Tag: charter school

The Charter School of Morgan Hill Foundation has awarded scholarships to graduating high school students who are alumni of the Charter School of Morgan...

Special to the Times As homeless numbers continue to rise in Santa Clara County, 7th grade students at Charter School of Morgan Hill (CSMH) used...

Local teen Mariah Fisher is no stranger to isolation and what might now be termed “social distancing,” as she spent seven weeks in hospitals and rehab facilities after she suffered a stroke due to a rare condition known as Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM).

• Kathleen Sullivan: No. Rocketship has only been in existence since 2006. While I applaud the success of some of its schools, their goal to open clusters of schools in over 50 cities speaks more about a franchise than a successful school model involved with the community it serves. They have demonstrated their reluctance to even talk with local school boards when they went to the County Board of Education and requested an unprecedented agreement to open an additional 25 schools, stopping dialogue with districts they had already partnered with. Their model of K to 5 is also not the model used in our schools. A governing board which is not even in this state makes me doubt how responsive they will be to local issues.

Quite a lively discussion in the Times’ Editorial Board meeting this week about the upcoming school board vote on the Navigator Charter School application next week. A split 3-3 vote there will lead to a cautious acceptance newspaper editorial, but my position is hardly that. I’ve witnessed what Principal James Dent accomplished in Gilroy’s worst-performing public elementary school, Eliot, then I watched as the leadership continue to evolve when Dent and his team opened Gilroy Prep Charter School, a school that is anything but elitist with 64% English Language Learners, 65% Free and Reduced Lunch qualifying students, 75% Latino and 8% Special Education. The Board should not only approve, but support and welcome Navigator and Dent. This is a charter school that in its first year, posted a 970 API score becoming the highest-performing first-year charter out of 500 in the state of California since 2006. Navigator schools will work with the district to improve education across the board. It’s not a money-hungry business model conjured up to play on the poor public school system. Rather, it’s a bona fide effort to improve public school education. I’ve witnessed the push for innovation, expectation and progress for more than 5 years in Gilroy and believe the teaching methods and core philosophy are, in a sense, a magic bullet. It’s about absolutely making sure that students have a solid foundation of knowledge in subject areas. If you don’t know your multiplication tables inside and out, or your syllables, you’re never going to become a critical thinker, problem solver or capable communicator. Board trustee Amy Porter Jensen has it right when calling for “collaboration” between the staffs at Navigator Schools and MHUSD to make “both sides be successful in a way that will allow us to continue to move forward and reach all students and their needs.” Late word at presstime: Rocketship – a whole different charter school animal – is going to very soon announce its intention to open in Morgan Hill, too. Choices for parents are welcome.

Q: Why are you running?

Now, the hard work begins for Morgan Hill Unified School District. 

A vote Tuesday night by the Morgan Hill Unified School District board of education could send the district’s proposed $198 million bond measure to the Nov. 6 ballot.

The Charter School of Morgan Hill has been designated as a 2012 California Distinguished School. CSMH is among 31 public elementary schools in Santa Clara County that were selected for the award.