After much preparation, Morgan Hill’s newest charter will open
its doors for the first day of school Tuesday.
After much preparation, Morgan Hill’s newest charter will open its doors for the first day of school Tuesday.
Silicon Valley Flex Academy begins its classes for about 200 6th through 12th graders at 7:45 a.m. at its temporary location at the Community Church on 305 W. Main Ave.
Flex Academy does not charge tuition and is open to any 6th through 12th graders who live in Santa Clara County. Charter schools are funded by the state and private donations, yet are not governed under the same laws as public schools. Flex Academy is not affiliated with the Morgan Hill Unified School District.
Head of School, Jean Southland said the energy has been positive leading up to the first day of school.
“We’re another choice in education,” she said. “I think that having an opportunity to bring in a blended learning environment, individualized attention and an outstanding curriculum is great for the community.”
What makes Flex flexible, said Southland, is its combination of the online K12 curriculum and individual student attention. Students will spend 15 to 20 minute chunks of time on an online lesson, and then have an offline lesson or breakout session with a teacher.
“Students are learning at their own pace,” she said. ” We’re using our data driven assessment to make our own decisions on what to focus on for each student. It’s exciting to deal with because our students will master the content, not just learn it.”
Noreen Romero’s 11 year-old Hayley will start as a 7th grader this year and said she is excited about the new school.
“We really liked the teaching method. My daughter attended the first (informational) meeting and she thought it was really exciting,” said Noreen.
She said that the balance of online and offline teaching will help her daughter in subjects that may not be her strong point. Hayley was attending the Charter School of Morgan Hill and her mother says it was her decision to make the switch to Flex.
“She’s extremely brave, she switched schools twice,” said Noreen. “She’s a little sad to leave her friends, but they are always doing things after school anyway.”
Southland said that although Flex Academy is a new charter school, it will not compromise typical middle school and high school activities, such as sports, clubs or dances. In fact, Noreen is part of the parent group that has become heavily involved with organizing people to help serve lunch, teams of sports, or even directing traffic on the first day of school.
