YOUR VIEWS
Ed board racial diversity concerns for Charter School are hypocritical
Dear Editor,
As a mother of two Hispanic children attending the Charter School of Morgan Hill, I find it almost hypocritical of Peter Mandel and the Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Education to chastise the Charter School for lack of racial diversity when they can’t even solve that problem in their own elementary schools in the district.
First, I challenge MHUSD to publish the demographic information for the elementary schools in the district. You would find that the same racial diversity problem they are complaining about at Charter happens at schools all over town, just in different ways. On one end of the district, you have a school with over 60 percent or higher Hispanic students, and more than 50 percent free/reduced lunch students, and in other schools, you have the complete opposite. Is that equal diversity? A few years ago, there was a discussion about changing the school boundaries to allow for a more equal balancing of racial diversity and guess what happened? The parents complained and the board did nothing.
Every child in the district has equal opportunity to come to the Charter School. You fill out an application, it will be placed in a lottery, and your child’s name may be chosen.
Each year before the open enrollment process begins, Charter School advertises in the paper and hosts informational meetings at the Community Center and at the school to make sure that parents all over the district are informed about the opportunity to come to the Charter School. I find that the parents that apply to the school are parents who are motivated to participate in their child’s education and are looking for a different way to educate their children than most of the schools in the district provide.
Transportation? Not a problem. The school will help you arrange a carpool with other families, and will pay for bus transportation to Extreme Learning after school for those families who qualify for free and reduced lunch.
Let’s talk about what is really going on here – the Charter School of Morgan Hill does not educate its students in the same methodologies as other schools in the district, yet it scored the second highest in the district on standardized tests. The principal and educators of Charter School are not micro-managed by the MHUSD board and Dr. Alan Nishino, yet they are extremely successful with their students. But what I really think it boils down to is money. Every school in the district gets a certain amount of money from the state for each student in attendance. Every student that attends the Charter School is one less student that brings in money for MHUSD, one less dollar that MHUSD gets to spend. Disguise it as you may, but I think that the board just doesn’t want Charter to be successful, and since they can’t criticize the terrific academics, why not pick on racial diversity?
Lora Perez, Morgan Hill
Impressed with wonderful cook at Senior Center
Dear Editor,
I have been so impressed with the senior luncheon served at our YMCA/Centennial Recreation Center. We have a wonderful, creative cook, Sandra Madriles, who has made dining at the Senior Center a real pleasure!
Margaret Johnston, Morgan Hill
