Bishop gives Solano County an education gem
All children, whether they attend public, private or charter schools, should expect that their aspirations and potential will be identified and nurtured in an education system that has desks for all of them.
Zip code should not matter.
In October
2018, former Vallejo City Unified School District Superintendent Ramona E. Bishop and Alana Shackelford, along with other community leaders and supporters, established ELITE Public School in Vallejo.
The goal of the nonprofit and independent charter school is to close the education and opportunity gap of African-American and Latino students.
I talked with Bishop last week and toured ELITE. Given the school’s newness — it opened in August — ELITE is a work in progress. The administrators and faculty have taken on a tremendous feat to live up to the school’s mission, vision, and values, which expect all ELITE students to graduate proficient in English, Spanish, and Coding. All ELITE students are expected to be college-ready and have gained the necessary skills to become global entrepreneurs and leaders and social justice warriors. And all ELITE students should graduate knowledgeable about their culture.
The goals are ambitious. However, Bishop expressed high expectations of her faculty and staff. She acknowledged that putting a sustainable system that can be duplicated in place, including training staff, will take at least three to four years.
Bishop clarified her support of traditional public schools and teachers, praising many of them who are doing an excellent job of educating our kids. However, she is critical of a system that often does not accommodate African-American and Latino students, especially those coming from impoverished backgrounds and with special needs.
Charter schools, whilealso drawing concern from Bishop, were developed to create an innovative hub that public schools could model, ensuring that every child would receive a quality education. However, even in established schools, an education gap exists when it comes to test scores, achievement levels, suspensions and opportunities. An urgency to fix the problem doesn’t exist, Bishop observed.
During the tour, I saw students learning Spanish, which is an ELITE requirement. I met a Science teacher, Shawn Jones, who is an African-American male. Black males are underrepresented in PK-12 education, according to statistics — numbers that also note black male students benefit from having a black male teacher.
Jones believes that ELITE has made noticeable strides in students who arrived there with behavioral issues, resistant to studying and hindered by poor grades. He also said the faculty discusses methods they can use to enrich each student’s experience.
Bishop indicated that ELITE is fully staffed in Math and Science at the middle school level and offers English, Math, Science and Social Studies. The school also accommodates K to 8th grade and has made a conscious separation between the older students and kids.
Currently, ELITE is in the process of recruiting more students.
No specific criterion is required, such as an essay or other requirements. All students are welcome.
When queried about the school’s budget, referring to when the school missed its payment to the Vallejo City Unified School District, resulting in a 10 percent late fee, Bishop said it was a conscious decision to pay the penalty. The school wanted to ensure that enough money was available for supplies and meet payroll. The school has not missed any payments.
As with any start-up, several areas require additional and appropriate resources and work to create a more stimulating, inspiring and affirming educational environment for students. However, given Bishop’s energy and vision, parents and community support, ELITE could be another education gem in Solano County.
All children should expect that their aspirations and potential will be identified and nurtured in an education system that has desks for all of them.