Trustees with the Morgan Hill Unified School District showed
sound judgment when renewing the charter of the Morgan Hill Charter
School for another five years last week, but they also must make
sure the school lives up to its end of the bargain.
Trustees with the Morgan Hill Unified School District showed sound judgment when renewing the charter of the Morgan Hill Charter School for another five years last week, but they also must make sure the school lives up to its end of the bargain.
Trustees were most concerned that the Charter School’s demographics didn’t mirror those of the district with a lack of Hispanic and low socio-economic students enrolled.
Districtwide, Hispanic students comprise roughly 40 percent of the total population, but MHUSD Vice President Peter Mandel estimated Charter School’s Hispanic population somewhere between 16 and 12 percent. Students in the low socio-economic category comprise 27 percent of the district’s population, but only 7 percent at the Charter School.
The issue of student population is extremely relevant today as the federal No Child Left Behind Act places stringent rules and penalties for student performance, including forcing the district to spend dollars providing tutors for the lowest performing students and even turning over a chronically under-performing district to the state in worst case scenarios. The Charter School posts an impressive 831 points on the Academic Performance Index compared to the MHUSD’s 755 points. And the two lowest performing student categories in our district, Hispanic students (637 API) and low socio-economic students (641), are the very populations the Charter School is lacking. White students, which make up the lion’s share of students at Charter School, scored an API of 820 in the Morgan Hill School District.
Considering the lofty goals NCLB places on our school district, it’s only fair Charter School plays an equal role in educating our struggling student populations if they’re allowed to operate inside the district, especially since the penalties could affect all other MHUSD students if scores collectively fall below acceptable levels.
Likewise, the district also expressed concern about a lack of a reserve fund in Charter School’s budget. It’s a salient point of concern for the district, which would absorb these kids if Charter School suddenly declares bankruptcy. Charter School parents should be equally concerned about their school’s ability to weather a financial storm.
Now, the Charter School will encourage more Hispanic and low socio-economic students to join their ranks by partnering with community groups such as El Toro Youth Center and Go Kids and creating programs to reach out to their parents.
The school will also create a 4 percent reserve account over the next few years.
The Charter School appears to be on the right course – it is adequately adding security to its operation while trying to attract more students that can benefit from its high student-to-teacher ratio and providing a needed choice to traditional public education. But it remains the charge of district trustees to ensure this direction is maintained and the conditions are being met.
