Sick, sick, sick. And what the heck is Jack O'Connell saying about this dangerous school? What is the State Board of Education saying? What is the CTA and their ever-loving liberal officers saying? Has the California PTA taken a position on this? And I don't want to hear that it isn't their particular problem--I want to hear these self-righteous education people stand up against this racism! This principal needs to be taken to court and his school needs to be shut down TODAY!

BRAINWASHING..Shut them down...

Their rediculous website http://www.dignidad.org/ says:
"Academia Semillas del Pueblo raises the bar of public education for all."

All=all hispanics at the expense of everyone else

More of the hypocritical radical-hispanic "we (hispanics)want what we want with American citizen tax money to fund it but you'll have no say and we'll get what we want 100% even though it's your country we're in (in many cases, illegally)and we're using your money (which is our entitlement just because we are here--often illegally) and we don't want to be citizens--but we want all your services and your funding" and the ever more enlightened "We want no borders, except one-way ones against you whiteys, even though you fund us and 10% of our country lives in your country (often illegally) and we are bleeding you financially dry through massive usage of your social services and your welfare state"

Amazing how the SUPPOSEDLY EDUCATED liberal mind of Marcos Aguilar and the like "works"...They remember Brown versus Board of Education of Topeka, but have no clue what it MEANS (or rather are seeking to redefine to their own ends). Brown was about SEGREGATION and/or RACISM, and called it wrong and illegal/unconstitutional at a public institution. Leave it to a "liberal mind" and "liberal thought" to misunderstand AND misapply such a simple ruling and invoke utter selfishness and avarice in response. This new charter school is ideologically 100% against Brown and absurd in this anti-Brown ideology.

I think my 14 year old could critically out think you supposed radical-hispanic "educators". Well, then again, that's why the liberals need liberal judges to redefine everything, since they can't seem to grasp nor accept existing meanings (esp. when they don't suit their distorted politics and warped 'morality')

Ok--to the other point: If a white guy opened up an all white public school, with all white teachers--would not the lefties howl? (Brown says they should should if it were a public school). But open up an all mexican or all black similar school, and that's ok with the lefties. That is racism and hypocrisy! THAT COMPLETELY BETRAYS WHAT BROWN WAS ABOUT, and anyone with any intellectual or academic or moral integrity would see that--but not the liberal lefties, aka our "educators". Honestly, you guys disgust me; the only way you get the $$$ to fund your disgusting, offensive and 'out of touch with the vast majority' policies is by through forced-funding from us conservatives and ideologically/morally lazy/apathetic moderates. You folks are ideological parasites. The barrier being spoken of, is in their own racist, separatist, "refusing to integrate into American society" way. It is a betrayal of what this country stands for, and it's foundational social contract--the "melting pot".
If you want to be a separatist, then fine but you'll not do so with PUBLIC tax dollars nor PUBLIC funds.... wanna be a separatist, go find you own kooks to fund you instead of bilking the legitimate, nonracist, law abiding majority out of their hard earned dollars for your quack 'educational' causes.

I love this quote:
"We don’t necessarily want to go to white schools. What we want to do is teach ourselves, teach our children the way we have of teaching."
SOUNDS LIKE YOU NEED TO HOME SCHOOL, TO ME...THEN GO HOME SCHOOL. No fair, moral or decent-minded American wants to fund this rediculous racist and separatist agenda with my and your tax dollars. Just another radical left wing idea that the people that actually have to pay for it are 98% or more against-but it'll never some to a public vote. Minority rule, imposed on the majority--the liberal credo, and the destruction of the American way of life through apathy unfolded...

Shut them down... Where is the outcry against this institution???

Tim,

That school has failed to meet State and Federal MINIMUMS since it started in 2003. It only got 577 on the 2005 API, which is a lousy 47%. State minimum is 800, or 75%. Federal AYP, Adequate Yearly Progress, is now 49%, up from a charitable 45% for the last 6 years.

There are 129 students: 120 Hispanic or Latino, 7 American Indian, 1 African American. There is someone who either didn't identify himself, or is of multiple ethnicities.

Here is the link to the California Dept of Ed's Academic Performance Index Report on the demographics and the scores for 2004-2005 for the Academia blah, blah whacko school.

http://api.cde.ca.gov/APIBase2006/2005BaseSch.aspx?allcds=19647336119929

All California schools are given decile rankings from 1-10, ten being highest. This school only got a 1, which is the bottom of the barrel. It also only got a 1 for similar school rankings (compared to 9 other schools of similar demographics). Those kids are not learning what the State expects them to at grade level. How are they going to cope when they are adults? Oh, I forgot, this school is little more than an incubator for little gang bangers and future criminals like their principal. He came from Mexicali, organized the sit-in at UCLA in the early 90's demanding Chicano studies. He and his buddies trashed the UCLA administrative offices to the tune of $30-$50K and were NOT prosecuted. Any now he is a principal! He should have served time for the damage he did at UCLA. I hope he serves time for the damage he is now doing to the youth of Southern California and to the reputations of legitimate charter schools.

Cathy, About a year ago another charter school was proposed for Ventura County. It also had a record of low API/AYP index ratings.

I don't remember a peep from you about it. Did you speak up? It was called something like Rio Vista. I apologize if you did speak up about it.

This school is obviously flawed, I am just wondering if you speak out about all flawed charter schools regardless of their political agenda.

On a side note isn't it odd to have schools with a political agenda, left or right?

I'd like to see the correct name of the school that the last person is referring to. If it was only a proposed school, then it didn't have any API scores, since it didn't exist. If you are referring to SAGE, I have publicly supported that school.

Give us the school name and API scores and the link. And I don't agree with your term "flawed" in describing the Academia. It is dangerous and seems to be in serious violation of several ed code laws and perhaps civil rights laws.

I'd like to see the correct name of the school that the last person is referring to. If it was only a proposed school, then it didn't have any API scores, since it didn't exist. If you are referring to SAGE, I have publicly supported that school.

Give us the school name and API scores and the link. And I don't agree with your term "flawed" in describing the Academia. It is dangerous and seems to be in serious violation of several ed code laws and perhaps civil rights laws.

Cathy here again: Sorry for the double post.

Here is the link to SAGE, the new charter school in Ventura.

http://www.charterassociation.org/cnt_services_resources_jobs_find_detail.asp?cid=524239212138

Monday was the deadline for applications for teachers. I bet they will extend it. There are no API scores since it hasn't started yet. I don't know what that person meant about a charter school with low API scores. I couldn't find a Rio Vista charter school in Ventura County on the State's website.

There was a small school with severely handicapped kids in Camarillo that was in a jam this spring because some of their special ed teachers didn't have the expanded credential that became necessary when something about their enrollment changed. There were "mismatches" with the new laws versus the veteran teachers prior credentials, as I understood the news article. This was apparently only an administrative problem, not an academic question. However, the school was threatened with closure, and then was given a reprieve. Nice to see somebody over-ruled the anti-charter school spoilers who couldn't see the forest for the trees!

The name escapes me but Scott Blough and Arleigh Kidd talked about it on theis blog a lot. Tony Strickland was a supporter of it.

The name of the school that Strickland supported is Vista Real. They contributed to his campaign.

The California Dept of Ed has no reports for that school. Someone said they had low API scores. Really? Here's what Sacramento says.

******************

The system was unable to find Growth Reports for the school requested. This is for one of the following reasons:

* There must be valid STAR test scores for a minimum of 11 students to obtain an API score. An alternative accountability system is being developed for these schools. Students must have been in the LEA the previous year to be included in the API.

* API scores are not created for special education schools and centers, and alternative, continuation, community day, court community, and opportunity schools serving high-risk student populations. These schools will participate in the alternative schools accountability system.

* The school may not have been open in the 2003-04 or 2004-05 school year.

*********************************

If this is the school that someone was comparing to the whacko Academia in East LA, then you need to find some other kids to pick on besides these handicapped students.

Cathy, was that last report about Vista Real?

With Vista Real they are also called Desert Sands. It was reported that Desert Sands has an API score of 400. Monte Vista in Simi has a score of over 600 and the Vista Real people tried to tell SVUSD that their Charter was somehow better. The night the County Board approved Vista Real it came out that before a Charter can be approved it needs to show it is better than what currently exists, it was not. The County Board still voted for Vista Real on a 4-1 vote, Kunicki, Bates, Valenzana and Matthews all voted yes. I was there that night and so was Tony Strickland. When Board members had a chance to ask questions, Ron Matthews said "I only have 2 questions, can they pray and can they carry bibles?" He asked no questions about their educational program. Of course the money for Vista Real comes from the State as they get $5,800 per student. So far we know that instead of putting all of their money towards education they have instead paid $20,000 to Tony Strickland to lobby for them, which he did while still in office. They also gave Strickland a $7,000 donation and then Strickland gave his staff person Valenzana $7,000 to run for County Board as a donation. Valenzana then voted for Vista Real. Strickland recently said he supports all charters, so I guess that includes del Pueblo. The Vista Real folks have also promised their investors 10% returns the first year but they refused to say who these investors were, even though that 10% profit will come from us, the taxpayer. I support good charters, but I believe there are very few good ones and that they should be subject to more local control. The way Charters are currently being done needs to be looked at. You may remember the Charters that went bankrupt out in the desert that left kids without a school and left taxpayers holding the bag? Ventura County Board members should tell the public if they knew Strickland was a paid lobbyist for Vista Real, they should also tell us if they personally are investors or not, I'm not saying they are, I'm just saying I don't know.

With Vista Real they are also called Desert Sands. It was reported that Desert Sands has an API score of 400. Monte Vista in Simi has a score of over 600 and the Vista Real people tried to tell SVUSD that their Charter was somehow better. The night the County Board approved Vista Real it came out that before a Charter can be approved it needs to show it is better than what currently exists, it was not. The County Board still voted for Vista Real on a 4-1 vote, Kunicki, Bates, Valenzana and Matthews all voted yes. I was there that night and so was Tony Strickland. When Board members had a chance to ask questions, Ron Matthews said "I only have 2 questions, can they pray and can they carry bibles?" He asked no questions about their educational program. Of course the money for Vista Real comes from the State as they get $5,800 per student. So far we know that instead of putting all of their money towards education they have instead paid $20,000 to Tony Strickland to lobby for them, which he did while still in office. They also gave Strickland a $7,000 donation and then Strickland gave his staff person Valenzana $7,000 to run for County Board as a donation. Valenzana then voted for Vista Real. Strickland recently said he supports all charters, so I guess that includes del Pueblo. The Vista Real folks have also promised their investors 10% returns the first year but they refused to say who these investors were, even though that 10% profit will come from us, the taxpayer. I support good charters, but I believe there are very few good ones and that they should be subject to more local control. The way Charters are currently being done needs to be looked at. You may remember the Charters that went bankrupt out in the desert that left kids without a school and left taxpayers holding the bag? Ventura County Board members should tell the public if they knew Strickland was a paid lobbyist for Vista Real, they should also tell us if they personally are investors or not, I'm not saying they are, I'm just saying I don't know.

Cathy do you agree or disagree with Kidd's thoughts?

Cathy?