schools that have failed to meet performance criteria. Three schools that failed — Henry Clay Middle School, Horace Mann Middle School and John Muir Middle School — were up for bidding as part of PSC 2.0.
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