A group of local parents are working together to start a charter
school that could be open by fall 2011, if all goes according to
plan. At least 20 parents are involved in the core group that has
been researching the steps to form a charter school. The first step
is writing a petition that will need to be approved by the
Hollister School District, the San Benito County Office of
Education or the California Department of Education.
A group of local parents are working together to start a charter school that could be open by fall 2011, if all goes according to plan.
At least 20 parents are involved in the core group that has been researching the steps to form a charter school. The first step is writing a petition that will need to be approved by the Hollister School District, the San Benito County Office of Education or the California Department of Education.
Angela Hagins, who has children in third and sixth grade, said the talk of a charter school first started in January.
“With ‘No Child Left Behind,’ the fact is that it focuses so much solely on the mastery of basic skills,” Hagins said. “There is a dependence on textbooks by big companies.”
“There is a focus on basics and no teaching to the whole child,” said Rebecca Pearson, who has children in fourth and sixth grade.
Hagins and Jillian Wilson said they were concerned with the focus on answering multiple-choice questions versus thinking analytically.
“My children test well on the CST (California Standards Test,)” Wilson said, of her fourth- and sixth-grade children. “But when you give them questions without multiple choice, they kind of freak out.”
According to the California Department of Education website, a charter school is a public school and may provide instruction for students in K-12. The schools are usually created or organized by a group of teachers, parents and community leaders or a community-based organization, and are usually sponsored by an existing local public school board or county board of education.
“Specific goals and operating procedures for the charter school are detailed in an agreement (or ‘charter’) between the sponsoring board and charter organizers,” according to the CDE Web site.
Unlike other public schools, charter schools are generally exempt from most laws governing school districts. They are required to take the statewide assessment test, STAR.
“They are still held accountable to state standards,” Wilson said. “But the means by which you achieve them is different.”
Hagins and the other parents said they would like to see their charter focus on curriculum that involves long-term and group projects for the students.
“They are not learning time management or to work together,” she said.
They also talked about interdisciplinary learning, where the students might take one topic and learn it across all the subjects.
Wilson added, “If it’s not on the test, it’s not in the school.”
In addition to their idea to focus on project-based learning, the trio said the school will be K-8. They are planning to have two classes for each grade, though the total number of students depends on where they decide to locate the facility.
The parents said the school may be located in a facility owned by the school district or as with many charter schools it could be located in a commercial facility such as a shopping center.
See the full story in the Pinnacle.
