Nineteen percent of school’s enrollment is Hispanic, goal is to
increase to 33 percent
Morgan Hill – Racial and socio-economic diversity at the Charter School of Morgan Hill remain a concern for Morgan Hill Unified School District officials and and trustees who granted the school its charter six years ago.
CSMH Principal Paige Cisewski told trustees during a report to the board Tuesday night that school officials, including its board of directors, have been making efforts to increase the diversity of the school.
The school opened in August 2001, with nearly 200 students in three separate locations. Once renovations were complete on the space in the Albertson’s shopping center, the school moved into what is now the Dollar Tree store. In 2003, the school moved onto the campus of the former Encinal Elementary on Monterey Highway north of Morgan Hill near Bailey Avenue. Enrollment has increased each year, and a middle school program was added two years ago.
CSMH’s original charter came before the board for renewal in November 2005, five years after it was originally approved. The charter renewal was approved in January.
Trustees were concerned that the school’s percentage of Hispanic students was no where near the districtwide ratio of 40 percent. According to California charter school law, the ethnic and racial makeup of charter schools should mirror that of the community it resides in.
Last year, with 425 students in grades K-8, 12 percent of them were Hispanic. This year, the school has 465 students, and 19 percent – 87 students – are Hispanic. The district’s population is approximately 33 percent Hispanic.
“We’ll probably encourage them to expand their outreach to make sure they are reaching as many people as possible,” Trustee Julia Hover-Smoot said. “Also, their number of ELL students was a little low, given the number in the district. We would like the Charter School to reflect the general population, it is a public school. But I think they are on the right track, they are clearly serious about it and have taken it to heart.”
Because CSMH does not offer a hot lunch for students, Cisewski told trustees, she was unable to give them the number of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch.
MHUSD Director of Student Services Bob Davis, who is the district liaison for the charter school and sits on the CSMH board as a non-voting member, agrees the school is making an effort to increase its population’s diversity.
“There is more work to be done in that area, although it is encouraging that some progress has been made to move more closely to the district’s level of diversity,” he said.
Cisewski said the school has taken several steps since the charter was renewed to increase the diversity of the school, including partnering with GoKids, a Santa Clara County preschool program that offers services for families with socio-economic or language challenges, and El Toro Youth Center, a Morgan Hill facility that serves a similar population. Representatives from CSMH also visited several classes at the Loving and Learning Center to distribute information and talk about the school. The center helps migrant families in Morgan Hill and the surrounding area.
Another trustee concern was the school’s financial health. The Charter School operated in a deficit and had no reserves. State law suggest that a school of its size reserve between 3 and 5 percent of it’s general fund.
Trustees said they would like the school to have 4 percent, but they agreed to accept 1 percent by the end of the school year, with the percentage increasing by one each year for the next three years.
Cisewski said the school had reserves of 1.5 percent in June and will have more than 2 percent by the end of this year. She added that though in it’s earlier years, the school relied heavily on fundraisers, the school is not now relying on fundraisers this year to support its budget.
“I’m happy to say we are living within what the state gives us,” she said. “Our budget is not based on fundraising now.”
Hover-Smoot said one of the things that impresses her about the school is their academic symmetry.
“I really admire the Charter School; one thing they have done an amazingly good job of is that they seem to have found a real balance between having to test their students and having and kids really learning, taking an intrinsic pleasure in learning,” she said.
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@*************es.com.
