Oct 14, 2015
The recent investigation at Spark Charter School in Sunnyvale has lit a fire under the Santa Clara County School Board (County Board). In the wake of the child molestation accusations against a Spark employee, the County Board now seems ready to take responsibility for the more than 9,000 students attending the 23 county-approved charter schools. At the October 6, 2015…
Jun 3, 2015
The Gilroy Unified School District and the parents at Gilroy Prep are learning first-hand how difficult it is to provide any true oversight over Charter Management Organizations. Outraged by the lack of transparency, accountability, and support at Navigator Schools, Gilroy Prep parents are asking for the removal of the charter organization’s Executive Director, James Dent. Tweet
Nov 17, 2014
I attended private Catholic schools in Ohio for 18 years. I have taught in public schools in California for 20 years. Each year I take students from Live Oak High School to a three-day program, Camp Everytown, during which we participate in a privilege exercise. In this exercise, you move up if you have received some sort of privilege (such…
Sep 18, 2014
At the Silicon Valley Leadership Group Education Summit, David Welch was given the Education Leader Award for 2014. Mr. Welch is the founder of Students Matter and the mastermind behind Vegara v. California. The SVLG recognized him for innovating the teacher tenure system and teacher seniority rights. In fact, Welch’s efforts had just the opposite effect. When education reformers begin…
May 5, 2014
While most people think that twenty-first century students thrive on chaos, educators know that a certain amount of reliability and consistency is what gives students the freedom to challenge themselves and explore new opportunities. When Live Oak High School was caught up in a maelstrom of media attention because students wore American flag clothing on Cinco de Mayo 2010, the…
Mar 3, 2014
While local school districts are implementing a new budgeting system and a new set of standards, the Santa Clara County Board of Education will spend the rest of the school year searching for a new superintendent and dealing with a lawsuit based on a 2012 vote. On March 5, the Ysleta School Board will announce that Dr. Xavier De La…
Jan 9, 2014
In the Tuesday Mercury News, Sam Liccardo suggested that the next mayor of San Jose should promote Rocektship’s model of education by extending the school day and creating “learning” labs for after-school programs. On Wednesday, Rocektship lost its chance to defend this model when they withdrew their appeal of Morgan Hill’s denial of their charter petition. After the November 20,…