Summer school program gets OK
Board member reverses vote; agreement passes
PALMDALE — Palmdale School District will offer a summer school student enrichment and credit recovery program via the Antelope Valley Learning Academy after the Board of Education reversed its decision and approved an agreement with the charter school during a special meeting Friday morning.
The Board voted 3-2 to approve the agreement with the district-authorized charter school. Trustee Ralph Velador asked for the special meeting. He switched his no vote at Tuesday’s meeting to a yes vote after hearing from teachers and parents.
“I went by my pledge to do what’s best for our community and what’s best for our children,” Velador said at Friday’s meeting conducted via a Zoom webinar.
Velador added the “majority of teachers” contacted him to say they wanted the program, as did parents.
Board Clerk Nancy Smith also supported the program.
“I think our kids need it, No. 1,” Smith said.
Smith added since the district authorized the AV Learning Academy it has the authority to watch over it.
“It’s our teachers that are going to be teaching it,” Smith said. “I have every confidence that our teachers have learned a lot over the last couple of months. And that they will now be ready to move forward and help these children that need to have that gap filled.”
The District does not have the funds to offer a summer school program on its own. The program will be offered via distance learning from July 1 to 29 for district students. Classes would be taught by district teachers
with District curriculum who would be paid by the Antelope Valley Learning Academy, which is part of the Learn4Life charter school network.
Board President Dennis Trujillo said the program is voluntary for teachers and students.
Teacher Jacqualynn Hearne, president of the Palmdale Elementary Teachers Association, said the union’s rep council voted for the program.
“If the district has the funds to run it, yes, we would prefer to have it in the district,” Hearne said. “But at this time, after going through negotiations, it does not seem that the district has the money to run a full summer school for general ed, and that is why the rep council did agree to do this for one year.”
Teacher David Cuestas, the former president of the Palmdale Elementary Teachers Association who is now a California Teachers Association state representative, urged the Board to reject the proposed agreement.
“It is my duty to remind you that charter schools are charter schools are charter schools,” Cuestas said. “If it’s not controlled by the District, then it’s just a business for profit. They are going to make money, maybe not today, maybe not this summer, but eventually. What I feel you are doing recanting on your previous position, is opening the door so this company, this or any other company, comes in and takes our students that they don’t have a chance to get right now.”
Cuestas added the district has to contend with The Palmdale Aerospace Academy taking its students.
“Now we go to a summer school with distance learning? What is the real benefit for students and our parents? This is an experiment that’s been going on for two months,” Cuestas said, adding that teachers will not have union representation.
California no longer reimburses school districts for summer school programs. Because charter schools operate on a year-round schedule, they qualify to receive state funding through average daily attendance, which provides some revenue to participating districts.
Trustees Sharon Vega and Simone Zulu Diol, retired teachers with the district, voted no a second time because of the program’s connection to a charter school.
Vega said the District has not offered regular summer school in a few years because when they did, they did not get the results they wanted.
“When the state quite reimbursing the districts for summer school, it was never intended to do away with the summer school program,” Vega said. “The money was put into LCAP and it just gave us more flexibility to use that money.”
Vega said the program would cost about $400,000 and serve at minimum 450 students.
“If more of the same online learning is going to help our students, then I believe $400,000 in my budget is significant. In the world of Palmdale School District isn’t a huge significant number,” Vega said. “I believe the district then should operate an online summers school because we know our students. We know what we want and I believe we are the ones best to serve them.”
Superintendent Raul Maldonado said the program can serve up to 2,500.
“It all depends on the recruitment (and) willingness of parents to register their students in the summer program,” Maldonado said.
Zulu Diol expressed concern about how the program was introduced to the Board. She said the job description was posted about two weeks ago before the proposed program came before the Board.
“The fact again that this district has spent so much money, over $1 million fighting charters,” Zulu Diol said, adding that charter schools take money away from public schools.
About 159 teachers expressed interest in the program. The district will now recruit students for the summer program.
Proposed course descriptions include a sixth- through eighth-grade class to develop an understanding of the values and traditions of different societies through their art, poetry and music. Not a traditional history class, the goal is to make history relatable through culture. The class is project based and students will create their own art, models and music.
A primary, kindergarten through second grade class being proposed Summer with S.A.M., Science, Art and Music will be used to encourage reading, integrate literature and develop higher level thinking skills. Students will take a virtual tour of the San Diego Zoo to explore habitats and study animal adaptations.
For third to fifth grades, one proposal is students will prepare a budget to travel anywhere they wish. They will create a travel brochure for their trip, create an art project and discover a local food dish, all representing their destination. These assignments will reinforce math skills, reading and writing skills and research skills.
Enrichment courses allow a deeper exploration of subjects, and students can express their interest in specific aspects of these subjects through the arts, projects and music. Enrichment allows students to be a partner in their education.