According to DOE Minutes 2/28/11
Request for Review: Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School
Commissioner Chester said the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School was first chartered in 2007. The commissioner said the school requested a charter amendment to add 120 seats, he denied the request for the reasons presented in the memo, and the school has exercised its right to seek a review of that decision from the Board.
Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School Executive Director Richard Alcorn read a statement and said it was challenging for the school to not be able to look out five years to develop its program. Commissioner Chester said his decision is based on the fact that the school is operating under its first charter and there is not yet sufficient evidence to support the amendment. The commissioner said the school has not yet reached its maximum enrollment and has yet to undergo a comprehensive review. Commissioner Chester said the school has five years to demonstrate its success under its initial charter.
Ms. Chernow asked whether the 6th grade entry was new. Mr. Alcorn said the school is seeking to backfill vacant seats, per the new state law. Associate Commissioner Jeff Wulfson said the school was chartered for K-8 and did not require additional approval for 6th grade entry. He said the school may have made a commitment to the U.S. Department of Education but it was in anticipation of approval that the Board had not yet granted.
Secretary Reville said the state has been supportive of this school and its Chinese immersion program, and the school is not yet bumping up against its maximum enrollment. The secretary asked if there is precedent to grant an expansion amendment to a school in its first 5-year charter. Associate Commissioner Wulfson said he could not recall such a precedent. Commissioner Chester said there is great value to language immersion but it is premature to expand the school’s charter right now.
On a motion duly made and seconded, it was:
VOTED: that the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, in accordance with General Laws chapter 71, section 89, and 603 CMR 1.00, hereby denies, for the reasons presented by the Commissioner, the request by the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School to increase their enrollment from 300 to 420 students.
The vote was 10-0-1. Ms. Kaplan abstained.
Original Memo of denial from Commissioner Mitchell D. Chester
To: PVCIC listserve
Sent: Sun, May 22, 2011 7:04 pm
Subject: PVCI Family Association Discussion with Executive Director Thurs May 26
Meeting with PVCICS Executive Director
I have heard that a number of parents have removed their children from the school due to the heavy-handed style of discipline at the school. What do you know, if anything, about this, Larry?
ReplyDeleteThat is not we removed our daughter from the school, so I would hate to speculate and speak for other parents who have done the same.
ReplyDeleteA few weeks ago, there was the news story that a family had filed a complaint against the school for the way a disciplinary situation with their child was handled, and that the State was investigating and would issue its findings on April 21st. I haven't heard any more about it since.
ReplyDeleteLet's get real. Any discipline of any kind in "the happy valley" is considered heavy handed. God forbid someone should tell a kid to knock it off, put them in a time out seat, or separate them from the rest of the class (which they deserve) and let them know they've pushed the envelope. It's why we moved our kids out of the public schools here. No one draws a line. Disruptive kids need to be removed from the class so the rest of the kids can learn.
ReplyDeleteLet's get real. Larry reports the slightest rumor on every local development but suddenly with the Chinese Charter School he can't speak for others, does no reporting, and hides under a rock.
ReplyDeleteAnon 7:29
ReplyDeleteWould you support putting your third grade child alone in a windowless room at school for the entire day as punishment for disrupting class?
Actually Anon 8:51, you read it here first (denial of petition to expand to k-12).
ReplyDelete"Would you support putting your third grade child alone in a windowless room at school for the entire day as punishment for disrupting class?"
ReplyDeleteDid you ever notice that a lot of rooms (my last two offices for example) in buildings are windowless??? With lighting and temperature controls- it really is no big deal.
Yes, I do think putting a disruptive kid alone in a windowless room is okay. Bad behavior has consequences, the sooner the little predators learn it the better off they are. but oh, that's right, this is the happy valley. No discipline. Might hurt the little darlings ego.
ReplyDeleteOh, by the way, my kid would never be in the situation of having to be put in a separate room for discipline. They both are very well behaved. Thus the reason we moved them from the public schools.
ReplyDeletesaw the Gazette finally ran a piece on this topic in today's paper -- three weeks after your blog reported it. Took them long enough! When I am looking for cutting edge local news, I know that I can usually find it on your site first.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the Gazette got a little lazy (and showed lousy news judgement) as I think they were waiting for the state investigation report to come back and then they were going to role the two issues into one big story.
ReplyDeleteThe investigation report was indeed supposed to be issued in late April but apparently the state investigator had a family issue to attend to and as a result the final written report was delayed.
The report is now complete and the mother probably received it in today's mail. But since the Gazette pretty much goes into hibernation from Thursday afternoon until Monday morning...