The Campbell Reporter

Education

South Bay Prep looks to county for approval of charter school

By Alicia Upano

South Bay Preparatory urged the Santa Clara County Board of Education to approve its small, achievement-oriented charter school on Oct. 18.

Charter school organizers hope to open the grades 6-12 school in fall 2007. The school envisions enrolling 700 students, where each has an advocate and teachers are empowered to create their curriculum.

While charter executive director Mike Bollhorst spoke to the school's merits, Campbell Union High School District Superintendent Rhonda Farber spoke on the charter petition's deficiencies.

The district denied the charter in July, and charter organizers are appealing to the county.

Farber said the petition had a "virtual lack of curriculum," and only one full-time classified employee for all the students.

"It required our board to exercise so much good faith and speculation of what would be provided, and it would have been irresponsible to approve it," Farber said.

The district's report rejecting the charter contained 60 objections, Bollhorst said. He called many of them "condescending and inaccurate." The school, he said, will have three full-time administrators--an executive director, a dean and a business director.

Further, the school's curriculum will meet all state standards, he said. The school currently has 500 families supporting its efforts, charter board president Kelly Lambert said.

Yet the charter petition raised questions for the county board, which is accustomed to seeing heftier petitions that include information on proposed curriculum. Santa Clara County Board of Education member Leon Beauchman said the last petition it received was seven times larger. Board member Bill Evers questioned how the school's philosophy--including teacher-created curriculum and peer grading--will meet state learning standards.

"I realize you're caught in a double bind here," Evers said. "We have to be assured that you have a good chance that you'll teach them what the Legislature expects them to learn."

Charter organizers say they respect the work of the Campbell district, where they hope to open, but students fall through the cracks. They cited low teacher salaries, large class sizes, high dropout rates, and low test scores as problems.

Even after raising numerous concerns, the county board appeared to be willing to work with the charter school organizers. Beauchman encouraged the district to work with charters; it has denied approval to Leadership Public Schools and South Bay Prep, and in South Bay Prep's case, the district gave charter organizers the superintendent's recommendation only hours before the vote. This gave parents little time to respond.

"It doesn't appear that there's an openness to work with parents and community folks," Beauchman said.

The county will approve or deny the charter at its Nov. 15 meeting.

Meetings begin at 5 p.m. and take place at the Santa Clara County Office of Education, 1290 Ridder Park Drive.