APS Renews Charter for El Camino

The Albuquerque Public Schools board on Wednesday renewed the charter for El Camino Real Academy, which had been threatened because of low student test scores and other problems.

The board had been given a recommendation that the South Valley charter school be closed because it had struggled for years, had several changes in leadership and its test scores had not improved sufficiently.

But parents and students packed a board meeting late last year to fight for the school, which school board member Lorenzo Garcia said serves marginalized students that APS could not serve.

	Infobox hed WHEN: X yx xy yx yx yxy x WHERE: X yx xy yx yx yxy x HOW MUCH: X yx xy yx yx yxy x

Charter school officials presented a plan to boost test scores and improve the school. The plan was approved Wednesday night as a consent item with no discussion.

After the meeting, Garcia said he was “pleasantly surprised” by the plan.

“They presented a plan that the board was very happy with, at least that was my sense about how it was received,” Garcia said.

“It was thoughtful,” he said, “modeling what the district itself could do.”

The plan calls for the intensive training of teachers, who will be required to show gains in student achievement and specific skill development. Teachers who don’t make classroom student achievement targets won’t be retained, the plan said.

It also calls for staff by January 2014 to obtain a TESOL, a teacher of English as a second language, or a special education endorsement, in order for them to maintain their employment.

“The idea that all teachers have the TESOL endorsement is a big step,” Garcia said.

The school also intends to more strenuously engage parents to increase their participation, and it will evaluate whether the K-12 school should continue its high school, Garcia said.

“They have some goals that are laudable and quite innovative,” he said.

Although the charter school has its own governance council, APS was involved because it approved the school’s initial charter, and it also received a small part of a $1.1 million federal grant meant to improve the school.

Garcia called for the board to work closely with the charter school’s council.

“They are serving marginalized families that APS couldn’t serve, we need them, we need to partner with them to help them watch themselves,” Garcia said.

In a year, the board will review whether the school has been able to implement its plan and decide whether to renew its charter, Garcia said.
— This article appeared on page 1 of the West Side Journal