In this age of expanding choices in public education and
”
wired
”
youngsters, a San Lorenzo Valley charter school is thriving by
giving parents and students flexibility in how a child masters the
basics.
Cathy Kelly
In this age of expanding choices in public education and “wired” youngsters, a San Lorenzo Valley charter school is thriving by giving parents and students flexibility in how a child masters the basics.
Ocean Grove Charter School is an accredited K-12 public school that meets state testing and other mandates. The school’s charter was granted by the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District in 2005. It serves residents of Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Benito, San Mateo and Monterey counties.
Started with a handful of families, enrollment has grown to 1,550 this year, said Eric Schoffstall, education coordinator for nonprofit Innovative Education Management, which oversees Ocean Grove and three other California charter schools.
The school has a resource center at the former Redwood Elementary campus on Highway 9 north of Boulder Creek, but most learning is done in a child’s home, often online, especially at the higher grade levels.
One of the few mandates is that the student meet with one of the school’s 83 teachers every 20 school days and that they follow a learning plan mapped out for each child, Schoffstall said.
Otherwise, the sky is somewhat the limit.
It’s a parent-driven, individualized approach, Schoffstall said. Some parents home school daily; some not at all, he said.
“Students are given the chance to explore their interests and what gets them excited,” he said. “One of the most important things is to foster those interests. Everyone knows kids learn best when excited.”
The school has hundreds of vendors for online and other curriculum, and often serve children at the opposite ends of the performance curve, said Becky Cote, a school director based at Innovative Education Management in Placerville.
“We’re basically an inverse bell-shaped curve,” Cote said. “They struggle, or they’re brilliant.”
The school’s lengthy list of vendors includes several online programs, but also music teachers, tutors, martial arts instructors, online advanced placement courses, crafts suppliers and a host of educational resource suppliers.
Heather Miller of Aptos, mother of four children ages 9 to 13, said she simply e-mails her children’s teacher for approval when she needs toner for the printer, rosin for the violin bow or other home-school supplies.
But Miller says the benefits of the school are far greater than that.
She said her 13-year-old son, Andrew, would have been “a casualty” of the public school system. He is extremely smart and has some eccentricities that might have made him vulnerable there, Miller said.
But instead, he has been able to learn core subjects online at his own pace and had time to pursue his passions, which includes playing numerous instruments and discovering a particular affinity for Indian music. Andrew took piano lessons for about six months, and also learned a lot of music basics online, she said.
He was also able to take a course about an animation tool called Maya scripting at Cabrillo College, she said. Ocean Grove paid for the text, but their guidelines prohibit using funds for enrollment in another school, Miller said.
All charter schools receive the same amount of money per student, Ocean Grove administrators said. Middle school students like Andrew get $1,800 per year for educational resources, all of which must be approved by school administrators. State law dictates how the charter school’s funds are allocated.
For instance, 80 percent of revenue must be spent on instruction and related services, said Michelle Ruskofsky, Charter School Division administrator at the state Department of Education. (For public schools it ranges from 50 percent to 60 percent, per San Lorenzo Valley district administrators).
But the parent and student have a large say in how to spend that money, within the guidelines.
The state has 914 charter schools that have been created since the Charter School Act was passed in 1992, Ruskofsky said. The chartering district gets a minimum 1 percent of the charter’s general purpose and categorical grant funding, she said.
Julie Haff, superintendent of the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District, said the district provides financial, instructional and other oversight of the school, and provides space at a closed school site. The district is paid a 3 percent oversight fee, which was about $200,000 this year, she said.
The district receives other monies because of Ocean Grove. Under state education funding laws, the district this year received nearly $1 million in reimbursement, called Basic Aid supplemental Funding, for students who live in other districts and attend the charter school.
“We’ve had a very good partnership,” she said. “It’s a school that offers a very different opportunity for parents and their children. And it’s very high-performing.”
Miller said she has found a surprising amount of support and educational options as she works to educate her children.
“My four children are just flourishing, academically and personally, and it’s just precious to see,” Miller said. “Ocean Grove trusts you to know your child. We’re really thankful. It’s an amazing resource.”
Ocean Grove Charter School
WHAT: A public independent charter school for students in grades K-12, serving residents of Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Benito, San Mateo and Monterey counties. Most learning done at home.
WHO: The school is operated by a nonprofit, Placerville-based Innovative Education Management
WHERE: Online, in-home, largely. Innnovative Education Management operate a resource center on the former Redwood Elementary campus, 16900 Highway 9, Boulder Creek.
MORE: Visit www.ogcs.org or call 338-7298.
