Charter schools OK'd; districts have no say

This is really alarming. The state BOE has approved 10 new charters run by this chain, without approval of local school boards. The closest is in San Mateo County.

(Of course these schools have attracted "international recognition" because of the massive PR firepower of the Bush Administration-connected right-wing think tanks that are pushing them, and the gullible, unquestioning compliance of the press.)

Even charter school advocates acknowledge that new charters may force districts (which, again, have no say over whether these charters pop up in their district) to close schools. Their attitude is "tough beans for those losers."

State OKs High Tech charters
San Diego Union-Tribune
By Helen Gao
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
January 13, 2006

Leaders of the High Tech High chain of charter schools that have attracted international recognition received state approval yesterday to open 10 more campuses in California, without having to get permission from local school boards.

Six of the schools are proposed for San Diego County.

The decision by the state Board of Education represented a major victory for charter school supporters, who complain that some local boards are biased against them because they compete for students with district-run schools.

San Diego-based High Tech is the first charter management organization in the state to be granted the right to expand in such a way.

continue reading...

Charters are public schools operated by parents, educators and community leaders. Typically, they must obtain approval of their charters, or education plans, from local school boards to open and are overseen by school districts.

Designated yesterday as a "statewide benefit charter school," High Tech can have its new schools approved administratively by Sacramento.

It has proposed opening the schools in the next five years in poor and low-achieving areas of Escondido (two schools), central San Diego, Chula Vista, East County, National City, Hesperia in San Bernardino County (two schools), San Mateo County and San Jose.

"We are going to be able to have rapid growth of the high-quality charter schools that are doing very unique programs with statewide benefits up and down the state," said Caprice Young, president and chief executive officer of the California Charter Schools Association.

Some see a downside.

Stephanie Farland, a senior policy consultant with the California School Boards Association, is worried that the lack of local school board approval would lead to a lack of local accountability.

"The local community where these charter schools will locate will have no local body to turn to if issues arise with the charter school," she said.

Jed Wallace, chief operating officer for High Tech, said the charter schools will build close ties with their community. In San Diego, High Tech has worked with the San Diego Unified School District to improve secondary education, he said.

Each new High Tech charter school would have its own advisory board to handle local matters, Wallace added, and each will also develop a local theme. But all High Tech charter schools would be based on the model developed at The Gary & Jerri-Ann Jacobs High Tech High.

High Tech opened its first campus, the Jacobs school, in 2000.

Since then, five more High Tech high schools, middle schools and one elementary school have been added at the former Naval Training Center in Point Loma. A seventh campus is in Redwood City.

Students learn through projects, internships and interactions with professionals, rather than relying heavily on textbooks. The schools are kept small to promote close working relationships between adults and students.

A number of schools across the country have adopted the High Tech model, although they don't all carry its name. School officials from China, Spain, the United Kingdom and elsewhere have studied the model.

To open the 10 campuses, High Tech must show success with the first two in Chula Vista and Escondido in the next two years.

These schools have to achieve certain rankings on the California Academic Performance Index, which is based on standardized test scores. Their student bodies are to be composed of at least 40 percent disadvantaged students.

Wallace said High Tech needs the statewide benefit charter school designation for several reasons. Among them, it would improve its chances of obtaining federal tax credits to build new schools in low-income areas and would allow it to expand its teacher credentialing program, he said.

High Tech has been training teachers in partnership with the University of San Diego.

More important, High Tech needs a statewide network of schools to support its graduates' college education, Wallace said. Its goal is to ensure that at least 60 percent of its graduates complete college in six years.

— Caroline