The Morgan Hill Unified School District fears it may be forced to close one of its eight elementary schools, if two new charter schools get the green light to open up shop for the 2014-15 school year.
President Theresa Sage of the Morgan Hill Federation of Teachers says the district will have no choice if Navigator Schools and Rocketship Education – two charter organizations petitioning to open new schools in Morgan Hill – reach their projected combined enrollment numbers of approximately 780 students.
“If (Rocketship) opens up … we will be closing one of our elementary schools,” said Sage, a history teacher at Ann Sobrato High School. Sage was focusing on Rocketship’s capacity to accommodate 600 pre-kindergarten to fifth-graders in its first year alone. Navigator is hoping to serve 180 kindergarten through second-graders in its first year.
“Is it going to be fair who gets into that charter?,” she added during Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting. “Those are decisions that you guys (as board members) are going to have to make.”
Charter schools are required to use a lottery system for enrollment.
Sage pointed at the Charter School of Morgan Hill located at 9530 Monterey Road, which opened in 2001 under the premise of wanting to educate the most undeserved and socio-economic disadvantaged students, Sage said.
Currently, however, the school only has two students enrolled who fall into that category, said Sage, prompting her to insinuate charter schools aren’t necessarily that focused on educational “equity” for all students.
Board of Ed. President Don Moody described the possible impact of two new charter schools in Morgan Hill as “scary,” considering it could force a site closure.
MHUSD Interim Superintendent Steve Betando does not think Rocketship is needed and asked its leadership team to “abandon its interest in starting a charter school in Morgan Hill.”
“We believe the public education of Morgan Hill students should be in the hands of Morgan Hill and not in an out-of-the-area charter school,” Betando said. “Our programs are designed to meet the needs of all the students and leaving no student behind.”
As for Navigator Schools, which opened its first facility in 2011 in Gilroy and another this year in Hollister, it resubmitted its petition Aug. 9 after MHUSD shot the original down due to what it identified as non-compliance issues with No Child Left Behind Legislation, handling special needs students, and the inclusion of mandatory parent volunteer hours. Navigator Schools co-founder James Dent said they have addressed those issues in their new petition.
Rocketship, however, has already designated its new location near the intersection of Church and San Pedro Streets and is in the midst of solidifying its purchase of the 1.6 acres.
The organization also held a public hearing at the Aug. 28 City Council meeting, asking for the issuance of $50 million in revenue bonds from the California Municipal Finance Authority to provide financing for the opening of new schools in Morgan Hill and San Jose.
“We’re moving forward in securing land. It’s a risk we’re taking because we don’t have a charter, but that’s how much Rocketship wants to be here,” said Jessica Garcia-Kohl, Rocketship’s Director of Development who was not “surprised” by Betando’s comments. “I sense they perceive a Rocketship School coming to Morgan Hill as a threat.”
Trustee Rick Badillo sees Rocketship as another option for parents, and wants to hear the “pros and cons” on both sides.
“Parents want change,” Badillo said. “They want options, and Rocketship seems to have a product that seems to be working.”
Drawn to Morgan Hill by a recent influx of parental requests, Rocketship – its mission is to lower the achievement gap – has found success at its other schools such as Rocketship’s Mateo Sheedy Elementary School, which opened in 2007 in San Jose. With 89 percent Latino students, 87 percent students on free and reduced lunch and 63 percent English Language Learners, Mateo Sheedy scored a 924 on the Academic Performance Index – the state’s yardstick for measuring academic success. The API’s benchmark score is 800.
Betando and Moody say Rocketship’s public hearing to secure funding was “premature,” especially since the charter has yet to submit its petition to MHUSD. Garcia-Kohl, however, confirmed that Rocketship will submit its petition to MHUSD for consideration. She did not give an exact date for submission.
Back in December 2011, the County approved a bulk number of Rocketship’s petitions. Rocketship technically only needs approval from the County but recently decided to seek MHUSD’s blessing.
“What we’re hearing directly from parents is that they want additional choices for high-quality education,” Garcia-Kohl noted.
One of those parents includes Armando Benavides, a local attorney and a vocal advocate for at-risk students. He says “parents are clamoring for change.”
Benavides says the hoped-for future site of Rocketship’s campus close to low-income neighborhoods will make it more attractive to socio-economic disadvantaged parents, who were turned off by the Charter School of Morgan Hill’s distant location in the northern outskirts of town.
In the wake of a charter school frenzy, MHUSD wants to offer its own version of “innovative” learning. The district recently unveiled plans to turn two of its lowest-achieving elementary schools into magnet academies in 2014, in addition to the Jackson Academy of Math and Music, which was established two years ago. MHUSD wants to create a technology-based academy at P.A. Walsh Elementary School and an environmental science-focused magnet at San Martin Gwinn Elementary School.
Benavides remains skeptical.
“You’re basically just changing the packaging,” said Benavides, who doubts the impact of new magnet schools without additional funding from the district.
Badillo questions the timing, calling the academies “smoke and mirrors” and a “tactical” move by the district in response to Rocketship.
Betando maintains MHUSD “can serve all students better than charters can.”
The Board unanimously approved the district’s request to continue working with staff and school communities on developing the new magnets. The district will bring the final plans back to the Board in December.
