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The Menlo Mandarin Immersion Charter School, which has petitioned to start up in the Menlo Park City School District next fall, is set to receive a $375,000 grant that will go toward paying the costs of starting up the new public school if its charter petition is approved.
The grant comes from the federal Public Charter Schools Grant Program, via the Charter Schools Division of the California Department of Education. The charter was notified of the grant on Oct. 23. The money, according to the state’s website, is meant to supplement local and state funding for the school and is for one-time costs, not ongoing operating expenses.
Backers of the charter school have argued that the charter will save the district money by operating a Mandarin immersion program within the existing district schools, but opponents fear it will take funds from existing programs.
The school district board is scheduled to vote on whether it will authorize the charter on Nov. 12. Carol Cunningham, a district resident and parent who has headed the Mandarin immersion movement, said she will present the district with a revised budget that reflects the grant before the vote.
If the charter is not approved by the district, the backers can appeal to the county school board, and if the county board turns it down, to the state board of education. The grant is conditioned on approval of the charter.
Why isn’t this Charter school going into Ravenswood school district, where they would, as intended, seriously benefit from a Charter School, Mandarin or otherwise?
> Why isn’t this Charter school going into Ravenswood
> school district, where they would, as intended,
> seriously benefit from a Charter School
Because the pro mandarin charter folks don’t care one bit about any other kids but their own.
Because the pro mandarin charter folks are too Bourgeoisie to set foot in Ravenswood, and wouldn’t want their kids associated with the school district because, you know, they wouldn’t want their prestige sullied by associated with the great unwashed.
Because the pro mandarin charter folks know that the school district they come from MUST transfer some money to Ravenswood (since it’s not basic aid) but WOULDN”T transfer money to MPCSD (a basic aid district). I must admit, that move is genius. Douche, but very clever.
Oh, and keep in mind that Ravenswood has an EMPTY school near Flood Park (west of 101), practically walking distance from Laurel Elementary. They wouldn’t even need to set foot in East Menlo Park or EPA.
But no, they want MPCSD. Common sense be d@mn3d.
Congratulation on securing the grant. What’s really stupid is that the School District could have just worked with the folks who wanted a Mandarin immersion program IN the district. Oh well. And there are rules in place about Charter schools and how they can admit students. Worked for schools like Summit and Everest and it will work for this new Charter School. There would be no need for Charter schools if the School districts better accommodated the student’s needs. If there are more applicants than the new Charter school can enroll, they will have to conduct a lottery. If anyone in the Ravenwoods school district wants to apply they are free to do so.
The Almanac’s coverage on this topic is biased. No mention of the fact that the VAST majority of parents an teachers in menlo park have voiced strong opposition to this charter school which is being proposed by a small minority of selfish parents armed with completely dubious math claiming that costs will be less for the district. Feds have been duped! Charter law is broken.
As usual, pro-charter Bourgeoisie like “great news” completely ignore arguments for the charter to be placed in Ravenswood.
The reason they never argue against having the charter in Ravenswood is because THEY CAN’T argue against it.
There is not ONE reason MPCSD is a better district for a mandarin charter than Ravenswood.
Not. One.
Now of course, Ravenswood has a much higher Hispanic and African-American population than MPCSD…but that’s just a coincidence, right?
The pro-Mandarin charter folks have thrown out the race card left-and right when challenged, yet it’s funny that they continually avoid even discussing having the Charter in Ravenswood.
It looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, but it’s not racism.
Isn’t that right, mandarin charter proponents?
In response to “great news”:
Initial request to district: The reason the district did not respond to the initial request to start a Mandarin Immersion program within the district is because that is not what the community wanted. Unlike accepting or denying a charter school, starting a program within the district is something that the school community at large must support and the MPCSD doesn’t A variety of reasons have been listed ranging from not wanting to take the focus off of the current initiatives, not wanting to start a second language immersion program until the current program has made it’s way up all the grades, not wanting to bring Mandarin itself because of the limited population it would serve, and more. Bottom line is that the majority of the community didn’t want and immersion program. Moving on.
Request for charter: The community that wants to raise bilingual children with Mandarin has every right to do so but not every right to do so on public dollars. Mandarin is a language much like Italian, Japanese Punjabi, Portuguese, wonderful but not widely spoken in the US and not widely demanded enough to bring a charter school to MP. Even though Mandarin is very widely spoken in the world, the international language of business is English and it’s hard to make a case for the necessity of Mandarin Immersion in a community that isn’t really interested.
That being said, since charters are truly meant to serve communities of underserved students, I would like to hear from the Mandarin Charter School proponents why Ravenswood SD(with an empty school) is not a viable consideration. Please be transparent in why the insistence on MPCSD when the community is clearly not in favor. We’ve heard from others many speculations as to why, but I’m interested to hear from charter school proponents. Perhaps there is something that we don’t realize….?
I’m also interesting in hearing from the proponents about the accusations made at the recent study session. They were not refuted and have left me wondering?…
Have many original signers of the petition removed their names and if so why?
Was there really a flyer advertising a school in our district that hasn’t even been approved and if so why?
The lack of response from the Mandarin Charter community leaves me wondering….
In summary, the interest of actual MPCSD residents in MI is very small so perhaps considering home schooling or private schooling, as do many families who want language immersion, would be prudent at this time.
Finally, Barbara Wood has made many references to the appeal process but very few to the continued lack of interest of the local community. If the journalist is to be widely respected, it must all be reported.
I know it’s only a blog but it order to be taken seriously, at least the grammar needs to be correct. A few spelling errors here and there are typos but grammatical errors such as these actually impact the credibility of the author.
As a teacher, I feel compelled to correct the grammatical errors because we teach our students that if you PUBLISH, it needs to be correct.
CongratulationS (THIS WORD HAS AN S) on securing the grant. What’s really stupid is that the School District (SCHOOL DISTRICT IS NOT A PROPER NOUN AND DOES NOT NEED TO BE CAPITLIZED) could have just worked with the folks who wanted a Mandarin immersion program IN the district. Oh well. And (DON’T START A SENTENCE WITH AND) there are rules in place about Charter (THE WORD CHARTER IS NOT A PROPER NOUN AND DOES NOT NEED CAPITALIZATION) schools and how they can admit students. Worked for schools like Summit and Everest and it will work for this new Charter School. There would be no need for Charter schools if the School(SCHOOL DOES NOT NEED TO BE CAPITALIZED) districts better accommodated the student’s/STUDENTS’ (STUDENTS TAKES S APOSTROPHE) needs. If there are more applicants than the new Charter school can enroll, they (THEY IS PLURAL AND THE PROPER WORD TO USE IS “IT” BECAUSE A DISTRICT IS A SINGULAR NOUN) will have to conduct a lottery. If anyone in the Ravenwoods school district wants to apply they( THEY IS PLURAL!! YOU NEED TO USE HE OR SHE SINCE “ANYONE” IS SINGULAR) are free to do so.
I don’t correct your work to embarrass you but to help you realize that when you publish work, some people will not take your argument or point seriously, if you cannot use proper English. Please consider this when publishing.
Does anyone agree with the importance of using proper grammar when writing for a newspaper?
So the argument against the mandarin charter school is as bad as my grammar. Yep.
Anywho, the nice thing about charter schools is that if you don’t like them you don’t have to send your kid there.A win: win for everyone.
granted, more people in the area speak Spanish than Mardarin – having Spanish immersion programs will help Students become fluent in Spanish. And Students in a Mandarin immersion program will help,them become fluent in Mandarin. It’s open to students of all backgrounds, so what’s your issue with the chaRter? besides my graMMEr?
Perhaps take the time to addreSS the issue – or waste your Time correcting my GrammaR to make your POINt.!!!
Great News,
Can’t you see what folks have been saying?
The issue with the charter school is simply that not very many residents want it.
I do concur that no matter how strong one’s point, in order to have an issue taken seriously, one needs to edit his/her comment.
You can also email your comments to the individual MPCSD School Board Members and School Superintendent, as follows:
MPCSD BOARD MEMBERS:
jlambert@mpcsd.org
mhilton@mpcsd.org
jchild@mpcsd.org,
shinshaw@mpcsd.org
tthygesen@mpcsd.org
MPCSD SUPERINTENDENT:
mghysels@mpcsd.org
Also, here is the excellent resource list provided by reader “Options Available”, in the 10/27/14 edition of the Almanac News:
“If you would like your K-8 student to learn Mandarin or experience Mandarin immersion, there are many private schools that are available in and around the Bay Area:
Global Montessori International School K-5 – globalmontessoriinternationalschool.com
2314 Bancroft Way Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 845-6969
The school is a Montessori based education whose motto is: ‘Follow the Child.” Children acquire Mandarin skills through songs, art projects, field trips and Montessori activities designed to develop a child’s inner curiosity.
Shu Ren International School Pre-K-8 – http://www.shureninternationalschool.com
1333 University Avenue Berkeley, CA 94702-1710
(510) 981-0291
Shu Ren International School is a private Mandarin and English dual immersion school serving students from Pre-Kindergarten to 8th grade. The school opened in September 2008 with Pre- Kindergarten, Kindergarten and First Grade and will add one grade each year.
Pacific Rim International School K-12 San Mateo – Web Link
54 Peninsula Ave.San Mateo, CA 94401
(650) 685-1881
Pacific Rim International School opened in the Fall of 1989 and is committed to providing children with the very best Chinese-English and Japanese-English bilingual multicultural education in a Montessori environment.
Chinese American International School K-8 – Web Link
140 Oak Street San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 865-6000
Founded in 1981 as the first Mandarin-immersion school in the nation, CAIS is recognized as the role model for bilingual education. The U.S. Office of Education called CAIS the “national prototype for the teaching of Chinese at the pre-collegiate level.”
There are also many public school immersion programs available in Palo Alto, San Mateo County, and San Francisco if you choose to move there. Many parents move to a city specifically to have access to the schools, so this seems a reasonable option for a family that would like their children to experience Mandarin Immersion.
The MPCSD is too small to support multiple Immersion programs at this time. The class makeup is not going to be representative of our District. And while it is not required to start a charter school, the intent of charter schools is to provide choice in low-performing districts and “meet the needs of low achieving students.” Does this sound like Menlo Park? Certainly not.”
Um not sure where that “list” came from but there is already a Mandarin immersion school only a mile from Menlo Park: International School of the Peninsula is just over the creek in Palo Alto. http://www.istp.org
For purposes of my query, let’s assume that this immersion school becomes part of MPCSD. Some parents who might not have been inclined initially may decide that they want to send their child to the school since they are now funding it through their tax dollars. My assumption is that there would be a lottery, which means that those who are working so hard to get this school in place for their children might actually be knocked out if their number is not drawn. Is this correct? Do those petitioning for the school have first dibs on enrollment or are they subject to district enrollment policies just like every other family in the district?
Thank you Pearl for your listing of the many local schools. I think that is highly highly relevant. While mandarin immersion may have surely have value for a number of students (no problem with the idea at all!), approving the charter does not seem to be prudent in our public school district at this time. While the proponent is obviously familiar with the clinical steps to move this forward, there are dozens of similarly sized groups of kids who would surely benefit from specialized teaching and dedicated facilities yet they don’t benefit from either the funding or specific capabilities to move through the local “system”. That does not make mandarin immersion the proper choice, obviously, but just one option among dozens that we’d all like to have at our fingertips. The Board represents the interests of all kids and, given the funding and facility challenges throughout the district, we don’t feel that mandarin immersion would be at the top of the list given the challenges within the district today. Unfortunately,that is just the reality of the situation we are in here in Menlo Park, with a large, growing and diverse student populace. Thankfully, there are many very good, local options for the families looking for a mandarin focused program for their kids, just as there are private options avaialbe for families wanting another sort of differentiated experience for their kids.
JK – if the “discussion” regarding the Mandarin Immersion program is anything like the one that went on in Palo Alto, the proponents of the MI program don’t care if there are other MI programs available (they are private and cost $$) nor do they care whether the program would negatively affect the Menlo Park School District since it is a Basic Aide District and could be forced to pay to educate students from other Districts. Nor do they care that Menlo Park schools are overflowing already and that it would be really tough to find a place to house this program. They just want what they want and they want it now.
@ Grammar Teacher – If you’re going to be all high and mightily snarky by tearing apart another viewpoint’s grammar, please check your spelling. CAPITLIZED is spelled “capitalized”. @sshat.
I can think of better uses for $375K.
Grammar teacher: Thank you. I agree with you that typos are minor issues but bad grammar shows either ignorance or laziness.
Miss S P-
As Chris said, Grammar Teacher’s point is that typos, such as his/hers, are one thing but outrageous grammatical errors show ignorance or laziness. They discredit the opinion presented due to the lack of effort or education of the writer.
Point well taken Grammar Teacher. Proofreading work when publishing is important. We’re all writing about schools and learning so let’s show that we actually went ourselves.
Anyone know what happened at the meeting tonight? I was not there.
Pearl, here is the link to the Almanac article posted last night: http://www.almanacnews.com/news/2014/11/12/school-board-denies-mandarin-charter-school-petition
Commenters – I would encourage you to only use the civil discourse you would expect your children (present or future) to read and use. Thank you.
Grammar teacher,
It’s great that you’ve taken it upon yourself to correct Great news’ grammar. However, it just seems a bit petty and one-sided since that service should be provided to all other posters. For instance, in resident’s post, there’s an incorrect usage of “it’s” when it should have been “its” (basic mistake) and there’s also phrases used in place of full sentences such as the one that starts with “Bottom line is that…”
This post isn’t meant to call out resident’s grammatical mistakes (many other examples abound in other people’s posts as well) but is more an attempt to say that if one must insist on becoming the grammar police for the board, then there should be equal application and enforcement of the rules regardless of the viewpoint. Otherwise, it just seems oh so petty…
Dear Oh So Petty,
I understand that you feel the one blogger’s grammar was corrected while the others’ were not. As others have pointed out, there is a big difference between an occasional omitted apostrophe and outrageous grammatical errors that detract the reader from understanding the text.
Again, as a teacher, it is concerning that anyone would post something that he wishes to be taken seriously, when it is so poorly written. That was simply my point, intended to be respectfully communicated.
We are publishing and need to at a minimum need to be comprehensible. Nevertheless, thank you for your comment.
GT
Miss Snarky Pants,
Excuse me, but grammar is VERY important. Grammar Teacher has a good point. I am taught by a very good teacher at Hillview Middle School that emphasizes the importance of grammar. We are taught to ALWAYS use proper grammar.
There is no need to be sassy. By the way, what is @sshat
Good for you Hillview student. I wish more students cared about the quality of the grammar in works that are published. Hats off to your teacher for teaching you the importance of it and hats off to you for calling writers on being sassy. There is no need for that in civil discourse and I am impressed that you have the maturity to know that and say it.