May 6, 2005

Parents organizing for new charter high school in southeast San Jose

By Patrick Dwire
Times Intern

In hopes of creating more options for their high school-bound children, about 20 parents attended a charter school information meeting at the Evergreen Community Center on April 21.

Residents of southeast Evergreen (from left) who are spearheading the new charter school effort include former teacher Judy Herns, Amanda Kasinski, Debra Murphy and former teacher Gina Elkins. All of these women have children in local Evergreen elementary schools.

“We think the Evergreen area is ripe for a new High Tech High Charter School,” said Judy Herns, spokesperson for the Charter Development Team, a core group of four mothers spearheading the effort to establish a new charter high school in southeast San Jose.

“We know we have a huge problem with overcrowding in our district,” Herns said at the meeting, “and I want to be clear that a new charter school is not going to solve that problem. But we know from research that many students do much better in a small school environment, and we want to see that option available.”

A charter school is a public, tuition-free school established separate from the existing school district. A new charter school becomes a single school district, governed by its own board of directors and the charter under which it is established.

Charter schools are typically much smaller than regular public schools and offer more flexibility in administration. They often include innovative approaches to teaching and curriculum as well. One of the key problems in getting a new charter school established, however, is that the existing school district needs to approve it.

Zendejas won’t support charters
At a large community meeting in March that drew more than 100 concerned parents to discuss problems with the declining performance of the East Side Union High School District, Superintendent Esperanza Zendejas indicated she would not support establishing a new charter high school.

In a phone interview after the meeting, she explained that as superintendent, “I am not in a position to support charter schools, because the more charter schools that are put in place in our district, the less funding we’ll have for programs we offer now.”

Zendejas added that although some charter schools do an excellent job, others do not.

Support from District 8
City Councilmember David Cortese, however, who currently represents District 8 and is running for San Jose mayor in 2006, has indicated his support for looking into establishing a new charter high school in southeast San Jose.

Rabia Chaudhry, chief of staff for Councilmember Cortese, reported at the meeting that Cortese will be meeting with senior executives from the High Tech High School charter school organization next month to discuss the possibility of establishing “High Tech High School Silicon Valley” in Evergreen Valley.

“While many issues remain that need to be worked out,” Chaudhry said, “Councilmember Cortese supports the idea. Were trying to help this group locate land in the area and put them in contact with the right people so this effort can move forward. We’ve been at the disposal of All About The Kids and have helped them research various issues,”
Chaudhry said.

The Charter Development Team is part of a larger community organization, All About The Kids, which has been researching, organizing and recommending several approaches to improving Silver Creek and Evergreen Valley High Schools.

The new charter school is a “short-term” option, according to Herns, while the idea of unifying ESUHSD’s Silver Creek and Evergreen Valley high schools with the elementary school district is a “long-term commitment.”

High Tech High
Rather than trying to start a new charter school “from scratch,” Herns and her group hope to attract the High Tech High charter school organization to Evergreen and open “High Tech High Silicon Valley” in the next year or two.

“We think it is better to work with an established organization, rather than re-inventing the wheel,” said Herns, “and we’re very impressed with High Tech High Schools.” At this early stage, much depends on the approval process at the district level, locating a facility for the new school and finding financial support.

Evergreen resident Judy Herns, a former teacher who is currently the PTA president at Silver Oak Elementary School, is the spokesperson for the Charter Development Team of the All About the Kids foundation.

Started in 2000 in San Diego, High Tech High Schools are well established with four high schools up and running in California. The most recent school to open was Bayshore High Tech High in San Carlos last year. High Tech High is planning to open four new schools soon, including one in Foster City.

The educational program at High Tech High schools emphasizes highly individualized education plans for each student and small class size in a small school environment. Total enrollment is limited to about 450 students. The schools provide personal advisors for each student and real world educational experience through internships.

Despite the name, High Tech High Schools are not exclusively “tech schools,” and have a wide and balanced curriculum.

“At this point, we are lobbying for their attention,” said Herns, “now High Tech High Schools need to come down and have a look around and see if Evergreen Valley might be a good spot for a new school.”

Jackie Guevara, former administrator and assistant principal at Silver Creek High School before becoming assistant director of alternative education for the district, is a strong supporter of smaller charter schools. She is starting her own charter school for seventh, eighth and ninth graders.

“If you have the politicians behind you and commitments from various foundations, that’s what they want to see,” said Guevara about the lobbying effort to bring High Tech High to Evergreen.

“We should be prepared for a reasonably contentious battle at various levels to get this school established,” advised Paul Robichaux, CEO of NewEra Software, Inc. and one of the leaders of All the About the Kids.

“We want to work with Silver Creek High School and we fully support them,” said Robichaux. “The fundamental issue is my belief that Silver Creek High School belongs to us. Previous community efforts to improve the school were rebuffed due to district issues. When we dropped the bomb with the unification issue last December, we wanted to let the district know we’re serious and willing to fight the battles to improve the high schools for our kids.”

May 19, 26 community meetings
All About the Kids and the Charter Development Team will be hosting another community meeting at the Evergreen Community Center on May 19 to discuss the benefits of a new local charter school.

A larger community meeting with school principals and district officials is scheduled for May 26 at Silver Creek High School, in which the proposed charter school and the proposed unification of Evergreen and Silver Creek High Schools with the elementary school district will be further discussed.

More information about these meetings is available on the Web at www.allaboutthekids.org. For more information about High Tech High, go to www.hightechhigh.org.