High-school district, charter school pursue partnership High-school district, charter school pursue partnership (August 04, 2004)

** Summit Prep plans intersect with Sequoia district needs.

By David Boyce
Almanac Staff Writer

The Sequoia Union High School District appears to be backing away from a plan announced this spring to open a three-year high school in September 2005.

Instead, the district is exploring senior-year options in a partnership with Summit Preparatory High School, a four-year charter high school temporarily renting an office building in downtown Redwood City.

A district-run, three-year school is not off the table, but at the July 27 meeting of Sequoia's Board of Trustees, Superintendent Patrick Gemma requested permission to pursue a partnership involving Summit and Canada community college in Woodside, where Sequoia may erect a school building for Summit.

After a 10-minute presentation by Mr. Gemma, the five board members, in their individual comments, tacitly approved his request to explore the partnership.

The board has been aware of the possibility of a partnership with Summit since the spring, said Trustee Gordon Lewin. If negotiations with Canada College and the community college district go well, Summit could open its doors on the college campus in September 2006, said Mr. Gemma.

Senior-year options

Summit is about to begin its second year of operation with 180 freshmen and sophomores and 10 full-time teachers.

Its first class of seniors in the 2006-07 school year would have a choice of a traditional fourth year at Summit or one of two Summit-designed programs at Canada College: Students could choose a two-year associate's degree program, followed by a transfer to a University of California campus. Alternatively, students with vocational ambitions -- health care or carpentry, for example -- could combine a Summit-designed program at Canada with internships in their chosen fields, Mr. Gemma said.

Being partners

The district's three-year high school proposal, announced in March, had the school opening in September 2005 with Eric Hartwig as principal. Mr. Hartwig spent the last nine years as principal of Menlo-Atherton High School, but left in June to, among other things, explore the logistics of creating the school and gauge the public's interest.

Sequoia had hoped to attract college-bound students willing to forgo extras such as advanced-placement classes and athletic programs in exchange for smaller classes, extensive academic support and a curriculum with an interdisciplinary approach, Mr. Hartwig said.

But momentum wavered when the district considered Summit's plans, he said. "We weren't even close to having a definable project to present to the board," he added. "We probably talked about it too much too soon. ... In some ways, I guess (the partnership) would be a test to see how interested kids would be in an accelerated program."

"Summit has alternatives already planned that meet virtually all of our three-year concepts," said Mr. Gemma. Among Summit's core principles are personalized support, classes of 20 or fewer students, and an interdisciplinary curriculum that meets UC entrance requirements, Executive Director Diane Tavenner has said.

The discussions with the Sequoia district helped catalyze Summit's plans for senior-year options, said Paul Koontz, who chairs Summit's board of directors. "You can tell when an idea will serve everybody well, and this is an example of that."

The partnership would allow Sequoia "additional time to complete a market survey, develop a comprehensive vision, mission and program, and successfully launch a three-year high school in coming years," according to a joint statement released by the school and district.

Summit could benefit, too. The school's original charter with a Tuolumne County school district expires in 2006; Sequoia would likely renew Summit's charter, presumably for another five years.

With the lease on its downtown Redwood City office building expiring in 2005, Summit had been closing in on a permanent location and raising money to build a school, said Mr. Koontz. Under the partnership, Sequoia would build the school and retain ownership.

Summit's independence and management structure would not be tampered with as the school and the district "find ways to collaborate," Ms. Tavenner said.

Mr. Hartwig's new position is "principal on special assignment in support of curriculum services," he said in an interview.

A positive tone

"I'm very encouraged by what I'm seeing, in terms of the compatibility of this program," said Sequoia Trustee Olivia Martinez, a sociology professor at Canada.

Mr. Gemma spoke highly of Summit. "This organization lives its belief that all kids can learn. They provide them with what they need to be successful," he said.

Amid a generally approving tone at the meeting, there were notes of caution.

A Canada College site far from the Redwood City transit corridor troubled Trustee Lewin, particularly regarding students who now live near the school. The district should help Summit "maintain the attractiveness of the school to all the populations," he said.

Board President Don Gibson said Sequoia needs a "long-range guarantee" of Summit's commitment to a diverse student body in a district in which students from wealthy families often rub shoulders with students living below the poverty level.

A new stance

The Sequoia district has recently displayed a friendlier public stance toward Summit -- and charter schools in general -- than that of a few years ago. Although the district used to provide supplemental financial aid to students at Aurora and East Palo Alto charter high schools, requests for such support from Summit's original backers were turned down.

Sequoia later sued Aurora when the school requested facilities under a new state law that, in part, requires school districts to share facilities with charter schools in exchange for a lower-than-normal majority of voters needed to pass construction bond measures.

Sequoia lost the suit and lost on appeal. When Aurora's charter with the Redwood City Elementary School District expired in June, the Sequoia board voted not to offer a charter, based on a negative assessment of the school's finances and curriculum.

But in a $70 million bond measure that Sequoia is proposing for the November election, some $9 million is set aside for charter schools. The list of projects includes an intention to "acquire or construct new school sites for existing charter schools in East Palo Alto and Redwood City."

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