Superintendent's Corrective Actions Unanimously Adopted by Board

At the November 18 Board meeting, RVSD reviewed a discrimination complaint against the District regarding MAP. "The investigation concludes that though RVSD did not intentionally discriminate against any individual student or students, certain practices, procedures and policies of the District's Multi-Age Program resulted in disproportionately fewer students of certain protected classes participating in the program.*"

The Superintendent's recommendations are as follows:

1) "Assign all outreach, admission and enrollment procedures for MAP (a district program), to our District's Student services Department;

2) Reconstitute the current "MAP Advisory Board" into a district-level advisory committee on alternative programs;

3) Provide written directives to all MAP staff that other than as directed by the Superintendent or his designee, there are to be no pre-meetings with prospective MAP students or families and all inquiries regarding the program and/or enrollment are to be directed to the Director of Student Services.*"

We believe that these are important first steps to ensure that all children in RVSD and at Manor (over 80% of current MAP students come from within Manor enrollment boundaries**) are able to access and feel welcomed into the variety of educational opportunities offered. 

We also believe that if the charter petition is dropped (or denied), these corrective actions show us all a way forward, allowing us to come together as a community and heal these historic inequities and hurts. We believe that all children benefit from being in diverse groups of students, and that, by modeling the resolution of conflict, our children learn many powerful lessons about peacefully and equitably navigating an increasingly polarized world.

*Superintendent's Recommendations for Corrective Action Regarding Complaint

**Discrimination Investigator's Report (click here and scroll to and click item C, 1, then click links at bottom of that page)

Parent Volunteer Requirement Deemed "Unconstitutional"

According to this article in yesterday's SFGate, "at least 170 California charter schools are violating the state Constitution by requiring parents to volunteer up to 100 hours a year..." The study examined half of all charters in California, and found that 1/3 of them were in violation on these grounds. The report was released by civil rights attorneys working for the nonprofit law firm, Public Advocates. According to the article, the California Charter School Association "agreed it's illegal and often included in parent charter agreements."

One of the reasons the RVCS petition was denied by RVSD was this very issue. In addition, such a requirement, or even the suggestion of such a requirement, has the effect of dissuading certain parents from enrolling their children in such a setting. The current MAP program has historically had this requirement, and strongly suggests and encourages parent volunteerism currently. Parents who are working multiple jobs, or who do not speak English, may very well feel that their child should not participate in MAP, because of this strong parent volunteer culture.  Though not intentional discrimination, the recent third party discrimination report listed this as a barrier to welcoming culturally diverse families. 

We believe that all children in RVSD should have equal access to, and feel welcomed by, all RVSD programs.

RVCS Consultants, EdTec, Profit From Divisive and Failed Suburban Charters

Since charter school law was passed in California in 1992, increasing numbers of investors and speculators have gotten in on the "gravy train" of public education, in order to make money from the State's huge education budget. EdTec, which is listed on the RVCS Petition as "Consultants," is one of those companies. They were part of the divisive failed North Bay Educational Foundation charter petition in Novato. EdTec has also been part of Bullis Charter School in Los Altos, a controversial charter, which educates the children of millionaire tech gods, but has cost that district 20 teacher's jobs, the district music program, and untold dollars.

If RVCS is successful in its bid to attain charter status, the Ross Valley School District will be required by law to accommodate any growth by providing additional classrooms. In Los Altos, the district pays nearly $300,000 per year to fund Bullis's campus needs. In addition to that cost, the Los Altos School District accrues tremendous legal costs as it tries to fight for its ability to serve its students. According to the San Jose Mercury News, the Los Altos School District spent $1.7 million in legal fees regarding Bullis last year alone.

You can read more about EdTec's founder, Joshua Newman here. His bio at UC Berkeley lists one of his accomplishments as "authoring Assembly Bill 803," which was all about using technology software in public schools. He then went on to found EdTec, a tech company servicing charter schools.

Do we really want to change public education in Ross Valley by opening the door to folks who want to line their pockets while diluting and defunding public education? Let's keep local taxpayer dollars under the control of locally elected leaders and educators!  

Final Solution to MAP & RVCS Petition Issues on Tuesday's RVSD Board Agenda

According to the 11/18/14 RVSD Board Meeting agenda, historic inequities and discrimination were uncovered during a recent third party investigation. You can read the full report and recommendations by clicking over to the Agenda here, and then scrolling down to Item C 1.

According to the report: "The investigation concludes that although the District did not intentionally discriminate against any individual student or students, certain practices, procedures and policies of the District's Multi-Age Program resulted in disproportionately fewer students of certain protected classes participating in the program."

Our Superintendent, Dr. Rick Bagley, has set forth several recommendations to correct these inequities once and for all.

Come to the RVSD Board meeting Tuesday night at 7:00 (closed session starts at 6:00) at 110 Shaw Dr., San Anselmo to stay informed and support our public schools.

RVCS Vows to Continue Charter Push

According to their website, the RVCS plans "to continue with next steps toward charter approval." What does this mean? It means that they will take their petition to the Marin County Office of Education. If denied there, they will take it to the State, opening the door for deeper changes to our RVSD schools, especially Manor. If approved by the state, the district would be required to accommodate any growth in student population, and if they're at Manor, that will mean bumping out more K5 classes.

Charter Petition Unanimously Denied by RVSD Board!

On November 4, 2014, the Ross Valley School District Board voted unanimously to deny the RVCS petition to partially convert Manor School into a charter. The Board voted after the presentation by Superintendent, Dr. Rick Bagley, and others on the team shared their unanimous  recommendation that they do so. You can read the staff report here. 

Unfortunately, the petitioners and their extremely vocal group of supporters made it clear that they continue to "persist" and take this petition up the chain to Marin County Office of Education. If they receive a denial there, they can then submit the petition to the State of California, who have a reputation for approving any charter which comes their way.

We need to unite as a community to protect all of our schools, and let these petitioners know in no uncertain terms that we do not want a charter school in RVSD!