5 questions for the school board to ask tonight
The Renaissance Leadership Academy will have its first public hearing tonight at the board. There will be no vote for another month or so, but this is the time to gather information ahead of that time.
I hope the board will ask:
- One of the founders of the new school was quoted in the paper last week as saying “if not now, when” with regards to starting a new school. Given the enormous budget constraints that the district is facing, and the fact that an elementary charter will exacerbate them, would this charter be prepared to hold off their application for the good of all AUSD students until after the new state budget is adopted in June or July?
- Studies indicate that elementary charter schools actually perform less well than more traditional public schools, what is it about the teaching philosophy that will allow RLA to a be rare success story? Where are there examples of this type of school philosophy?
- Almost all of the founders of this charter application are coming from Alameda’s parochial schools. Why is there suddenly an interest to start their own school with public funds?
- How will RLA be aggressively reaching out to underserved populations as mentioned in their application? What safeguards will be in place to make sure that it is this population that is served? How will the teaching philosophy better address these kids’ needs?
- Will RLA promise to retain all students that are initially accepted?
Leave a Reply