Blogs

Dear SCOE Board of Trustees:  It has come to our attention that the Fortune School will be coming before the SCOE board to ask for a material revision of its charter. It is proposing a new school in Elk Grove School USD more than three miles from the "children's zone" identified in the original petition for a school location.

 
From the article about STEM Education:  "Here's an overview of the problem: If a school district focuses only on performing well on a high-stakes California state test, an opportunity to experience and make applications in science, engineering design and computer science is lost. Rote memorization of facts and figures is over-valued. Our students' school experience, consequently, becomes a test prep factory, a setting devoid of meaningful human interaction and richer curricular connection. A child's spirit of wonder and intrigue becomes a sterile test score result."

     The Open Enrollment priority for kids at the closed schools is a farce. The Open Enrollment timeline was just an excuse for the hurried closure "process" --we have to rush to get the schools closed so that parents can apply for open enrollment. There is no way 2000 students can be accommodated through that process.  Students who live within the attendance boundaries have first choice at their neighborhood school regardless of open enrollment.  Then there is sibling preference and staff preference. Some schools like Hearst and Camellia have academic criteria.

Last Tuesday evening the Putting Students First Coalition hosted a community budget forum. The presenter was Karen Swett, a retired SCUSD teacher who has spent years working with district

The Bee editorial board is concerned that the SCUSD school board will be perceived as acting unfairly by failing to close Mark Twain or Tahoe Elementary, in addition to the schools already closed. Evidently none of the Bee editorial board watched the SCUSD board meeting streaming online. If they had, they would know that the SCUSD board has already been accused of unfairness in the closure of seven elementary schools.

Today's Bee editorial lauds the SCUSD board of education for "tough but wise" decision" on schools closures because the district needed to close schools because of shrinking enrollment. While it is true that the district has too many schools for its enrollment, the objections many had with these school closures was the process. It was too hasty, used questionable data about school capacity, had no plan in place for student safety and  engaged the public after the fact. In short, it did not follow best practices recommended by the California Dept. of Education.

It's not just a school, it's a community that will be lost. Parents trust that teachers and staff will act in the best interests of their children to look after them and to teach them for 6 hours a day. It's a stressful and scary situation for a parent to lose the school that is your child's safe haven.
 

Why is the district closing schools in the light of the passage of prop 30 and the Governor's new policy initiative to change the way schools are funded?  Sac City is 73% free and reduced lunch students. It could receive an infusion of funds.
 

       For the past ten years, the Sacramento City Unified School District has closed schools piecemeal, even when attempting to put a process like a 7-11 committee in place. Now with its back against the wall financially,  the district believes it must close a large number of schools to remain solvent. To address the declining enrollment and over capacity in the district, planning should have begun by considering  the best way to serve the needs of all of the current population of students in the district.

     The SCUSD school closure list is out and some of the criteria behind the selection of the schools on it has been revealed. Three of  the Superintendent's Priority Schools get a pass, despite the fact they are under enrolled. Oak Ridge was on a closure list two years ago because of low enrollment and  the poor shape of its facility. Now it will be a receiving school for students from Bret Harte and Fruitridge Elementary Schools.