Upland school district denies Options for Youth charter renewal
Author: Sandra Emerson , Staff Writer
UPLAND - The Options for Youth Upland Charter is now reviewing its own options, after the school district's board of trustees Tuesday decided not to renew the organization's contract.
The board decided not to renew the charter after 15 years for several complicated reasons, said Wes Fifield, board member.
"They want to continue to expand beyond their current footprint and we find it more and more difficult to be the oversight of their expanding operation," Fifield said.
The board decided not to renew the charter after 15 years for several complicated reasons, said Wes Fifield, board member.
"They want to continue to expand beyond their current footprint and we find it more and more difficult to be the oversight of their expanding operation," Fifield said.
"We've also had some concerns with some of their financial reporting that makes it again more difficult to be their oversight."
In the past, the organization has moved money designated for the Upland charter into other charters, Fifield said.
"When we bring that to their attention, they always reverse the transfer, but that's something that we have not always felt comfortable with," Fifield said. "The money that comes to this charter should stay in this charter."
Options for Youth is a Pasadena-based guided independent study program for at-risk students or students who do not want to attend a traditional school. The organization has six centers in the city and seven charters total.
Upland Unified School District alone has referred more than 10,000 students to the program over the past 10 years, said Kelly Mayr, director of instruction for Options for Youth.
Students can be referred from other school districts, but Upland students received priority.
The decision was surprising since the district referred 12 students to Options for Youth the same day the board voted to deny the charter renewal, Mayr said.
"To me that doesn't represent a sound educational rationale for what's best for kids," Mayr said. "Why would you refer kids to a program that six hours later you say is not the best program for the district?"
Students and teachers from the charter attended Tuesday's board meeting to share their experiences with the program.
William Toomey, deputy superintendent of Options for Youth, said the charter is disappointed in the board's decision, but believes the students and teachers did their best in presenting their side.
"As a program we're going to be just fine," Toomey said. "We're going to continue operating. We have other charters under the Options for Youth umbrella so we're kind of looking at those options to see how we can positions these centers in other districts."
The charter can appeal the district's decision to the county, but has not reached that step yet, Toomey said.
Options for Youth has until June 30 to find a new charter or join an existing charter.
The charter's dropout rate was also a concern for the board, Fifield said.
"While we think they're very successful on some of their cases and very successful at helping some kids, they still have a very high dropout rate," Fifield said.
The charter's dropout rate for the 2008-09 academic year was 78.5 percent for grades 9 through 12, according to the state's Department of Education.
However, Toomey believes the way the state calculates the dropout rate is unfair to alternative school programs, such as Options for Youth.
The dropout rate calculation for the alternative education programs does the opposite of what Toomey believes the state would like to do, and that is encourage a district to create more alternative programs, he said.
"But this scares school districts from adopting a program such as us because this dropout rate is going to be exacerbated and put on their rolls," Toomey said.
Options for Youth is state-funded and is required to meet state standards.
Students need to have a C average to continue through the program.
"We do what's best for the kids," Mayr said. "That's the bottom line. We've been around for 20 years and I think (the board's decision is) a mistake. We've been doing some really great things for kids."
In the past, the organization has moved money designated for the Upland charter into other charters, Fifield said.
"When we bring that to their attention, they always reverse the transfer, but that's something that we have not always felt comfortable with," Fifield said. "The money that comes to this charter should stay in this charter."
Options for Youth is a Pasadena-based guided independent study program for at-risk students or students who do not want to attend a traditional school. The organization has six centers in the city and seven charters total.
Upland Unified School District alone has referred more than 10,000 students to the program over the past 10 years, said Kelly Mayr, director of instruction for Options for Youth.
Students can be referred from other school districts, but Upland students received priority.
The decision was surprising since the district referred 12 students to Options for Youth the same day the board voted to deny the charter renewal, Mayr said.
"To me that doesn't represent a sound educational rationale for what's best for kids," Mayr said. "Why would you refer kids to a program that six hours later you say is not the best program for the district?"
Students and teachers from the charter attended Tuesday's board meeting to share their experiences with the program.
William Toomey, deputy superintendent of Options for Youth, said the charter is disappointed in the board's decision, but believes the students and teachers did their best in presenting their side.
"As a program we're going to be just fine," Toomey said. "We're going to continue operating. We have other charters under the Options for Youth umbrella so we're kind of looking at those options to see how we can positions these centers in other districts."
The charter can appeal the district's decision to the county, but has not reached that step yet, Toomey said.
Options for Youth has until June 30 to find a new charter or join an existing charter.
The charter's dropout rate was also a concern for the board, Fifield said.
"While we think they're very successful on some of their cases and very successful at helping some kids, they still have a very high dropout rate," Fifield said.
The charter's dropout rate for the 2008-09 academic year was 78.5 percent for grades 9 through 12, according to the state's Department of Education.
However, Toomey believes the way the state calculates the dropout rate is unfair to alternative school programs, such as Options for Youth.
The dropout rate calculation for the alternative education programs does the opposite of what Toomey believes the state would like to do, and that is encourage a district to create more alternative programs, he said.
"But this scares school districts from adopting a program such as us because this dropout rate is going to be exacerbated and put on their rolls," Toomey said.
Options for Youth is state-funded and is required to meet state standards.
Students need to have a C average to continue through the program.
"We do what's best for the kids," Mayr said. "That's the bottom line. We've been around for 20 years and I think (the board's decision is) a mistake. We've been doing some really great things for kids."
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