Paul Bentz, NCLC 1/7/2008
On behalf of Community Learning Center Schools, we are writing regarding the Nea Community Learning Center (NCLC) charter school proposal on the upcoming Board agenda.
Thank you for reading and considering our charter proposal. We recognize that the District, like us, is vested in and committed to high quality education for all Alameda public school students. It is in this spirit that we have been reaching out to and working with AUSD over the last several years; it is in this spirit that we submitted the charter; and it is in this spirit that we are sending this message.
The 150-page proposal was the most lengthy and detailed ever submitted to the District, longer than any charter proposal approved or denied by the District before. We were especially pleased to note that the staff recommendation agreed that our educational model is sound and that our team is extremely capable, thus providing the grounds for approval of the charter. Nevertheless, we acknowledge that the Evaluation Committee for the District raised thirteen (13) specific issues as the basis for a recommendation of denial. We feel that we had, in fact, addressed many of these issues in the charter; and we feel that the remaining issues could be further clarified to the satisfaction of the District. We have already – in just the last 60 or so hours since the staff recommendation was publicly released – worked together as a community of learners and educators, to prepare a response that addresses all of the issues in the staff recommendation.
We therefore respectfully request a 30-day postponement of the vote on the charter and the opportunity to sit down with the District staff and consultant to work through the outstanding issues to mutual satisfaction.
Parent 1/7/2008
I was quite surprised, and disappointed, to hear that the Superintendent has reccommended denial of the NCLC charter application. Unless I don't understand the facts, it seems very likely to me that NCLC stands a good chance of getting their charter approved by the county or the state given their excellent track record. As you have noted previously, AUSD will be required to provide space to this school if their charter gets a sponsor. Therefore, if AUSD has to provide space and access to programs, parents will apply to attend leaving the neighborhood schools anyway, and good teachers want to be a part of this program; why would the district deny this ultimately win-win opportunity and not be able to market this success story as their own? Basic laws of economics show that countries with trade barriers and heavy handed governments develop at a much slower pace; the same can be applied to the school district. Not allowing options for children who may not thrive in industrialized, test taking school environments slows educational progress for everyone, not to mention increases the gap between rich and poor. Where is the equity in that? By denying this application AUSD is relinquishing any opportunity of influence to this program, as well as revenue sharing from the families that may come back to the system from private schools and home schooling, and finally a learning opportunity to rotate teachers from all of the schools in the district into and out of this environment that may ultimately benefit every single child in the AUSD system. The only way that AUSD would benefit financially from not allowing NCLC is that they are 100% certain no one else will sponsor this school and parents who can't afford to send their children to private schools such as Julia Morgan or move to the Edison School district (and still not be guaranteed a place for their child) will have no choice for a better learning opportunity based upon their child's specific needs.!
Lastly, I would like to make note of some of the supporters for this
program; they are your public school PTA presidents, PTA council president, AEF board members, AUSD reflections chairperson, awards teachers and the state of California Superintendent of schools. These individuals do not sit back and ask what you are going to do for them. They put in countless hours of volunteer time helping all AUSD students improve their learning opportunities. Instead of denying a successful academic model to flourish you should make plans to learn from them and create a contract that allows both sides to succeed. In this age of knowledge management successful organizations will have to adapt or die.
Parent 1/7/2008
I am writing in support of the approval of the Nea Community Learning Center application. I have read the public comments on the proposal. One concern is that Nea would be like ACLC and serve a niche that is not a representative mix of the Alameda population. The second is that Nea would takes funds from AUSD. My daughter is in her 4th year at ACLC and has thrived in the close-knit environment. She has many great friends at ACLC, some older than she, some younger, and they live in many different neighborhoods in Alameda, from Bay Farm Island to Alameda Point, with the majority living west of Grand Avenue. ACLC attracts students who desire an alternative college-preparatory education and those students come from all parts of Alameda. This may not be a representative mix of the Alameda population, because most of the students at ACLC wish to attend college, but it is certainly not a niche.
I understand that it is the responsibility of this board to see that all children in Alameda are served. As a homeowner in Alameda, I support the public schools and will continue to do so long after my daughter has graduated. I'm very distressed about public school funding in California and I hope the Board will join with other school districts to tackle the fundamental problem, which is the unequal funding of school districts combined with overall low state funding. However, I don't see this as a reason to deny the Nea charter school application. This is like a business trying to survive by cutting costs while failing to address its product offering.
ACLC is unable to expand further and meet the demand in Alameda for alternative education. Please take a chance on the future of public education and approve the Nea Community Learning Center application.
Parent 1/7/2008
I am writing to you to encourage you to approve the charter application
for NEA Community Learning Center on January 8th.
I have enormous respect for the talented, skilled, hard working teachers
in Alameda Unified School District. The way I see it, No Child Left
Behind policies have robbed them of the opportunity to teach the subject
matter in a way that inspires my daughter (a third grader). She excels
in every subject and her standardized test scores are in the 96th
percentile, but as each school year comes and goes, I see her become
increasingly disenchanted with her classroom experience, her
assignments, and her homework. Worst of all, she is becoming indifferent
to the inherent joys of learning.
No school can serve the needs of every child. This is the case in both
the traditional classroom and for the proposed NCLC. For my daughter,
however, NCLC offers a learning model without which I would have no
choice but to send her to a traditional classroom and continue to watch
her detach from the wonders of learning.
Please approve NCLC's charter application.
Educator 1/7/2008
On Friday, January 4th, Superintendent Dailey released her recommendation regarding the proposed Nea Community Learning Center. Her recommendation was for the Board to deny the charter petition. While discouraging, the decision was not surprising. What was surprising was the tack that the Superintendent and her Charter School Evaluation Committee took to explain their denial. They outlined thirteen points that they used to justify their denial and their claim that "it quickly became apparent that the NCLC Charter Proposal was seriously deficient."
The NCLC Core Action Team and consultants, including an attorney specializing in charter school law, closely reviewed the denial and justifications. Of the 13 points the committee outlined, 2 address typos we inadvertently included in the charter application that we have since corrected, 8 can be easily addressed by submitting more information (which they could have requested at any time), and 3 are based on statements they made that are absolutely inaccurate.
One of the most egregious inaccuracies is the committee's repeated claim that "a disproportionate percentage of students of color are reported to drop out of the current [ACLC] program." Two of the thirteen points are based on this inaccuracy. Since this inaccurate claim is one of AUSD's main reasons for denial, and since our detractors are repeating it on numerous blogs and emails, our Program Evaluation Committee carefully investigated three years of data for the reasons learners of ALL colors left. The findings are outlined as follows.
[AUSD's] assumption of dropouts is inaccurate. Our program evaluation committee looked into this claim and determined that the primary reason non-Caucasians left the program was because they moved out of Alameda. Here are the facts: By the end of the 06-07 school year, 16 learners left, 6 of them were non-Caucasian (37%, similar to the 40% non-Caucasian percentage in the school). Of the 6 non-Caucasian learners who left, here is where they went: 1 African American learner went to a private African American School in Oakland, 1 African American learner moved to Pittsburg because his parents bought a new house, 1 African American learner moved to Africa, 1 Hispanic learner went to EHS, 1 Filipino learner went to Bishop O'Dowd, and 1 Filipino leaner went to Chipman. By the end of the 05-06 school year, 19 learners left, 11 of them were non-Caucasian (57%, higher than their 42% percentage in the school that year.) Of the 11 non-Caucasian learners who left, here is where they wen!
t: 1 African American learner received a scholarship to go to Head Royce after attending ACLC for three years, 2 Asian learners went to EHS, 1 African American learner became home schooled, 1 African American learner left to go to EHS, 1 African American learner left to go to AHS, 2 Hispanic learners went to EHS, 2 Filipino learners moved to Dublin, and 1 Pacific Islander returned to Chipman. By the end of the 04-05 school year, 18 learners left, 8 of them were non-Caucasian (44%, similar to the 42% non-Caucasian percentage in the school). Of the 8 non-Caucasian learners who left, here is where they went: 1 Hispanic learner left to EHS, 1 Hispanic learner left to AHS, 1 African American learner moved to Louisiana because his father was in the Coast Guard, 1 African American learner went to Island high to graduate, 1 African American learner went to Chipman, 1 African American learner moved to Oakland to be a star basketball player on the Oakland Tech team, 1 Asian American !
learner moved to Pleasanton, and 1 Pacific Islander went to EHS. Freedom and parent choice cuts both ways. Parent choice provides learners freedom of movement to find a program that works for them.
The third inaccuracy was the committee's claim that "The NCLC Charter Proposal includes a plan to deny promotion of K-5 students, who do not meet promotion expectations, to the 6-12 program. This decision further diminishes the likelihood of achieving a racial and ethnic balance which would reflect that of the district." Nowhere in our charter petition do we use the phrase "deny promotion" with respect to any students. Our charter petition states, NCLC K-5 learners will demonstrate achievement towards the District's graduate profile as measured by the K-5 promotion portfolio and their individual or team project that is assessed by the facilitator and community team. Meeting the promotion expectations is a requirement for being promoted to the 6-12 program.
Moreover, the committee seems to imply that, if any student is denied promotion, it will be a student of color. The committee's assumption that students of color will be the ones denied promotion is dangerous and borders on stereotyping.
To quote John Edwards from this weekend's Presidential candidates' debate, "The forces of status quo are afraid of change." The bottom line is, AUSD is desperate to stop NCLC from becoming reality. They see us as direct competition and are desperate to hold on to our children's educational funding, regardless of the cost to our kids. However, families are entitled to choice in their children's education. Choice should not be reserved only for those families who can afford to send their children to private schools like the Julia Morgan School for Girls.
Our Core Action Team has prepared a detailed response to the committee's recommendation and will forward a copy to you directly. Please consider the responses carefully when making your decision to approve the charter petition.
Parent 1/7/2008
The AUSD website states “WHAT EVER IT TAKES”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please vote “yes” for the NCLC charter school. The parents children of Alameda deserve the choice as to how their children are educated.
Choice should not be reserved only for those who can afford private schools. My son is being denied the advanced education that he needs for his accelerated education. He is ahead in many areas and the current school programs cannot and will not support. I have asked and been denied. Please vote yes so that my son and others are not left behind.
As for the claim that this school will deny money from other schools:
The State of California forbids a school district from denying a charter because of financial impact. This law supports families' right to have a say in where our children's educational funding should go. You are not taking money from the district, because it is not their money in the first place. It is our child's educational money. We have the right to choose which public school that money goes to, and no one should presume to know how best to educate our child.
As for Superintendent Dailey’s recommendation:
[AUSD's] assumption of dropouts is inaccurate. Our program evaluation committee looked into this claim and determined that the primary reason non-Caucasians left the program was because they moved out of Alameda. Here are the facts: By the end of the 06-07 school year, 16 learners left, 6 of them were non-Caucasian (37%, similar to the 40% non-Caucasian percentage in the school). Of the 6 non-Caucasian learners who left, here is where they went: 1 African American learner went to a private African American School in Oakland, 1 African American learner moved to Pittsburg because his parents bought a new house, 1 African American learner moved to Africa, 1 Hispanic learner went to EHS, 1 Filipino learner went to Bishop O'Dowd, and 1 Filipino leaner went to Chipman. By the end of the 05-06 school year, 19 learners left, 11 of them were non-Caucasian (57%, higher than their 42% percentage in the school that year.) Of the 11 non-Caucasian learners who left, here is where they went: 1 African American learner received a scholarship to go to Head Royce after attending ACLC for three years, 2 Asian learners went to EHS, 1 African American learner became home schooled, 1 African American learner left to go to EHS, 1 African American learner left to go to AHS, 2 Hispanic learners went to EHS, 2 Filipino learners moved to Dublin, and 1 Pacific Islander returned to Chipman. By the end of the 04-05 school year, 18 learners left, 8 of them were non-Caucasian (44%, similar to the 42% non-Caucasian percentage in the school). Of the 8 non-Caucasian learners who left, here is where they went: 1 Hispanic learner left to EHS, 1 Hispanic learner left to AHS, 1 African American learner moved to Louisiana because his father was in the Coast Guard, 1 African American learner went to Island high to graduate, 1 African American learner went to Chipman, 1 African American learner moved to Oakland to be a star basketball player on the Oakland Tech team, 1 Asian American learner moved to Pleasanton, and 1 Pacific Islander went to EHS. Freedom and parent choice cuts both ways. Parent choice provides learners freedom of movement to find a program that works for them.
The third inaccuracy was the committee's claim that "The NCLC Charter Proposal includes a plan to deny promotion of K-5 students, who do not meet promotion expectations, to the 6-12 program. This decision further diminishes the likelihood of achieving a racial and ethnic balance which would reflect that of the district." Nowhere in our charter petition do we use the phrase "deny promotion" with respect to any students.
Educator 1/6/2008
I am writing to add my voice to those urging you to deny the NCLC Charter application at Tuesday's Board Meeting. I do this as a parent, teacher, and concerned citizen of Alameda. I do this for the reasons so cogently articulated in Rob Siltanen's January 3, 2008 column in the Alameda Sun, and for the reasons stated in my husband's (xxx xxx) & my January 4, 2008 letter in the Alameda Journal. I do this in support of public education in Alameda, and the greater good of our students and community.
Parent 1/5/2008
First of all, I want to compliment you on your website and comprehensive explanation of what has been going on. I think a politician’s key job is communication and you have been exemplary. I haven’t been following this very closely but have found, through your site, everything I need.
I’m neither for nor against the petition, but I have some serious reservations. xxx was a student there from 7th grade on, she dropped out last year as a tenth grader. We had a similar experience as some of the disgruntled parents wrote about. xxx didn’t go to math class for 6 weeks and we didn’t find out until report card time. The school took no action in response to the truancy other than to drop her from the class. The educational philosophy at ACLC is that students should teach themselves to become “learners”. The “facilitators try to create high expectations and are encouraging and flexible with the students, but they don’t really teach much. The kids are supposed to go out and learn for themselves. If the kid is highly motivated and bright, this works great, but if they need structure or just a quiet focused environment, they are out of luck.
Questions I’d like answered-
Parents are routinely told “maybe your kid isn’t a good match here.” (We were told this, I’ve had several other parents tell me that they were also.) Why is this acceptable at ACLC while no other public school could get away with it? Will it be acceptable at NCLC?
It is well and good to recruit from the West End and emphasize diversity in drawing in applications and admissions, but if non-conforming students leave (whether encouraged or not) it apparently leads to a near all white student body, as at ACLC. What will NCAC do to improve minority retention? What about the culture at ACLC discourages minority retention?
What percentage of incoming 7th graders, or 9th graders, actually graduated from ACLC? xxxx came in with about 50 kids. The average graduating class seems to between 8 and 12. Why? If we did a similar comparison at Encinal or Alameda High would the result be the same? In other words, for every 50 9th graders at Encinal, do 8 to 12 graduate with qualifications for college, as at ACLC?
Will the new school admit kids at all ages? ACLC doesn’t, believing that older kids (beyond 9th) won’t be able to acclimate or succeed. Will NCLC be the same way?
My concern is that it will become an elite institution for gifted students, thereby reducing diversity in the rest of the schools. On the other hand, I think that having a variety of learning environments for students to try and thrive in is a good thing. One size does not fit all and having a free market of ideas and approaches should make for a stronger student body.
Can the charter be granted with the condition that they have a certain level of student retention?
Parent 1/5/2008
I have read the staff report dated Jan 4, 2008 for the 'NCLC' application. The report seems fair and balanced and the findings that show major deficiencies do not appear to be able to have quick “fixes”.
Please support the staff report and findings and vote to deny the application.
Parent 1/5/2008
I am a Alameda resident,parent, taxpayer, and voter who believes that all Alameda parents should have access to choices for their children within the Alameda public school system. I believe the Nea Community Learning Center (NCLC) charter petition offers a unique and proven educational approach, and would help address the long wait list at ACLC. I hereby petition the governing board of the Alameda Unified School District (County of Alameda or State of California, if necessary on appeal) to give full consideration and grant approval to enable the creation of the new NCLC public school.
Parent 1/5/2008
I urge you to reject the proposed new charter school. The lack of K-5 educational experience of the staff and administrators of this unproven new program makes it an unacceptably risky path for our students. Please reject the charter proposal and continue to focus on the needs of the entire district.
Parent 1/5/2008
My husband and I urge you all to vote *_for_* the proposed charter
school run by the same people who now run ACLC.
I have been an educator, parent, businessperson and now a grandparent
whose children attended and now grandchildren attend public schools in
Alameda. Our oldest granddaughter's 6th grade was to be at Lincoln
School. Our daughter, who lives and works in Alameda, looked at private
schools throughout the east bay because Lincoln was NOT her first,
second or third choice school. We told our daughter we would help pay
for any school they chose.
We believe in public education, so that was very hard to say.
The duo visited many schools and were accepted at all of them. They
chose to stay in Alameda, and get on the lottery list for ACLC. Through
the summer, they waited because their name was not initially drawn; they
were 5th on the waiting list. By September, our granddaughter received a
letter that she now had a place at ACLC. She lives in the east end, all
her friends were going to Lincoln, friends and their parents voiced many
doubts as our granddaughter anticipated going to school across town. The
east/west tale is still alive in Alameda.
Mid way through her 6th grade, many friend's mothers and fathers were
calling our daughter and son in law asking about ACLC.
Many got on the next waiting list.
Now in her second very successful year at ACLC, our granddaughter is
thriving. A couple of friends were chosen from the next ACLC lottery and
they enrolled at ACLC. Those friend's grades have risen dramatically.
What IS education all about? Certainly, it is not the buildings, the
accoutrements. Education is instilling the idea of learning and wanting
to learn more. /If/ those ideas have been accepted by a student they
need reinforcement throughout their school years.
ACLC has excelled at that task.
Parent 1/5/2008
Please vote no on the Charter. Concentrate our resources on our existing schools.
Parent 1/4/2008
I strongly urge you not to approve the NCLC charter application.
The NCLC application seems to rely mostly on precedent set by ACLC as indicating the future success of the proposed K-12 program. Based on ACLC's actual record, and the verbal input of many members of the community, that seems a very tenuous claim. ACLC's program seems to serve a self-selecting niche of the Alameda Community, producing commendable results for that niche, but not demonstrably better than those students would have otherwise achieved in AUSD schools. There is nothing in the application to assure that the K-12 charter would operate any differently, and that is counter to the stated goal of providing education for a representative mix of the community.
I'm also very skeptical that the self-directed educational program employed for grades 6-12 at ACLC is at all applicable to younger children in grades K-5 - which leads me to conclude that NCLC's intentions for their K-5 program is, for all practical purposes, unspecified in this application. That is a strong justification to refuse the application.
Finally, I know financial impact is not grounds for refusing an application, but as a Board I think you are responsible for the best interests of the entire Alameda public school community. There is little doubt that the financial hit of losing 300+ students to this charter will have measurable and damaging impact on the quality of public education offered to the rest of the Alameda community. In this respect, the charter laws seems to place you in a conflicted position. If the previously stated reasons for refusal of the application are not already sufficient, then siding with the interests of the majority is a reasonable response to this conflict.
Parent 1/4/2008
Please vote YES for the NEA Community Learning Center. As a proud parent of 2 ACLC graduates and one senior who are off to prestigious private universities, we are confident and can speak from experience that this learning style has greatly benefitted our children. These are the universities they chose, the list of acceptances is impressive in that colleges of caliber are looking to innovative creative middle/high school programs to draw their student population from. Additionally the opportunity to begin learning at earlier grades makes the transition easier and possibilities even greater. We have seen changes in the elementary school our youngest, now second grader attends. When there is the end of multi-age classes, dissolution of the Academy program and absorption of multiple other schools all unique learning opportunities dissappeared. The main public critic(ref. Alameda
a Sun editorial of this past week) is repeating the arguments we heard from other Alameda High school teachers when ACLC graduated it's first senior class and our oldest was in 7th grade and again when we applied for charter status. Now past ACLC's 10th anniversary those same people have either never stepped inside our school or have had some of their previous supporters now sending their children there(ACLC). Their arguments are based in fear and ignorance which is an outrage for one who calls himself an educator, I suppose he would support freedom of speech why not freedom of choice for one's education. Many of these small minded insulated and prejudicial ideas made us seek out another neighborhood in Alameda to live in and find activities and other supportive networks outside of Alameda, with the exception of ACLC. We strongly urge you to vote YES now, we need it for our youngest child and Alameda needs it to move forward to be recognized as the small island with big innovative, progressive and inclusive ideas for their youth.
Parent 1/4/2008
One of my daughters went to ACLC and I found it to be the most disorganized and chaotic learning center I've ever beheld. Kids come and go as they want. No one "makes" them go to class. We lost 2 years of learning while my 7th/8th grader daughter sat on couches, chewed gum, goofed off and did not go to class. She asked the counselor (who has since been fired or left, not sure but she's gone) to rearrange her class schedule so that her classes (as an 8th grader) began at 1 p.m. and went to 3 pm every day. No one ever consulted with me, and when I went down to ask about summer school opportunities, I found out my daughter had essentially been AWOL from school for several months. No phone call, no note home, no parent conference. Her science teacher and sent home an F- grade (lower than an F?) because of xxx's absence from class but NEVER called me in the entire school year. If I hadn't gone in, I would not have seen anything until the report card came out -- far too late to do anything.
The school supposedly uses peer discipling/review in a democratic process -- thus, if a student misbehaves, his peers are supposed to give consequences. Despite missing 4+ months of classes, there was no discipline from the students/peers/ACLC -- because no one had tracked her attendance. There was no actual record or follow up.
Disorganization was rampant. No one (from kids to teachers) knew anything, or who was responsible for what, and the kids ran screaming through the main center all day long. The "quiet" area is anything but. Parent-teacher conferences are student-led, and those I attended were the lamest excuse for a student project I have ever seen -- very half-hearted and last-minute work, and no consequences from the "facilitator" for insufficient effort (apparently any effort was good enough)
While I am an avid proponent of alternative education (I have homeschooled xx kids), I cannot urge you strongly enough to vote no on allowing ACLC facilitators to take any more kids down this path. While the program works for a *select few* students -- who would succeed anywhere -- I have no doubt that their ability with kids less inclined to study (to close that achievement gap, etc) is nil.
Parent 1/4/2008
I am writing in supprot of the approval of the Nea Community Learning Center.
All children do not fit the mold of a traditional education. For the past 11 plus years the Alameda Community Learning Center has proven to be a viable alternative for those of us who have children who need an alternative approach. There are many people who have been denied that alternative because ACLC has not expanded. With more than 125 students on a waiting list, it is time to increase the availability of this style of education. And it might be advised that the Board of Education consider incorporating the education style into our existing education structure. If a concern of not approving this charter is loss of Students and thus ADA all that is needed is creating a school that adopts this approach.
I am sure ACLC would be enthusiasticly supportive.
Please support the Nea Community Learning Center Charter.
Community Member 1/4/2008
Our district has survived school board recalls, boards that cared less about children and their education than about a political agenda, but this is probably the most destructive assault on our children that we have faced.
It is the responsibility of this board to see that all children in Alameda are served. Approving this application is an abrogation of that responsibility.
There is ample proof of the inability and/or unwillingness of the existing charter to meet the requirements of the ed code vis-a-vis charter schools. I urge you not only to deny this request, but to undertake an exploration of the present charter's compliance with all laws and regulations.
Parents 1/4/2008
As Alameda residents with children of 3 years and 9 years of age, (one at
xxx) We hope that you may vote in favor of the charter for the
N.C.L.C. school. We believe public education in general lacks a broad
range of choice that is much needed and at present those choices are
limited here in Alameda.
Parent 1/4/2008
Please vote YES on the Nea Community Learning Center charter petition. I support parent choice within the public school system. CLCS has a proven track record and should be permitted to replicate and expand their excellent educational program for grades K-12 for Alameda's residents.
I plan to enroll my youngest child in third grade next fall at the NCLC. My other four children have attended ACLC and have benefited greatly. There are positive aspects of the ACLC model of education in preparing our children for today's world that extend beyond the learner to the entire family and the community at large. Let's give this opportunity to more learners and families in Alameda.
If you take the AUSD motto, "Student success, whatever it takes" seriously, I know that you will vote YES with confidence for the NCLC Charter. Voting otherwise will seriously damage your credibility as shepards of fine public education.
Parent 1/4/2008
We urge you to vote "NO' on both charter school applications being considered by the board. We fear AUSD will suffer irreparable damage by a yes vote on these proposals.
Parent 1/4/2008
My son was floundering until he was able to attend ACLC.
I have a friend in San Lorenzo who has smart kids...but shy who had to do alternative ed who both would have loved a school like ACLC. Choices are important. Can't this be done in a way that the school district doesn't feel robbed?
Yes...for NEA And ACLA Thanks, parent of two children who have had the best of Alameda schools , including Paden, BRAVO, ENcinal High and ACLC. Older son now at UCLA.
Educator 1/3/2008
As the former employee of Encinal High School for xx years we experienced first hand the relationship between EHS and ACLC. It was strained at best. We always welcomed the ACLC students as they took classes (mostly AP and World
Languages), played on athletic teams, and participated in a myriad of
EHS school activities. However, the ACLC adult leadership fully took
advantage of all EHS offered, picking and choosing to
meet their needs. They used a threat of Proposition 39 and
litigation to get what they wanted.
The Alameda community does not need a new charter that fully embraces the tenet of Proposition 39 that states a charter is "exempt from most state laws and regulations" A new charter would negatively impact the AUSD
neighborhood school policy. Our district is losing enrollment, we do
not need to lose more. We should be working to market and showcase
our existing schools to the public under a model of continual improvement and innovation not supporting a new charter.
Therefore, as the parent of three public school graduates, an Alameda resident, and a former AUSD employee I heartily oppose the approval of the proposed k-12 charter and I encourage your NO vote.
Parent 1/3/2008
I strongly oppose the proposed new charter school and urge you to vote no.
Parent 1/3/2008
I oppose the new NCLC charter school as I believe that it, like ACLC, will not reflect the community's diversity. ACLC is over 60 percent white and does not represent the demographics of the district or the west end. Also, the formation of the charter will cripple the AUSD budget and harm the children in the district.
Parent 1/3/2008
Please vote "No" on the charter schools. The thousands of other kids in our schools will suffer the consequenses of the lost revenue. As is, we deal with less money and less services for the kids each and every year. Please, vote "No".
Parent 1/2/2008
Please vote yes on the Nea Community Learning Center charter petition.
I support parent choice within the public school system. CLCS has a
proven track record and should be permitted to replicate and expand their
excellent educational program for grades K-12 for Alameda’s residents.
I have a daughter who will graduate from ACLC this year, a son who is in xxth grade at ACLC, and a son in 4th grade at a different school this year. My two older children have had the unique opportunity to be treated as independent, creative thinking people who are learning how to learn about and negotiate through the very complicated and confusing world we live in. They learn from "facilitators" who, sometimes, rather than answer a question directly, might say, "ask your neighbor, talk among your peers, look in your book, the internet site..., etc." The school is buzzing with ideas, bursting at the seams with young minds looking for answers, formulating questions, working on projects, percolating ideas in synergy with each other and their facilitators.
Along with it's merits, of course, there are challenges for some of the younger students. Much of the learner's success depends upon their willingness and ability to manage their project time and study time properly. Experience has brought with it changes that address this by providing more structure of 6th and 7th grade learner's time. It only stands to reason that using the ACLC/NCLC model for K-5 will prepare the middle and high school learners to take greater responsibility for their own learning while helping our youngest growing and developing minds to create, question, and learn freely and without restraint, within the styles which they best learn.
I am particularly excited about my son starting xxth grade at NCLC because he has Type 1 Diabetes. He has had many constraints at the "regular" school, like having to go to the office to test his blood sugars, thereby, losing classroom time, not being allowed a cell phone, no help counting his carbohydrates for lunch (nobody's JOB to do that), nobody to learn how to use his pump functions or change a battery or a pump site, if needed. He is not safe there in an emergency if I am not able to get to the school. At NCLC I know he will be taken as the individual as he is and the instruction of carbohydrate counting will be integrated in his math and the diabetes care can be studied in science, etc. I know that he will be embraced where he is--in a positive and "can do" framework, not in a "we don't do that, we don't have the staff" attitude.
NCLC is based on real life for all--not the few.
Please give full consideration and grant approval to enable the creation of the new NCLC public school.
Parent 1/2/2008
Please vote "YES" to the NEA Charter request before you on Tuesday, January 8.
Parent 1/2/2008
I am writing in support of the proposed NCLC school. I have 2 children at ACLC and twin xxx graders. My first graders are very advanced and I would love for them to have the opportunity to go to NCLC and be able to have more input on their learning and take classes with older kids if they are ahead of their class. I have been very happy with my kids experience at ACLC and while I am happy with the twins elementary school, I would love for them to have the opportunity to go to NCLC. I plan to enroll them in ACLC in the 6th grade, but I wish they could begin expanding their educational choices earlier.
Parent 1/2/2008
I vote yes on NEA Charter School K-12 and it is wonderful.
Parent 1/2/2008
My son has attended ACLC for the past x 1/2 years. This model of education has proven itself and other children in Alameda deserve to have the opportunity to participate in it. If the goal of AUSD is to serve all children then holding back support because it takes dollars from other schools in the district does a dis-service to the families that would benefit from the NEA/ACLC experience.
Also, as a taxpayer, I find it unreasonable to have two facilities sit empty when there is a school with a waitlist of approx 170 students.
I urge you to vote yes on the expansion of ACLC/NEA Center.
Parent 1/2/2008
I am in favor of the NCLC charter school petition.
Parent 1/2/2008
Petition to the AUSD School Board Members
We the undersigned are Alameda residents, taxpayers, and voters who believe that all Alameda parents should have access to choices for their children within the Alameda public school system. We believe the Nea Community Learning Center (NCLC) charter petition offers a unique and proven educational approach, and would help address the long wait list at ACLC. We hereby petition the governing board of the Alameda Unified School District (County of Alameda or State of California, if necessary on appeal) to give full consideration and grant approval to enable the creation of the new NCLC public school.
Educators 1/2/2008
We have great respect for the three of you and what you offer to the Alameda School District and the kids.
We are very concerned at the prospect of one more charter school, much less two. If charter schools were funded on their own and required to follow the same rules as the regular public schools, fine. We do not wish to see our dollars taken away from the programs in the District schools that are struggling to maintain excellence while under the requirements of the federal and state laws. Our public schools must take all students, no matter their talents, must deal with all issues, no matter their origins and are expected to educate all, no matter the cost. We do not want any of the support for our local schools removed to support selective students in a charter school.
We would also like to see the evaluations of the BASE program, the ACLS program that supposedly have been completed by the state. Who is evaluating the actual outcomes in relation to the schools' proposals and plans? Who is evaluating the staff?
We would like to know how many kids graduate in 4 years, enter colleges and graduate from colleges. How many students attending the charter schools live in Alameda? live elsewhere and come here? How many students in the two existing charter schools return to their home high schools and graduate from them?
We understand the decision can not be based on funding. However, when Alameda public schools are adequately staffed, classrooms equipped, full curriculum offered, ie. AP programs at the two comprehensive high schools, complete offering of elective and state of the art career technical education programs for all middle and high school students, and complete physical education activities. In other words, if we can offer these quality educational programs to charter schools, then we can certainly offer them to all children in the city of Alameda.
We urge you to vote against any charter proposal.
Parent 12/31/2007
Please vote yes on the Nea Community Learning Center charter petition. I support parent choice within the public school system. The Alameda Community Learning Center has a proven track record and should be permitted to replicate and expand their excellent educational program for grades K-12 for Alameda’s residents. ACLC currently has a long waiting list of over 100 students, some of whom have applied more than once, who would like to participate in this exciting learning environment.
Parent 12/31/2007
I am writing to urge you to approve the NCLC charter application; I currently have two students at ACLC and want to have the same opportunity in a K-12 setting for my four younger children.
Parent 12/31/2007
Our community has it in their hands to do something right for our children and for our future. We can do this by voting yes to a new Nea Community Learning Center.
I am basing my opinion on my family's experience with ACLC. My son is in xth grade at ACLC and absolutely loves it. His education seems project based, which in my opinion is the best way to learn. One of his assignments was to design a culture which followed studying Egyptian Culture in Humanities and reading the "Golden Goblet" in English. It appears that the facilitators are working mindfully by integrating common themes in the different disciplines they teach. I wish my other son's school, Franklin Elementary, would use the same common thread to teach reading, writing and social studies instead of teaching what word or problem will show up on the STAR exam.
Parent 12/31/2007
As a parent of a xxth grader at ACLC, I enthusiastically urge you to vote yes on the Nea Community Learning Center Charter Petition. It’s an excellent educational program and all Alameda families should be given the opportunity to make this choice for their kids.
Community Member 12/31/2007
Please vote yes on the Nea Community Learning Center charter petition. I support parent choice within the public school system. CLCS has a proven track record and should be permitted to replicate and expand their excellent educational program for grades K-12 for Alameda ’s residents.
Parent 12/31/2007
My two children -- an xxth & xxth grader -- both attend the ACLC. Never
have I been more pleased to see teenagers, not only get a solid
college-prep education, but actually love school. After every weekend
(and now, during break!), they're excited to go back. Let's be real:
how weird is that?
There's a reason. The ACLC is as close to democratically-run as a
school can get. My kids love it because, as they're being challenged
academically, they're learning that they have control over their own
education. And as you must know, when people have a sense of
ownership, they take better care of their possessions, their
surroundings and themselves.
The proposed NCLC will give more Alameda families the same
opportunities we've been fortunate enough to enjoy these last several
years. Each year, the waiting list for the ACLC grows, and more and
more kids are turned away from this fantastic opportunity.
Furthermore, the proposed NCLC will incorporate the lower grades,
allowing kids to literally grow up in the kind of nurturing,
empowering, high-academic environment that current ACLC kids enter
into in the middle school years.
Please vote yes on the Nea Community Learning Center charter petition.
We all want what's best for our kids, and parent choice is crucial
when it comes to education for their children. CLCS should be
permitted to expand their solidly established, proven, and excellent
education program to all grades, and to more Alameda families.
Parent 12/31/2007
Please vote yes on the Nea Community Learning Center charter petition.
I support parent choice within the public school system. I have 4 children
attending Alameda public schools. My oldest one is at the ACLC and is loving
every moment of it. My second oldest cannot wait to be at ACLC. The youngest
two will also follow in their brothrs' footsteps.
CLCS has a proven track record and should be permitted to replicate and expand
their excellent educational program for grades K-12 for Alameda’s residents.
Educator 12/31/2007
Please vote NO on the proposed NCLC new charter school. Approving the charter would have a disastrous financial impact on AUSD. The charter applicants have proposed an unsound program. Moreover, the program they have proposed is unlikely to succeed. Their new school is also highly likely to serve a population skewed towards certain groups and not to serve certain other groups that are most in need of support to close the achievement gap.
Parent 12/22/2007
My name is xxx x. I am a 20-year Alameda resident and the parent of a 4 year old preschooler and an 8 year old Washington Elementary student. I am also a math facilitator at the Alameda Community Learning Center (ACLC).
Below is the Factsheet for the proposed new charter school, Nea Community Learning Center. I recognize that education in Alameda is a critical issue and that Alamedans should receive as much information as possible so they can choose what is best for their children. I am contacting Alameda families in as many ways as possible to let people know who we are and what NCLC is about, so you may see this information elsewhere.
In an attempt to be as objective as possible, I have listed only the facts regarding ACLC and the proposed NCLC. If you have questions about any of these statements, feel free to contact me, the staff at ACLC, or the Alameda Unified School District for clarification.
Factsheet for Proposed Nea Community Learning Center
This factsheet is designed to inform Alameda families about the proposed new charter school, Nea Community Learning Center. The vision for NCLC came from Alameda public school teachers and parents who wanted to make the successful Alameda Community Learning Center available to more Alameda families. As demand for ACLC exceeded capacity and its waitlist grew, ACLC requested to expand its current 6th through 12th grade program within the Alameda Unified School District. The request was denied. Finally, in response to the increasing demand and with the encouragement of many Alamedans, ACLC decided to open NCLC with one major innovation—the new school would also have an elementary component. This elementary program will incorporate many of the same innovative educational practices of ACLC, but is designed to address the needs of younger learners. More information about the elementary program is forthcoming.
ACLC and NCLC Open Admissions Policy
ACLC has historically accepted applications from any Alameda family.
NCLC will accept applications from any Alameda family.
As public schools, ACLC does not and NCLC shall not charge tuition.
ACLC and NCLC are open to any interested family, regardless of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, primary language, or geographic location.
Unlike Alameda and Encinal High Schools or any other public elementary or middle school in Alameda, NCLC will be open to any Alameda family regardless of their assigned school boundary.
Admission to ACLC is based on random lottery supervised by AUSD for the past 12 years.
To increase access to all Alameda families, NCLC has eliminated the sibling policy regarding automatic admission. If demand exceeds capacity, siblings will also be subject to the lottery system.
While open to all Alameda families, NCLC is recruiting most heavily in Alameda's West End, historically the most ethnically diverse and socioeconomically challenged part of Alameda.
NCLC has requested that AUSD provide complete citywide K-12 mailing lists so it can market to all Alameda families in multiple languages. AUSD denied the request.
Educational Plan for K-12 Program
NCLC plans to replicate in its 6th through 12th grades the best educational practices from the successful ACLC model.
ACLC was awarded the 2007 California Distinguished School Award (the first charter school in Alameda county to receive the prestigious award).
ACLC was awarded a Bronze medal in December, 2007 by US News and World Report as one of the top 8.5% of high schools in the nation.
ACLC has scored an API score of 10 for five years in a row.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jack O'Connell, recently recognized ACLC as a school "with a good track record [that] should be replicated."
ACLC graduates must meet the University of California a-g graduation requirements. These graduation requirements are higher than those of Alameda and Encinal High Schools.
NCLC plans to implement an innovative Kindergarten through 5th grade program (the Elementary Vision is explained in a separate document).
Three Alameda educational leaders with over 75 years of educational experience lead the elementary implementation team.
Linda McClusky
AUSD Teacher of the Year – 1997
AUSD Team Diversity Member
Media Center Teacher, Science Teacher (K-8) Paden School – 4 years
Special Day Class Teacher – (3-5) Miller School – 4 years
Teacher/Director (Pre K-3) Sara Project Day School – 12 years
Credentials: Elementary Education, Special Education, Mathematics, Administrative Leadership (K-12)
James Venable
Title 1 Coordinator / Literacy Coach – Washington School
30 years experience teaching in grades K-5
Reading and Writing Expert – Started NCTE Reading Initiative at Washington School
Educational consultant to schools on Louisville Writing Project
Credentials: Master of Arts in Teaching, Clear Multi-subject, Cross Cultural Language and Academic Development Certification
BTSA Support Provider
Betsy Weiss
20 years of Elementary Teaching Experience – (K-5) including 10 years of K-1 Multiage Grouping
AUSD Mentor Teacher – 4 years: Math, Science, Best Practices, and Development Education
Title 1 Reading Teacher/Literacy Coach – 5 years
Owner/Director/Teacher – Secret Garden Preschool – 5 years
Credentials: MS Environmental Education, Elementary Credential
Teachers, parents, and students will govern NCLC democratically
Alameda public school teachers and Alameda parents initiated the NCLC charter movement.
NCLC's governance is based on the ACLC governance model.
NCLC will have no administrators—the teachers will run the school.
Students will oversee appropriate disciplinary issues through the Judicial Committee process as established by ACLC.
Students will have a significant voice in establishing the rules and policies of the school.
The Governing Board will consist of teachers, parents, and students, all of whom will have voting power.
Using the District Email lists, two Emails were sent out by ACLC employeees. Below are the EMails and the subsequent responses from AUSD employees.
ACLC Employee Email #1 12/21/2007
10 Reasons to Support the
Nea Community Learning Center (NCLC)
- NCLC is a public school: NCLC will be nonsectarian in its programs, admission policies, employment practices, and all other operations, shall not charge tuition, and shall not discriminate against any pupil on the basis of ethnicity, national origin, gender, or disability.
- NCLC is a school for all Alamedans: NCLC will market to the entire Alameda Community and will not discriminate based upon where you live in Alameda.
- NCLC offers fair and equal access to all: NCLC will be a public school that will accept its learners by a random lottery.
- NCLC will help all kids succeed: NCLC will serve all learners regardless of disability or special education needs.
- Many Alamedans want K-5 school choice like NCLC: Alameda families support the K-5 program idea. NCLC has already received 166 applications for its K-10 program in three weeks of recruiting, 101 for its K-5 program.
- NCLC is teacher driven: All 12 signers of the charter petition are certificated teacher leaders and union members.
- NCLC is an extension of a proven, successful school: NCLC seeks to replicate the 12 years of ACLC success and expand it into the lower grades (as was the original vision by the Alameda community) to increase parent and student choice for 408 students over three years.
- NCLC offers experience: The new K-5 NCLC Core Action Team has over 75 years of elementary school experience and has been leaders of innovative successful programs in the past. The team has vast experience working in Alameda ’s Title 1 schools (schools with children of poverty).
- NCLC is about community participation: Teachers, parents, and learners will serve on the NCLC Governing Board, offering democratic and responsive decision-making.
- NCLC is built on a recognized model: The California Department of Education has awarded the NCLC founders with a grant to disseminate its success and the highest ranking education official in California , State Superintendent Jack O’Connell says, “Schools like (ACLC) with a good track record should be replicated.”
What the NCLC Core Action Team is doing to make this a reality:
- While all Alamedans are welcome to apply, NCLC seeks to locate on the West End and is targeting West End families. We are leafleting in West End shopping malls, recruiting West End 9th graders, and will soon be leafleting West End Middle and Elementary Schools.
- NCLC has done some mailings (limited by our ability to get mailing lists) to Alameda families in multiple languages.
- NCLC is targeting ACLC’s wait list of 130 (Currently grades 6-9, 60% non-Caucasian) for its new school.
What the critics say:
- “ACLC holds its learners to high standards.” True. NCLC will do the same. Its graduation requirements meet the UC a-g requirements. It is true that 15-20 learners leave the ACLC each year (For a variety of reasons, one being they do not want to be in rigorous college-prep program.) That is part of what choice is all about.
- “The student body won’t be diverse and reflective of Alameda .” FALSE. People are saying that those of non-Caucasian ethnicity are over-represented among students who leave the ACLC. Not only is this not true, but it obscures the truth as to why learners leave. By the end of the 2006-07 school year, 6 of 16 learners leaving the ACLC were learners of color. (Roughly their proportion in the school.) Two Filipino learners left, (One to Bishop O’Dowd and one to EHS), One Hispanic learner left for EHS, and three African American learners left (One went to an African American private school in Oakland, one moved to Africa, and one moved to Pittsburg. CA.) Students leave Alameda schools for a variety of reasons: affordable housing, better opportunities, change of jobs, etc. This is true in all of Alameda ’s schools and is a fact of economic life on the island.
Everyone deserves choices. All of Alameda families deserve an opportunity to attend a high performing public school. Without NCLC, West End kids will be waitlisted at ACLC, and are not eligible for AHS due to their address.
Thank you from the NCLC Core Action Team: Paul Bentz, Maafi Gueye, Linda McCluskey, James Venable, Betsy Weiss and Lowry Fenton.
ACLC Employee Email #2 12/21/2007
To my fellow AEA members,
If I had to sum up my feeling about being a teacher (facilitator) at ACLC it would be one word “Empowerment.” At ACLC our team -- all AEA members -- has control of our budget, our curriculum, our schedule, and the power to change the way we run our program. I never felt this level of empowerment when I worked at Alameda High for the nine years I was there. During those nine years it felt like an awful lot of the power resided in the AHS administration and the district office and, for the most part, my “power” resided in my ability to make decisions about how to deliver the AUSD mandated curriculum in my classroom. At this juncture, in many classrooms across this district (I am thinking of my daughter’s AUSD elementary classroom), “fidelity” to scripted curriculum has whittled away even that sense of limited “power.”
It is very liberating and empowering to be a part of a school in which everyone teaches, no one is a full-time administrator, and all of us share in the administration of our program. One of the most amazing off-shoots of our empowerment is that it multiplies outwards—our students and parents are empowered too: they serve on the committees that administrate our school, they suggest and help to implement policy change, they too have a voice in our school and they use it.
Once upon a time, when our school was first created, the district had a vision for changing education in this district and even had plans to become a model for 21st century educational reform. Our school was a part of this vision as were the academies at Wood and Chipman, and entire schools, like Paden, that gave parents and students educational choices. Equally important, these schools gave teachers career choices and opportunities. Seven of the eleven teachers at ACLC were AUSD district employees before choosing to work at ACLC. In addition to giving parents and students educational choices in the Alameda public schools, our new school will allow AUSD employees to make a career choice if that is something they are interested in; currently, three AUSD employees, all AEA members, are involved in designing the educational program for the new school.
If it were up to me, I would design an entire school district of choice for all parents, students and teachers and offer the experience of empowerment that I have at ACLC to any teacher who is interested in it. When we support schools of choice for parents and students please remember that we are creating choice for Alameda teachers too.
Responses to the EMails from AUSD employees 12/21/2007
Educator 12/21/2007 in response to ACLC EMail
I was surprised this afternoon to receive in my AUSD email in-box the gifts of propaganda and political spin about the proposed new charter school in Alameda, NCLC.
I don’t have the time right now to respond comprehensively to the “10 Reasons to Support NCLS” or to the misleading and incomplete “What the Critics Say” section, but I think some response is appropriate so that the hundreds of recipients of that email at least have an opportunity to consider alternative points of view on this issue.
I’m unsure whether AUSD email is the appropriate venue for such a message, in part because we may all now find our AUSD email clogged with messages about this issue, as Ms. Fong-Wedgwood pointed pit in an email earlier this afternoon. (In fact, although I have been speaking out against the proposed new charter school, I have strived not to use AUSD email for that purpose.) But since Mr. Bentz already sent his message via AUSD email, in this case I’m going to use AUSD email to respond.
I understand and respect that there are diverse opinions about charter schools in general and this proposed charter in particular. Based on what I know so far, I am opposed to this particular charter because:
(1) If the charter is granted, there will be a devastating impact on AUSD students, staff, and teachers due to the resulting budget cuts,
(2) The population ACLC now serves (and that ACLC/NCLC is likely to serve)
is skewed towards already advantaged groups (not only ethnically as Mr. Bentz’s email implies, but also socio-economically and educationally (e.g., in the percentage of students with college-educated parents)).
(3) Renewed opportunities for innovative teaching and learning (and increased parent choice) are likely to be coming soon **within AUSD** as part of the Superintendent’s “Pathway to Excellence and Equity” planning process for the future of AUSD, and
(4) There are serious questions about whether the K-12 program CLCS has proposed can actually succeed.
District Administrator 12/21/2007 in response to ACLC EMail
The District’s acceptable use policy forbids solicitations, advertisements or political lobbying.
Please refrain from using the Districts mail system to promote the bennifits of your proposal.
Educator 12/21/2007 in response to ACLC EMail
xxx and others please be careful how you use the district’s email as you are treading thin ice; please do not elevate this issue to a litigious level as it and your current methods of informing adults and students could become grounds for a union grievance or disciplinary action.
Educator 12/21/2007 in response to ACLC EMail
Does this kind of email fall within the district’s term of use agreement?
If not, please stop filling up our mailboxes!
Educator 12/21/2007 in response to ACLC EMail
Thank you for explaining the potential benefit for 408 students in our district. Can you address NCLC's fiscal impact on Alameda's other 9,500 students? It's been estimated that your program would result in 1.5 to 2 million dollars in budget cuts.... Is it fair to make the many suffer, for promises to a privileged few?
Educator 12/18/2007
Let me start with full disclosure- my older son went
to ACLC, my younger son is a xxx at ACLC, and I
have been teaching at xxxx since ACLC came into being.
With that said, let me go over three reasons why the
new charter school should not be approved.
1. Money. Forgive me if I have the numbers wrong, but
about a year ago we lost three hundred students, and
had to cut some 1.8 million dollars. Those cuts have
affected my work and the support students get at EHS,
and most likely around the district. It makes little
sense to then do this to ourselves by supporting this
new school. We'd lose three hundred kids, need to cut
another 1.8 million and be in an even worse place than
we are now.
2. Privilege. By my calculations- taken from the 2007
STAR report- ACLC is about 65% white, with 65% of the
parents with a college education or more, and with
only 8% economically disadvantaged. These numbers vary
drastically from EHS and AHS, and make ACLC a school
that caters to a very narrow slice of this community.
While not a certainty, I imagine the same sort of
folks want the new school, making it, and ACLC for
that matter, in essence a private school paid for with
public school money.
3. Race. While not the intention, and never the
intention, what has happened with ACLC is something
that has happened all over the country- the
re-segregation of America's school. Under the guise of
choice and freedom and innovation, the school is the
whitest and most elite in the district (see the above
numbers). Several years ago the battle was over
vouchers- seemingly intended to help kids of color
move out of poor public schools, the value of a
voucher did not cover private school costs, and only
subsidized the expenses for wealthy parents who could
pay for a "choice." Charter schools (many, but not
all) have achieved this same effect. Those kids with
parents able to transport them to ACLC, those parents
able to make the kind of financial contributions
expected of parents at ACLC, and those parents able to
support the child centered learning approach of ACLC,
benefit from ACLC. And again, the majority of those
folks are white, educated and financially stable. I
don't think it is the purpose of the school district
to satisfy the needs and desires of those folks,
especially at the expense of rest of the district.
Please understand- I respect the teachers at ACLC, and
understand the parents who want choice, but I think a
better use of the innovations and energy for change
that exists is to direct it all towards our lowest
achieving students, to see if new models can help
close the achievement gap. By allowing a new version
of ACLC to exist the achievement gap would only widen,
as those students who come from privilege would be
allowed to separate themselves from the other
students.
Parent 12/15/2007
I've been reading about the NCLC charter application and a question came to mind: I saw repeatedly that they referenced the "successful ACLC model" and cite API scores and AYP as evidence. My concern is that ACLC (and potentially NCLC) end up -- by chance or design, doesn't matter which -- with a self-selected group of motivated, self-directed learners. It would then be no surprise if we grouped these kids together in a single school and their test scores were great. Has anyone been able to "validate" the ACLC scores by comparing the ACLC student scores with the scores of students on the waiting list? As a former high school teacher, my suspicion is that we'd see the scores of the ~150 students on the waiting list (and still mostly in the AUSD system) match pretty well the scores of the ACLC kids.
ACLC and NCLC sound like wonderful environments for a particular type of student. My concern is that these schools would essentially be magnet schools for kids that are already high-achieving in the AUSD system. And it would be a lot of money to spend on kids that are already succeeding in the AUSD system. I like what they say about recruiting students from all over Alameda, in different languages, etc. But if their main argument is that they want to replicate ACLC, I'd want to be sure that ACLC is actually succeeding in a meaningful way, with students that were not already high-achievers within AUSD.
Full disclosure: I have three kids -- two at xxx and one on the way there. I love the school and am concerned that NCLC will pull the high-achievers and the most-involved parents out, leaving me the lone member of the PTA.
Parent 12/15/2007
Hi! I have two children. One at xxx and one at xxx. And I
am very upset at the idea of a charter school instead of Chipman Middle
School. I understand of course that Chipman has a lot of issues. But,
many of those issues would be solved by changing the boundaries and making
things fair for all Alameda students. Why overcrowd one school so that
Chipman's enrollment is so low that they have to accept students from
other cities just for enough funds to stay open?
My daughter went to ACLC in the 6th grade and it was an awful the
experience. And I was not the only one with that awful experience. At
least 4 other 6 graders that I knew of left the school feeling the same
way. Kids need structure and discipline and TEACHERS. At ACLC the
District has no control to step in and help out. And ACLC's suggestion of
"maybe your child would do better elsewhere" when a student is not
performing helps to keep their API up.
Please do what's fair for all of our kids. Change the boundaries and
allow Alameda schools to be for Alameda children. I hate hearing people
complain about camping out for a spot at school so their kid can go to
school with another kid on their block. I just want my kid to go to
school with kids in Alameda. And we live right around the corner from
Chipman. I don't want to ship my kid across Alameda to get a good public
school education. But, there is no way that I would send my child to a
charter school ran at all like ACLC.
Please change the boundaries and don't allow another charter school over
here. Please don't let the threat of Lincoln kids going to private
schools make the decision. Just because the kids on this side of town
can't afford that does not make them less of a priority. I believe that
you are all at the District because you care for each child.
Parent 12/15/2007
I would like to express my strong support for the proposed NEA Community Learning Center. My 13 year old daughter made the switch from Wood Middle School to ACLC this year (she is in 8th grade) and the difference has been profound. At Wood the teachers were largely indifferent. The work consisted of reading from the textbook. In her science class the teacher assigned extra textbook reading as punishment, but never did a lab or a project with the students. My daughter was never given a creative writing project or a history project in school. There was no library for the students, nor were there computers available. We got a spot at ACLC this year and the academics, parent support, and quality of instruction have been off the charts. xxxx has made incredibly detailed science projects, has advanced math and Spanish studies, and is encouraged to plan her own study time in order to learn time management. The staff expect excellence and never let the students slide. I know NEA !
We will have similar standards because Paul Bentz and the ACLC crew are behind NEA. Please know how important it is for the school board to approve this exciting new Charter School.
Parent 12/11/2007
Please approve the petition for a new charter school in Alameda and continue to offer our families and students educational choices. We are so lucky to live in a community where there are alternatives and I urge you to continue this. I speak as a parent of a new student in 8th grade to ACLC. My son is absolutely thriving in this environment and I am thrilled for him to have this opportunity. Please make this a reality for other families and their children.
Parent 12/11/2007
Regarding the possible opening of NCLC, I'd like to
voice my strong support for opening the school. I have
a fourth-grader and first-grader at Edison. For middle
school, we have been looking at private schools with
both children in mind because we don't feel that
Lincoln can meet their needs. Both children are very
bright, focused, and love learning but have been
painfully bored and unchallenged since starting
elementary school and have developed very negative
attitudes toward school. We feel that Lincoln would
just be a continuation of the same. ACLC may be a good
option but we know that we can't count on getting into
the school. We would welcome the opening of NCLC as a
possible option to going outside of the community to
private school for both children. We believe that
public schools should come as close as possible to
meeting the needs of all students, and we haven't
found any good options in Alameda's school system for
coming close to meeting our children's needs so far.
ACLC/NCLC seem to offer a potential to thrive for
bright, self-motivated children that we haven't seen
in other Alameda schools.
Community Member 12/11/2007
I just wanted to send a quick note asking you to not approve the Nea
Charter School application. While I understand their program for 6 -
12 students is sucessful given their population, I am not convinced
due to their application alone that they will be able to provide the
the appropriate education to K - 5 students. I hope that you will
carefully consider the financial impacts that this proposed charter
school expansion will have on the rest of AUSD and its students.
While I understand and appreciate parents and students right to choice
in their school, it is incumbent on the School Board to do what is in
the best interest of all students, not just a select few.
Parent 12/11/2007
It would seem that the proposal to use Woodstock school as new charter school in Alameda would be more than robbing Peter to pay Paul, but more concerning: Taking money from many students in order to offer new services for a few (and looking cursorily at the demographic data, a few who are not representative of the AUSD population).
With yet another year of budget cuts/concerns forthcoming, I want to write in with my support to carefully look at the financial aspects of this proposal, specifically how it helps or hinders the financing for Alameda’s current students and total population.
We avoided the budget bullet last year, future years will become more difficult without increasing the possible financial burden of yet another charter school.
Secondly, the language in the proposal (which I have only briefly browsed) seems to favor specific families over any students. While I completely respect the hard work that families may have put into the project, however, the role of public education, as exemplified by your unanimous support of a lottery in the case of kindergarten over enrollment, is to serve all families and students. The proposal to give certain specific families preferential enrollment seems to smack of favoritism and preferential treatment of specific people.
Parent 12/11/2007
I support the formation of a new K-12 charter school by the good
folks at ACLC. It will help relieve crowding at Edison and other
elementary schools. Anything to avoid changing school zone
boundaries.
Parent 12/11/2007
Congratulations to AUSD and each of you for running a great school district and being acknowledged by the media, ratings agencies and politicians for doing such a fine job. Every year or two I consider putting my children into private school and after researching alternatives and taking tours, decide that AUSD provides opportunities that are at least as good and in many ways superior.
One of the reasons AUSD is such a good district is the variety of educational choices it presents. ACLC in particular has been a great choice for my oldest child. ACLC's focus on individual responsibility and it's flexibility in structure and content encouraged and enabled him to take classes not only from ACLC but also from Laney College, College of Alameda, Keystone National High School, Encinal High School and UC Berkeley Extension. We live in a truly rich educational environment here in Alameda and ACLC helps their learners take full advantage.
ACLC's long waiting list shows that many more students would like to choose this educational approach but can't. You can help these students make their own choices and take full advantage of all the educational opportunities available to them by approving the NCLC charter.
Parent 12/11/2007
I write to express my support for the Board's approval of the new charter petition for the Nea Community Learning Center.
My son has been a student in the Alameda Unified School District since our family's move to the Island in July 2004. After a disastrous beginning and Seve's missing most of his first semester due to Alameda High's inability to accommodate his needs, AUSD was faced with an NSP placement had ACLC not accepted Seve as a student.
As a special needs student with a highly unusual combination of strengths and weaknesses resulting from his extreme prematurity (diagnoses include visual impairment, mild cerebral palsy, mild-moderate pulmonary insufficiency, medical fragility, social deficits, NVLD, intractible pain issues, cognitive, anxiety and learning disorders all NOS), Seve has found a "home away from home" in the community educational setting ACLC engenders. Seve's unique gifts with regard to language arts, his neurologic processing challenges and deficits in rote learning and math, his substantial need for anchoring by teachers who know him and his global issues, his need to have his hard work and drive to succeed despite his challenges witnessed and validated, his need to find out what he can do instead of what he can't do....his need for an individualized education within a supportive community, all this has happened at ACLC.
You have a real winner here, a recognized, tested winner......you have an educational model desperately needed at this momentous time in our history nationally and globally....an educational model that engenders engaged, creative learners within a participatory, democratic community.
I would be glad to speak with you or the board at greater length about our experience with his community of learners.....and I say "community of learners" because the facilitators of learning at ACLC are life-long learners themselves.
Parent 12/11/2007
I have a son in 11th grade at ACLC. The school has been a real win for
him in providing an environment that he thrives in. Although bright, he
had a lot of difficulty in learning to read and write. At ACLC, he has
succeeded, getting mostly A's despite taking on a really challenging
curriculum, including some classes at College of Alameda.
I am greatly in support of extending this model of education through the
charter of NCLC.
Parent 12/11/2007
I will be unable to attend the Board meeting this week but wish to raise
concern and ask that the Board deny the Charter application. I do not
believe that the ACLC group has no experience in K-6 education and that
replicating the environment at ACLC for a younger group is not likely to
be successful - I also believe it will severely harm our District's
ability to move forward financially (removing 300+ students from our
student population will cause financial harm to the District).
Please vote against this proposed charter school.
Parent 12/11/2007
T
hank you for working so diligently to keep this island informed. Please consider making the new Charter new school a reality.
Student 12/11/2007
As a recent (2005) alumna of ACLC I would like to express my support for the
charter petition for the Nea Community Learning Center. As you all know, ACLC
offers a non-traditional learning and teaching model seeking to instill
qualities of the life-long learner into its students such as
self-directed and self-motivated learning and cooperation with peers as well as
the opportunity to develop leadership, time management, etc. skills and much
more; and, it is successful. You should not have to think twice about
supporting this proposal and what's more, the citizens of Alameda are rallied
behind it.
I moved to Alameda the summer before seventh grade and had heard about ACLC
(then AACLC) from my 4-5 split class teacher in San Francisco who spoke
extremely favourably about the school. So I went to the center for an interview
with a women with crazy hair (Linda McCluskey) and was lucky enough to learn
that there was a single spot open for a seventh grade girl. I went...
Eight years later I find myself currently in London and recently in Ethiopia on
a self-designed study abroad program through my university back in the states,
Harvard University. Of course I cannot say that I wouldn't be here now if I
had never gone to ACLC because that would be impossible to know for sure, but
ACLC surely enabled me to expand my learning beyond the traditional sense
academically, democratically, as a leader and a role model, as a valued member
of the community, and furthermore as a life-long learner.
I do not yet know what I want to do and how I want to spend the rest of my life
(graduate school?, medical school?, more time abroad?) but no matter what I do
I will be bringing along the lessons and experiences I had had at the center to
all the future roads I will travel.
Parent 12/10/2007
I am a parent of a current student at ACLC. Today, my son, xxx, is
spending the year in France as an exchange student. Five years ago,
nobody would have predicted this, as Casey was shy and even phobic of
strangers and new situations. In his years at ACLC, xxx became an
active member of the California championship ultimate frisbee team, a
leader in the ACLC community as a member of the Governing Board, a
widely read contributor to the Alameda Sun, as an intern reporter, and
more importantly to me, a caring and generous brother to his younger
sister.
I am writing largely because of xxx's sister, a fourth grader at
Edison School and a devoted fan of the "Center", but also for many other
fourth and fifth graders. When xxx leaves fifth grade, there is
likely to be a large number of applicants for attendance at ACLC, too
many to assure her even a good chance for admittance. Why should this be
important? Isn't Lincoln a good school with high test scores and
excellent teachers? Lincoln is of course a good school but it is not a
place where xxx would have become the person he has become, and I
don't feel it is a place that xxx can become her best.
We can give more parents the chance to send their children to a
community learning center. You can give more parents the chance by
approving the application of NeaCLC. I know that some are concerned that
ACLC somehow robs AUSD of resources or students. Yet the purpose of the
charter school legislation was to promote diversity and innovation in
education, to improve all schools and school districts by fostering new
initiatives. So, more accurately, the CLC's are investments. Schools
throughout the country are turning to learning communities as a new
model. Here in Alameda we already have a successful demonstration. You
can choose to join with ACLC in the search for new solutions to our
educational challenges by extending this demonstration to primary
grades. Please do so.
Community Member 12/10/2007
Should the board deny the charter, and ultimately be forced to accept it by some outside agency, and the cuts that the charter school cause brings out the anger and upset from the community, a Board that has said no, and been overridden, is in a better position than a Board that simplly said okay.
Parent 12/10/2007
I’m afraid we are unable to attend the meeting on 12/11, where I understand you will be considering a new charter school named Nea Community Learning Center. I am aware of the ACLC program and am very interested in having a program like this for earlier grades. Our son attended Alameda public schools f
