The family of high schools in the Sequoia Union High School District may soon be larger by one. A unanimous vote by the Sequoia district’s governing board on May 31 approved a two-year charter for Summit Preparatory Charter High School in Redwood City.
But there’s a catch: The Sequoia district is likely to employ its oversight prerogatives and make at least two significant changes to Summit’s routine, both of which are addressed in a memorandum of understanding that is still being negotiated and must be agreed to for the charter to take effect.
Sequoia district Superintendent Pat Gemma told the Almanac he will recommend that the district board end Summit’s program of admission preferences for freshmen whose parents contributed at least 30 hours of volunteer time — called founding families.
Mr. Gemma said that, according to a list provided by Summit Executive Director Diane Tavenner, about 70 percent of the founding families live in Woodside, Portola Valley, Menlo Park and Atherton.
In the freshman classes for 2007 and 2008, more than 50 of the 100 places were reserved each year for founding family children — numbers that “shocked” him, Mr. Gemma said. Ending the program would end questions about whether the school is “elitist,” he said.
The board is likely to end the founding family preferences, board President Gordon Lewin said. “A lottery is a lottery,” he told the Almanac, referring to the practice charter schools use for choosing freshmen when applicants outnumber available seats.
Mr. Gemma said he will also ask the board to require Summit to show evidence of enrolling freshmen with low academic achievement — defined as far-below-basic and below-basic.
He said he is open to ideas on how to achieve this goal. If a lottery is necessary to seat a freshman class, for example, Summit might create a separate lottery for applicants with low test scores, he said.
Mr. Lewin said all five board members consider the enrolling of low-achieving students an important component of Summit’s charter.
Ms. Tavenner was not available for comments on these points by press time.
A two-year test
Summit’s petition asked for a five-year charter and provided the evidence to justify it, said Ms. Tavenner. Asked about the two-year charter, she replied: “Well obviously … I’m excited that the charter was approved and we’ll be able to continue doing what we’re doing. I’m hopeful that it will be a good relationship with the district.”“I thought (a two-year charter) was appropriate,” said Mr. Lewin, noting that a new school never gets a six-year accreditation the first time around.
The board’s decision followed a critical district staff report. Its findings, several of which are disputed by Summit, include charges that the school may not be living up to the spirit of charter school law by not enrolling enough students with low academic potential.
Strengths and weaknesses
Summit’s published 2005 state academic performance rating — 864 on a scale of 200 to 1,000 — exceeded the ratings of all high schools in the Sequoia district. That includes Menlo-Atherton and Woodside, which scored 728 and 720 respectively.In its staff report, the Sequoia district cites 2005 test data showing no Summit sophomore or junior listed as far-below-basic in English language arts, and only 3 percent of students fell into the below-basic category. Seventy percent of Summit sophomores and juniors were in the top two categories: proficient and advanced.
But Ms. Tavenner noted that Sequoia did not cite Summit’s math test data, in which 58 percent of sophomores scored in the basic category or below, with 11 percent classified as far-below-basic.
Algebra 1 test scores published by the state for Sequoia district sophomores in 2004-05 show about 85 percent categorized as basic or below, including 7 percent as far-below-basic.
The comparison is apples and oranges, said Mr. Gemma, since Summit scores are for the geometry test, which is based on an understanding of algebra.
Charter school costs
By granting Summit a charter, the Sequoia district takes on the responsibility of paying $6,200 per student — the so-called revenue limit — to fund the school’s annual operating costs.A full enrollment of 400 students in grades 9-12 would mean a charge of about $2.5 million to the district, a figure that would rise if the state increases the revenue limit.
The state paid Summit’s revenue limits for the past three years because the school’s first charter came from a Tuolumne County district that is poorer in property tax revenues than Sequoia and receives state subsidies. A recent state law requires schools to seek charters close to home.
Sequoia may pay substantially less than the revenue limit for each of the 37 current Summit students who live outside the district.
Mr. Lewin said the district’s position is that Summit will have to seek funding from students’ home districts, with Sequoia paying half the difference between what Summit obtains and the revenue limit.
Ms. Tavenner said the school’s attorney is studying the proposal to ensure that it “meets with the law and is appropriate.”
