Extended school days + smaller class sizes + a program that prepares students for life after college = Portola Academy.
That's part of a formula the Tri-Valley Learning Corporation promises will be successful if a petition for a north Livermore K-8 charter school is accepted by the
School district trustees on Tuesday held a public hearing for the .
"We believe we're going to do something different and we're going to do it very well," TVLC Chief Operating Officer Bill Batchelor said at the public hearing.
The proposed Portola Academy would be housed in the campus where the Livermore Valley Charter Preparatory High School is currently located on 2451 Portola Ave. — the former site of the school district's .
The corporation opened a high-school program at the Portola Avenue campus last year with a freshman class of about 70 students.
Over the next four to six years, the campus on Portola Avenue is expected to grow to about 1,000 students and .
The corporation also runs a kindergarten through eighth-grade off Sonoma Avenue. The cramped school houses more than 900 students on a campus built for 500 students, with many classes held in portables, officials said.
The proposed Portola Academy is projected to house up to 560 students, Batchelor said.
That would translate into a nearly $3 million loss in Average Daily Attendance revenue to Livermore public schools, said Susan Kinder, the district's chief business official.
Batchelor, along with many other speakers in favor of a new charter school, said Portola Academy would address a need to serve its surrounding low-income and Hispanic community.
However, a district report shows the campus — which enrolls students in the area Portola Academy plans to serve — offers similar programs to what charter officials are proposing. Those programs include extended-day learning and English/Spanish dual immersion courses, among others.
Several parents and students also spoke in favor of the Junction Avenue campus and advised the board to reject the Portola Academy petition.
Still, there is a strong demand for charter schools in town.
A lottery is held each year to see which students will be able to attend the charter schools, Batchelor said.
"We turn away as many children as we enroll each year," he said.
Add Tom Gray's children to that mix.
His two kids currently attend the district's school and have failed to win the charter lottery in the past few years.
Gray said he prefers what the charter school is offering over public schools.
"There is no real learning due to No Child Left Behind," he said of the public school system. "They are teaching to the test. I'm not happy and I don't like it."
While it appears the petition has fueled a battle between Portola Academy and Junction Avenue K-8 School, some said talks of a new charter gives the community a choice.
"It is not a competition. Neither is better or worse. No school is best for all students," said , Livermore Valley Charter Preparatory High School principal. "Portola Academy simply represents a choice for parents and students."
District trustees are scheduled to make a final decision to approve or deny the charter petition in January.
We are EXTREMELY HAPPY that we made that choice. There are also many private schools from which to choose. To reiterate: There are choices right now, without a new charter school. I think the claim by TVLC that they will serve an "under-served community" is dubious, at best. I'd like to see how the lottery for that school will work, since past lotteries at their other school has been open to students across the entire city.
Although I support traditional public schools, I do believe there should be options. Some students will do best in an alternative environment. I believe we have to put our children into the best environment for them. However, it greatly bothers me that the $3 million+ loss in funds by movement of a few hundred students out of the system will affect THOUSANDS of students in the traditional system. What will be cut? Music? Art? Science? The impact will be swift and big, don't kid yourself. Our schools cannot afford the loss of so much money. PTAs and Boosters cannot absorb the loss. Elizabeth Williams CMS PTA President
Often, it's the parents to blame for not taking a more active role in their children's education. We seem to live in a society where if we don't like the results, we move to a new panacea rather than fix the institutional problem (if there even is one).
I am very happy that you take so much interest in your children's education. And thank you, Bill Davis, for illustrating why charter schools benefit even those who wish to place their children in district schools. Your post is one of the best arguments I have seen FOR charter schools.
Also have you seen the school site, formerly "Don Gaspar De Portola Elementary"? The school is beautiful, everything remodeled. It would be a waste not to use it. I have no idea why it was closed down. The charter will create jobs that were lost. The bottom line is that there are two outcomes: Board approves - District will get the $300,000+ oversight fees Board not approves - State approves and District gets nothing
I have two children that have graduated from Portola, Junction Middle School, Livermore High School and College. Twenty years later I had another child and had the option of private school, our neighborhood school: Junction Ave K-8 or another public school. I chose Junction Ave K-8 and will never regret my decision. My son is now in 3rd grade. He has attended the dual immersion program since kindergarten. Junction K-8 is a wonderful school. The teachers go above and beyond. They are brilliant, dedicated and caring. The staff is personable and the families are encouraged to be involved in campus life. I love the cultural experiences. My son is in chess club and the after school "Believes" program. The after school program also has a bright and dedicated staff. I might sound a bit presumptuous here but I really doubt "the less privileged Hispanic families" mentioned in a previous article, are going to be interested in giving up Junction K-8 for the proposed charter school.
"In addition, Brown proposes more spending to cover the growth in charter schools, special education and school lunch programs -- and to offset decreasing property tax revenues." Now that we know that Gov Brown acknowledges that there will be growth in charter schools, the only question is where will the district cut $300,000 (that they would get if they had voted FOR) if they vote against oversight of Portola Academy?
The only things that matter in reviewing a charter is whether that charter meets the legal requirements set by the state. It's that simple. Since 3 entities denied the charter last time around, including the state board of education, it is readily apparent that none of the "in charge" bodies believed the charter met the legal requirements. (Why the charter school continues to pay for a full-time lawyer is beyond me.) Let's see what this new charter looks like. The district has just denied it; I am sure the charter school will appeal to the county. Round 2 is underway.