The Valley Oak Charter School has now passed the signature threshold for both teachers and parents. According to the charter school law, a charter needs to demonstrate sufficient interest by obtaining signatures from half of the number of teachers that are projected and half of the number of students that are projected to enroll in the school.
The Valley Oak Charter has been keeping a running tally on their website. As of last night, they had crossed both thresholds.
The Charter projects 13 teachers, so they are required to obtain the signature of 7 teachers. To date, 19 teachers have signed to teach at Valley Oak.
They also project 305 students, which means they need the signature of 153 parents who have an interest in their child attending the Valley Oak Charter school. They just passed that threshold last night with 169 signatures.
The Valley Oak charter has now demonstrated more than sufficient interest required by law to go forward and be submitted.
On Monday the Valley Oak charter will be submitted to the District Office. By law there are only a few reasons by which the charter can be denied by the school district, budgetary concerns are not among those.
The Valley Oak Charter has been keeping a running tally on their website. As of last night, they had crossed both thresholds.
The Charter projects 13 teachers, so they are required to obtain the signature of 7 teachers. To date, 19 teachers have signed to teach at Valley Oak.
They also project 305 students, which means they need the signature of 153 parents who have an interest in their child attending the Valley Oak Charter school. They just passed that threshold last night with 169 signatures.
The Valley Oak charter has now demonstrated more than sufficient interest required by law to go forward and be submitted.
On Monday the Valley Oak charter will be submitted to the District Office. By law there are only a few reasons by which the charter can be denied by the school district, budgetary concerns are not among those.
- Charter school presents an unsound educational program
- Petitioners are unlikely to successfully implement the program described
- Petition does not have the required number of signatures
- Petition does not include required affirmations
- Petition does not include comprehensive description of 16 required elements
At this point, the district would have to argue either that it presents an unsound educational program or that they are unlikely to successfully implement the program described. At this point, neither of those seem likely given the care and professionalism that were put into developing this charter.
In the meantime, the school district is probably going to have to work up two budgets for next year, one to include the Valley Oak Charter School and one to not include the Valley Oak Charter School.
As I have remarked in the past, all of this seemed so unnecessary to begin with. There was obviously strong community support to keep Valley Oak elementary school open. Many have suggested that the Best Uses of Schools Task Force came to this decision in good faith and reluctantly. That is perhaps true. My objections were that once they came to the decision, whenever that occurred, it seemed that the arguments they made were tailored to only that decision.
Moreover, my bigger objection is that I do not believe that they fully examined alternative means for funding the school. They also did not perhaps anticipate the passion of the parents at this school to organize and create a charter. If they had, perhaps they would explored the potential of a magnet school more closely.
At this point, the district and the charter school have a vested interest of making the magnet aspect of Valley Oak succeed. Bring in students from out of town. Those students whose parents work at UC Davis but live in Woodland, Dixon, or Sacramento. Those parents who live in districts where the educational outcomes are not nearly as high as Davis.
We have so much to offer the region that it should be a slam dunk that we can draw in kids from around it. But not if we do not attempt to utilize it.
The parents at Valley Oak should be applauded for their passion, their vision, and their tenacity. Many of them believe that they were singled out because they are working people and therefore would be easy pickings for a school closure. They have proven that is not the case at all. They have shown a care for their children's education that rises well above and beyond the call of duty. And for that, we should all applaud and appreciate their efforts, because if every parent had this type of conviction, a lot of the problems in our educational system would cease.
---Doug Paul Davis reporting
In the meantime, the school district is probably going to have to work up two budgets for next year, one to include the Valley Oak Charter School and one to not include the Valley Oak Charter School.
As I have remarked in the past, all of this seemed so unnecessary to begin with. There was obviously strong community support to keep Valley Oak elementary school open. Many have suggested that the Best Uses of Schools Task Force came to this decision in good faith and reluctantly. That is perhaps true. My objections were that once they came to the decision, whenever that occurred, it seemed that the arguments they made were tailored to only that decision.
Moreover, my bigger objection is that I do not believe that they fully examined alternative means for funding the school. They also did not perhaps anticipate the passion of the parents at this school to organize and create a charter. If they had, perhaps they would explored the potential of a magnet school more closely.
At this point, the district and the charter school have a vested interest of making the magnet aspect of Valley Oak succeed. Bring in students from out of town. Those students whose parents work at UC Davis but live in Woodland, Dixon, or Sacramento. Those parents who live in districts where the educational outcomes are not nearly as high as Davis.
We have so much to offer the region that it should be a slam dunk that we can draw in kids from around it. But not if we do not attempt to utilize it.
The parents at Valley Oak should be applauded for their passion, their vision, and their tenacity. Many of them believe that they were singled out because they are working people and therefore would be easy pickings for a school closure. They have proven that is not the case at all. They have shown a care for their children's education that rises well above and beyond the call of duty. And for that, we should all applaud and appreciate their efforts, because if every parent had this type of conviction, a lot of the problems in our educational system would cease.
---Doug Paul Davis reporting
