‘Open Classroom’ Seeks New Status

Teacher Mary Galvin says she pays plenty of attention to the standard curriculum in her Ventura classroom. But it’s the creative, hands-on activities that set her lessons apart.

Like when a parent drops by to teach her students how to make musical instruments out of natural materials, such as turning hollowed-out gourds into water drums. Or when the youngsters plop on the rug to learn a little yoga, led by another parent volunteer.

It’s all part of the Open Classroom experience at Blanche Reynolds Elementary School, an alternative education program seeking to become the first independent charter school in the Ventura Unified School District.

The program was established 30 years ago to promote innovative teaching methods and provide students the flexibility to learn at their own pace. At the midtown Ventura campus, students receive specialized instruction in music, art and drama, and are divided not by grade level but by age group, a system said to foster better learning.

But supporters say mounting regulations, including a push for standards-based learning and an emphasis on test scores, have chipped away at freedoms they once had to run the program, spurring the push for charter school status.

The Ventura school board is set today to consider a petition by parents and teachers to launch the charter school, to be called the School of Arts and Global Education. It’s unclear whether any action will be taken, although charter school supporters are pushing for a decision by the end of the month.

If the petition is granted, the school would remain part of the Ventura Unified School District and still be responsible for meeting state requirements, such as ensuring that students meet state performance standards.

But the new school would have the autonomy to hire staff and control its budget. And it would be able to sidestep many of the demands of the state’s rigid education code, freeing the campus to pursue a teaching philosophy in which students are encouraged to take their time and develop a deep understanding of all they are learning.

“We cover all of the California standards, but we try to cover them in a way that relates to the real world and that is meaningful to students,” said Galvin, who helped write the charter petition. “Our success stands on its own, and it’s definitely time to take the next step.”

Charter schools are gaining in popularity across California, one of the first states to authorize them as part of a push to increase innovation and variety in schools.

The number of charter schools has nearly doubled over the last five years, with 574 operating statewide this academic year. Enrollment increased 84% during that same period, with about 212,000 of California’s 6 million public school students now attending a charter school.

This year alone, 84 new charter schools opened, the second largest year-to-year increase since 1992, when legislation was passed to allow creation of the independently run but publicly funded campuses. Also this year, charter schools added about 32,000 new students, the largest year-to-year increase since the legislation took effect.

Momentum is so strong that three years ago the state Department of Education opened a Charter Schools Division to assist in opening and operating charter schools.

“It shows that charter schools are working,” California Charter Schools Assn. spokesman Gary Larson said of the growth. “Some of these programs really are on the cutting edge of public school reform.”

There are five charter schools in Ventura County serving about 1,400 students. But only University Preparation School in Camarillo is a traditional classroom-based program. The others are listed as independent study programs.

Affiliated with Cal State Channel Islands, University Preparation School opened in 2002 and has become a leader in professional development and teacher training. It also has developed a solid track record for its innovative curriculum, which includes an emphasis on helping children become fluent in English and Spanish.

The Ventura school would be the second classroom-based program in the county. Its goal is to open in the fall with nearly 200 students in kindergarten through seventh grade. The school expects to add eighth grade and eventually serve about 275 students.

The school received a $405,000 start-up grant in March from the state Department of Education, enabling supporters to draft their petition and present it to the Ventura school board late last year.

If the board rejects the petition, supporters could ask the Ventura County Board of Education and ultimately the state Board of Education to serve as sponsors.

A review by the Ventura district earlier this month noted several deficiencies in the petition request, including a failure to project the school’s annual growth, outline procedures to ensure student safety and provide a projected school calendar for the first year of operation.

District staff members said it appeared that many of the deficiencies could be easily addressed, and charter school supporters have been scrambling to do just that.

Some school board members said they are eager to support the effort if problem areas can be smoothed over.

“This is an established program that wants to be a school of its own, and I’m really hoping we can work with them,” school board member Debbie Golden said. “Offering choice is something we need to do in the Ventura Unified School District as much as we can.”

Charter school supporters say they want an answer by the end of the month, noting that if the Ventura school board rejects the petition they’ll have to move quickly to find a sponsor if the school is to open on schedule.

“We are hopeful we can work within the district; that would be our first choice. But we are also under a time constraint for getting an answer,” said Roni Adams, an Open Classroom teacher and founding parent of the program.

“We have a 30-year track record and a community of passionate parent volunteers ready to give their valuable time and energy to make this work,” Adams said. “We are committed to this, we believe in it and we are certain our charter has merit.”

Susan Compton-Smith is sold. The mother of three went through Open Classroom herself nearly three decades ago and was taken with its flexible curriculum and a teaching philosophy that allowed her to explore topics that interested her for days or weeks at a time.

Now, two of her children are enrolled and a third will start kindergarten in the program next year. By then, she’s hoping it will have achieved charter school status.

“I learned the tools for how to learn and how to go after information I needed,” said Compton-Smith, president of the program’s Parent Teacher Organization who on a recent morning was refereeing chess matches on Galvin’s classroom floor.

Compton-Smith volunteers two days a week in the classroom, a requirement for Open Classroom parents. Like other charter school supporters, she said the program had been forced to scale back amid an emphasis on student performance and in a climate where valuable classroom time is spent preparing for standardized tests.

Student performance is important, she said. But so is making sure that students are excited about learning.

“This isn’t for every kid, but the flexibility worked really well for how I learned and how my children learn,” Compton-Smith said. “I don’t think the school district has anything to lose. I think they have everything to gain by offering parents this kind of choice.”