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Charter school ready to debut Enrollment open at Camarillo academy
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Two months before classes start, a fledgling Camarillo charter school has opened enrollment, hired a principal and found a campus.
The public charter school, called the Camarillo Academy of Progressive Education, won sponsorship last month from the Oxnard Union High School District after being rejected by Camarillo's Pleasant Valley School District.
Shortly after its approval, the charter school leased classrooms, playgrounds and office space from First Lutheran Church of Camarillo and hired former Pleasant Valley Principal Janet Kanongata'a, said Chris Parker, a parent and founding board member of the charter school.
Kanongata'a was principal at Los Senderos Open School, a K-7 campus, until its closure at the end of the 2006-07 school year.
"I'm so excited I can't stand it," Kanongata'a said this week. She started working in Camarillo's open-classroom program in 1989, first as a teacher and later as an administrator. The program emphasizes parental involvement and self-motivation.
Kanongata'a said the school also has hired seven teachers in the past few weeks, all of whom were at Los Senderos and expect to spend their summer vacation planning for the new school's opening.
The charter school will serve grades K-8 in its first year and is expected to operate under a similar philosophy as Los Senderos did. Parker said the school hopes to begin classes Sept. 5.
Kanongata'a had been expected to start as principal at Pleasant Valley's Camarillo Heights School this fall. With her departure, Pleasant Valley officials are looking for new candidates and plan to start interviewing in August, said Julie Cavaliere, director of certificated personnel. Pleasant Valley's new school year starts Aug. 29.
As for the loss of teachers, Pleasant Valley officials expect students also will leave for the charter, making it a wash, Cavaliere said. The district does not yet know how many students will leave.
The district expects to have a better idea of the impact when the charter's early enrollment closes next week and student records are requested.
Most families supporting the charter were from Los Senderos, and parents first petitioned to convert Los Senderos itself into a charter school when Pleasant Valley trustees voted to close the campus.
After their petition was rejected, supporters submitted a new petition to Oxnard Union, which serves only high school students and has been at odds with Pleasant Valley over a proposal to pull Camarillo and Somis students out of the district.
That new charter petition had to include grades 9-12, although those grades will not be offered next year.
This summer, charter parents and staff are focused on getting the school ready to open, which includes performing minor repairs and cleaning up the leased facilities.
Through the 2004-05 school year, the church ran a private school at the 380 Arneill Road site.
For the past two years, much of the space has been vacant, but, Parker said, it's in good shape.
The charter's early enrollment period ends Wednesday. Charters are independent public schools and cannot charge tuition. For more information, visit http://www.camarillocharter.org.
Posted by KatieTeague on July 8, 2007 at 11:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Talk about a great in-town location! I wish CAPE all the success in the world. What a bunch of dedicated parents,staff, teachers and administrators.
Posted by norcalmom on July 8, 2007 at 9:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thanks, Katie, for your good wishes. Anyone who saw all the dedicated parents ( and students) at a "welcome" work party could only be proud to count themselves among them. CAPE is happening and its spirit and dedication shows everyone out there that you don't have to be satisfied with the status quo!
Posted by aliceblois on July 9, 2007 at 11:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Great news for CAPE, but bad news for Cam Heights! We were looking forward to Mrs. K--heard she was a great principal. No chance whatsoever of hiring a quality principal at this late date, especially for a school that will most likely be closed at the end of the year. (Unless our former co-interim principals can be persuaded to return--they were awesome). This is on top of the loss of a couple of our best teachers who chose to move to other PVSD schools.
Posted by CAPEDad on July 9, 2007 at 5:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Stick to your guns Cam Heights. If you want to go the distance, get your charter together and press the board for an up or down decision EARLY. Better yet, go ahead and file anyway. You can always pull it back. TRUST ME - the ONLY thing Speakman undertands is force
Alice - you sound like you're throwing in the towel already. I don't think Speakman has too much fight left in him. Unification's taken a pretty good beating.
Posted by aliceblois on July 9, 2007 at 6:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Who in their right mind would take a job at any PVSD school now? Who in their right mind would want to be our superintendent? Just some of the fall out from ignoring the advice of Dr. Moffett who really did have the best interest of PVSD kids in mind.
CH may want to charter, but that is for someone else to take on. My kid is 5th grade, so I won't put my energy into that.
You can say I've thrown in the towel, but to me I'm just being realistic. When your kids get closer to high school, you may think differently about unification. Yes, I know Rio Mesa is a wonderful school. My daughter will be a 9th grader next year.
My three kids have had an excellent education at PVSD. Sorry to see it go down the tubes.
Posted by Frank1234 on July 16, 2007 at 8:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Here is the deal. It is quite obvious that the respondents to this article are the know it all parents who believe their "philosophy" is the best philosophy. My question to you is are any of you teachers? Did you spend 5 or 6 years in college learning to become a professional teacher? I would assume you have not. If you don't like your public school teachers or they teach in a manner in which you do not approve, send you child to private school. Stop wasting our tax payer money because you are a know it all and you know better than the professionals. You are taking money from the children, parents, and educational professional who have faith in the system and work hard to maintain it. Parental control of a school what a joke. How about sticking to controlling your self serving ways?
Posted by fujo on July 17, 2007 at 10:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Frank,
You should get a job on the PVSD Board. You would fit right in. You have no concept of how things work, but you want to force a one size fits all solution on everyone. Are you in government or some bureaucratic position?
Posted by guerodrex on July 17, 2007 at 3:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree with you Frank! It is best for PVSD that all these know it all (in reality know nothings) have left the district.
Posted by BeaHappi on July 17, 2007 at 6:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Correction to Frank - CAPE parents believe that this philosophy is the best FOR THEIR CHILDREN. And my guess is that, as the parents of these children, they would know best. It's not like CAPE is trying to drag students out of other schools so that they can attend CAPE.
Good grief naysayers - this isn't the 1950's - everyone learns in a different way. Thank goodness we live in a world where other options are able to be considered. It's certainly not CAPE's fault that the PVSD is the mess that it is.
Congratulations again to the CAPE parents, teachers, and administrators. This has not been an easy road and yet you never gave up.
And for the record...I'm not a CAPE parent and don't even live in Camarillo.
Posted by Frank1234 on July 17, 2007 at 11:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
First of all Mr or Miss or Mrs. fujo, instead of presenting a valid argument to refute any statement I made, you simply use a trite comment about government in an attempt to be condecending or funny. Nice try. A simple comment for a simple mind.
As for Beahappi, I appreciate your comment. However, I do take issues with some of your points. If you are not from Camarillo and you do not have children in the Pleasant Valley School District, how can you make any informed statement with regards to it being a "mess."
Additionally I understand the fact that children, and people for that matter, learn in different ways. Schools in the present day are much more adapt at various and creative teaching styles for different learners. Thats what make them educational professionals. The biggest concern I have is the waste of tax payer money on programs like this. I believe it is just fine for parents to disagree with public school teaching philosophies. But should that be the case, send your children to private school. I should not have to use my tax payer dollars on something that only exists because parents (who probably have very little experience in teaching) are control freaks and believe they know better than professionals. It would be like me telling an engineer (I am not one) how to construct a building.
Posted by peacemom on July 18, 2007 at 8:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Beahappi, You are correct in saying that Cape parents feel this alternative is best for THIER children not all children. The reason is as stated, not every style of teaching is suited for every child. Frank, you know what they say about people who "assume" things... There are a good percentage of people invloved with CAPE that are current or are former teachers. Parents as well as supporters. As far as tax dollars go CAPE parents have a right to NOT have their tax dollars spent on an educational district that refuses to listen to the people it serves.
Posted by CAPEDad on July 18, 2007 at 9:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
***** ATTENTION TEACHERS *****
CAPE has ensured that PVSD will be handed a $1.5 to $2.0 Million windfall in the 07/08 school year through retained ADA.
Call Zeigler and make sure Speakman keeps his KTAP promise by giving you all a nice Xmas bonus. Maybe she can script another board meeting with Speakman for YOUR benefit. He owes her one.
Posted by fujo on July 18, 2007 at 9:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Wait Frank, your post wasn't condescending?
No ones taking your tax money. The schools receive money per student. Last year Los Senderos received money for my kids, and next year Cape will receive it. It has no impact on your precious tax dollars at all. I pay taxes too, and my kids don't deserve to have their school given away to another group of students any more than yours or anyone elses do.
As to your comments to BeaHappi, what are you saying? She can't make an informed assessment unless she lives here? I'm pretty sure the incompetence of PVSD was well documented in this paper for at least the last half year.
This has nothing to do with disagreeing with public school teaching philosophies. What will be at CAPE, WAS a public school teaching philosophy LAST YEAR, until the PVSD board forced a bad idea through the city without listening to anyone's concerns. If you're concerned about the wasting of your tax dollars, you should be infuriated with how PVSD has wasted money on a dead political agenda for years now.
Posted by BeaHappi on July 18, 2007 at 10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Some of my closest friends live in Camarillo and were affected by the PVSD nightmare. I've read every article written about this subject and have discussed, at length, the affects of the PVSD decisions on multiple schools.
I'm also a parent who wants the best learning environment for my children. Everything that occurred over the recent months most certainly took its toll on not only the parents but the kids. If put in the same position, I would fight for what I felt was best for my children.
And Frank...give it a rest already with the "your tax dollars" argument. Do you honestly know how every dime of "your tax dollars" are spent? Get real! I know that the CAPE parents pay taxes too so if we bought into your argument, why should their tax dollars go to a school of your choosing?
Once again, I just don't see how non-CAPE parents or others in the community can be opposed to this. If it's not for you and your kids, great.
The CAPE parents, teachers, and administrators are the ones doing the work on this so everyone else just needs to lighten up!
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