Columnists

Last Saturday, I did something I never imagined I’d have to do in a million years: I spoke at my 7-month-old nephew’s funeral.

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.