Parents ask for new charter school to serve East Palo Alto and Belle Haven

I applaud parents working hard with the the school district for better education. It is unfortunate that the Superintendent feels that her job is to turn around the district rather than work with KIPP that has a "solid curriculum and programs". I suspect the district has been trying to turn around for many years. What can she do differently to make this a reality? I think her job should focus on the students well-being and not maintaining the status quo. Those who want to learn should be able to find a school in their community that will support their quest. Or, let all those that are motivated go outside of the district to receive the education they deserve. I am not an advocate for KIPP, but I do feel that kids' rights come before unions, job protection, and entrenched thinking. There are many teachers who would work longer days and there are other possibilities for a longer school day; however, the fight to change contracts is impossible in the public system. Charter schools are no panacea, but they can move more efficiently with less union restrictions.

Good luck EPA, I hope you continue to fight for a good education.

Do any of these East Palo Alto charter schools actually choose to admit any students with physical and/or learning disabilities, or autism, etc.?

It is my understanding that charter schools can cherry-pick the students they choose to accept, and they can refuse to admit kids with physical disabilities or learning disabilities or autism, etc. These charter schools get our tax dollars, yet they do not have to accept all students of the ages served by their schools. Who is going to see to it that students who are refused admission by these tax-supported institutions are given an excellent education?

Don't get me wrong -- I am glad there are more schools i EPA, but I worry about what will happen to the kids that the charter and private schools refuse to admit. I do not like any student being left out.

To Concerned,

We asked KIPP to respond to the concerns you raised and they have replied as follows:

KIPP is open-enrollment, which means that we are open to all students and there are no admissions criteria. Our enrollment process is "blind" to special education eligibility, so we do not learn about a student’s special education status until they have enrolled and registered.

Our percentage of students with special needs varies from school to school, based on the community context. For example, one of our middle schools in San Francisco serves up to 12% students with special needs, which is on par with the average for the San Francisco Unified School District. Our regional average mirrors the statewide average for charter schools at 8%.

We provide a continuum of care to meet the needs of each individual student. Our care ranges from special education instruction in general education classrooms and resource centers to offering residential programs as required by the student's IEP. We also provide related services of speech, counseling, occupational therapy, vision, orientation and mobility, adaptive physical education, and deaf and hard of hearing services as required by a student's IEP.

For our middle schools in San Jose, we have created, in collaboration with the Diagnostic Center - Northern California, a special day class called the Specialized Teaching Program (STP) for students with autism and other severe difficulties in communication, socialization, and behavior. We are the Diagnostic Center’s very first charter school partner.

Our staff and teaching teams actively seek to identify students who may have overlooked disabilities. Assessments are completed by one of our five staff school psychologists across the region and other relevant service providers.