Posted by Why here?, a resident of the St. Francis Acres neighborhood, on Sep 17, 2010 at 3:41 am

MV Voice, there are quite a few questions worth asking Mr Smith here.

If it's a local charter school, where is the local need? Do the MVLA kids have that much less exposure to foreign languages than other districts?

If he sees this as a general problem in Silicon Valley, why not a county level charter?

Did Mr Smith (a non resident) line up any sort of community support before laying out his plans and interviewing teachers?

Finally, a 5-year public high school? Who's going to pay for the 13th grade? :)

Posted by Levi, a resident of the St. Francis Acres neighborhood, on Sep 17, 2010 at 11:16 am

I don't know much at all about the proposed school but I can answer two of the questions posed by the St.Francis Acres resident above:

- County charters have different application and implementation rules than district charters. My understanding is that the county would prefer to charter schools that will have multiple locations throughout the county as opposed to single location schools. The preference is for single location schools to go through their local district so that the county is not "stepping on the toes" of the districts.

- The school is 8th through 12th, there is no 13th grade.

Posted by Still Why Here?, a resident of the St. Francis Acres neighborhood, on Sep 17, 2010 at 1:08 pm

Thanks for the clarification on county level application.

Regarding the school grades, I guess my question is now who's going to be paying for the 8th grade? The high school district is in charge of only 9-12, the 2 feeder elementary districts are in charge of K-8. Something doesn't add up here.

Posted by Chris Kuszmaul, a resident of the Willowgate neighborhood, on Sep 17, 2010 at 4:04 pm

I have worked with Bruce in the past, and have seen a number of charter school efforts attempted in our area before. I have also been a PTA president and presently teach in the area.

I am familiar with One World School as it is being planned, and am very positive about the value of the school. I would not characterize the school as a foreign language school, so much as a school that targets standards that have been established internationally.

For example in mathematics the school would operate relative to mathematics standards established in Singapore and the UK, as well as the US.

I strongly encourage prospective parents and patrons to pursue this opportunity for our community. I have worked with many great educators in my life. Bruce is the best there is.

Chris Kuszmaul

Posted by Parent, a resident of the Waverly Park neighborhood, on Sep 29, 2010 at 2:23 pm

I think Bruce should establish a small, boutique, private school, and offer generous scholarships for those who cannot afford the tuition. He can raise funds from foundations (Gates Foundation funds small innovative schools), wealthy "angel" donors, etc. A charter school WILL take resources away from our local public high schools--it will be to the detriment of many for the benefit of a few. I do not think this is a good trade-off in a district that enjoys outstanding public schools. The need is not great enough to offset the costs. It would appeal to parents looking for a niche education. I think they should pay for the privilege. Besides -- there is NO available space in our district, which is why voters recently approved Measure A. Not to build a charter school, but to provide adequate facilities for our local schools. I think it would be outrageous for the taxpayers' allocated funds to be taken and basically given to a charter school that no one asked for.

Posted by How about talking to the community?, a resident of another community, on Oct 1, 2010 at 12:06 am

According to today's article in the Mercury News:

Web Link

"As of Thursday afternoon, Mountain View-Los Altos Superintendent Barry Groves said he had not yet seen a proposal for the school or heard from its organizers. "No one has ever talked to me, the board members or anybody" about One World, Groves said."

Why isn't Mr Smith talking with the community he deems in need of his charter school?