choice noun \ ˈchȯis \ 2 : power of choosing” – Merriam-Webster More than 19 months have passed since the LAUSD issued a Notice To Cure to Granada Hills Charter High School, demanding that they abide by their charter and give “first preference for enrollment…to students residing in the former attendance area.” As lawyers wallow […]
LAUSD Board Set to Consider “Holding GHCHS Accountable to Their Charter” Resolution
It’s hard to light a candle, easy to curse the dark instead” – Nightwish In order to prevent charter schools from discouraging parents from enrolling children with special education needs, the Office of the Independent Monitor required that the District prohibit them from asking for any special education paperwork prior to enrollment. As originally pointed […]
Whack-A-Mole: The Los Angeles Approach to Charter School Oversight
Our oversight is “proactive and responsive” – José Cole-Gutiérrez, LAUSD Charter School Division Last June, I informed the LAUSD School Board that a charter school under their jurisdiction was violating the privacy of their students by publishing “Parent Volunteer Hours” reports on their website that included student names. The charter’s Chief Development Officer defended the […]
A Very Different Definition of Choice
Further, as the CSD is aware, iGranada is a well-designed independent study option, wherein most students are on campus daily, actively engaged in 1-on-1 and group learning.” – Brian Bauer, GHCHS The inclusion of a statement in each independent study agreement that independent study is an optional educational alternative in which no pupil may be […]
Depriving the LAUSD Board of Ignorance
At the Los Angeles Unified School District, our goals are…5. School safety” – LAUSD Given the vastness of the LAUSD bureaucracy, there is no guarantee that the members of the School Board knew that Granada Hills Charter High School (GHCHS) had been cited for making unauthorized modifications to their District owned campus that threatened student […]
Parents Against Accountability
As a school of CHOICE, you CHOOSE to be here and are expected to productively and respectfully resolve problems. You have options. Clearly, you are either a very satisfied customer who appreciates the roles you have as an employee, union steward, parent, and committee member, or….” – Johnathan Williams, The Accelerated Schools Like the “America, […]
The LAUSD’s Failure to Follow Through
Lunch Shelter Area that is structurally unstable. It is an immediate safety hazard and must be fenced off until removed or constructed to the District’s standards and applicable laws.” – LAUSD Facilities Services Division Within a period of one year, Granada Hills Charter High School (GHCHS) was issued two Notices to Cure (NTC) and one […]
Did GHCHS Endanger “the Health and Safety of Students, Staff and Other Individuals”?
The following alterations are considered to be unsafe and use must stop immediately until corrections are made” – LAUSD Facilities Services Division The information within the unsigned letter sent to the “Granada Hills Charter Community” seemed innocuous. Framing the situation as a tenant/landlord dispute, Granada Hills Charter High School (GHCHS) said that during a routine […]
The Standoff Continues: GHCHS Doubles Down on Non-Compliance
Well I know what’s right, I got just one life In a world that keeps on pushin’ me around But I’ll stand my ground and I won’t back down” – Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty In the ten months since I first filed a complaint about Granada Hills Charter High School’s enrollment practices, there have […]
Rules? Where we’re going we don’t need rules.
This is much ado about nothing” – Attorney Mark Werksman According to the Felony Complaint against Refugio (Ref) Rodriguez, he and his cousin allegedly conspired in a scheme that hid the source of almost $25,000 in campaign donations from the public. While a lawyer involved in the case maintains that this is “a small amount […]