by Mike Szymanski | LA School Report | http://bit.ly/1O38tHS
Posted on February 9, 2016 9:29 pm :: In
dual votes Tuesday about a long-vacant school in the west San Fernando Valley,
the LA Unified school board halted a charter school that was previously
proposed for the site and instead allowed a district school to pursue it.
The school board gave a unanimous thumbs-up for Hale Charter
Academy to pursue a proposal to develop a performing arts school on the campus
of Highlander Elementary School in West Hills. Hale Charter Academy, named
after the astronomer George Ellery Hale, is now 6th through 8th grades in
Woodland Hills. The expansion, which would be called Hale Charter Academy for
Visual and Performing Arts, would go through high school graduation and
continue into two college level grades (grade 14), allowing for an Associate in
Arts degree.
Then, in a cliff-hanger vote an hour later, the board voted
4-3 against allowing an El Camino Real Alliance charter school to be built at
the site after the charter held some meetings with the Woodland Hills community
over the past year to replace Highlander, which had been vacant for three
decades.
It’s an area of the LAUSD district where students have few
options to attend a public high school and many move to private schools or
charter schools, according to district staff.
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| Vivian Ekchian, Local District Northwest superintendent |
“I am puzzled with the misperceptions about this plan, but
I’m thrilled that we will be able to expand the arts and other wonderful
programs already going on at Hale,” said Vivian Ekchian, the local district
northwest superintendent for LAUSD, after the first vote was taken authorizing
an estimated $500,000 for Hale to pursue the expansion. She was instrumental in
clearing up some of the issues to the school board about the district school’s
expansion. She said that the plan for expanding into the space was discussed
for nearly a decade.
The Highlander school site was a rundown encampment for
homeless for decades, and El Camino Real Alliance offered to build a charter
school there for 550 students in grades kindergarten through 8th. But that plan
was delayed in October when school board member Scott Schmerelson pointed out
that there were plans for the same site for a public school that would keep the
students under the LAUSD funding umbrella.
It would also ensure that the teachers at the school would
fall under the LA Unified union contract. In an unusual move, four labor
leaders on Tuesday spoke in favor of the Hale Charter expansion during their
own reports to the board.
“It is a well-rounded curriculum that serves the community
needs, we urge you support it,” said UTLA President Alex Caputo-Pearl. After
the vote, he said he was happy with the decision.
The president of the Associated Administrators of Los
Angeles, Juan Flecha, who represents principals and administrators, said he
previously worked in the area and said, “This is a definite need, and it’s an
innovative and exciting project forward.”
Jackie Keen, a community volunteer on the El Camino board
and resident near the Highlander site, said, “You can approve the charter
school and let’s work together.” She, and the representatives of El Camino,
were voted down.
The vote wasn’t for a complete commitment to the charter
school at the site, but when the board was asked to approve it, only Monica
Garcia, Ref Rodriguez and Monica Ratliff voted for it. Ultimately, school board
president Steve Zimmer, George McKenna, Richard Vladovic and Schmerelson voted
against it.
“I’m concerned about the process,” Garcia said before the
vote. “In October, the response around what to do with Highlander was mostly
that we were told we do not have money to operate that site. What’s not here is
how we’re going to pay for this.”
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| Vacant Highlander ES campus - from Google Maps |
LAUSD facilities director Mark Hovatter said that no
promises were made to the charter school applicant and made it clear that its
proposal could be canceled at any time. He did also point out that if a school
is planned for the site, its funding will have to come from some other projects
that are already planned by the district.
Ratliff said, “I’m a fan of being as transparent and
straightforward as possible,” but she said before the vote against the charter
organization, “I would wonder why they would ever want to work with us again.”
Students, parents and teachers from Hale spoke about its
successes, as did new principal Chris Perdigao, where there are 2,000 6th
through 8th graders. He said the school has a 400-pupil waiting list for their
performing arts program. Teachers talked about the school’s jazz band, mariachi
band, cheerleaders and dance and acting performances and how they are sharing
their work with the community.
Hale teacher Hank Amigo talked about writing plays for
students and raising money from the community to help with programs. He
recently had 563 students audition for 22 spots in a show. He now also teaches
an early morning class where he said 150 students come to dance.
Rodriguez, who previously co-founded charter schools, said,
“I’m impressed that the community is galvanized for the plan. I’m concerned
where the money is going to come from.”
Zimmer added, “We need to grow enrollment in the district
and this is a creative way, and it can permeate the entire district.”
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