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Charter Renewal Review and Staff Recommendation

School Information

School Name Manzanita Middle

School

Chartered (date) June 2000

Grade Levels Served 6th through 8th

Charter School Renewal - Requirements

Charter schools are required by law to renew the charter term by the entity that approved the charter

petition for a period not to exceed five years. Charter renewals are governed by California Education

Code (EC) Section 47607 and California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 5, Section 11966.4.

As part of California’s transition to a new standards-based assessments, on March 13, 2014, the State

Board of Education suspended the calculation of the Academic Performance Indexes (APIs) for two

years. Additionally, the California Legislature repealed EC Section 52056(a), making the API ranking of

schools no longer required. As a result of these changes in the academic accountability system, the

California Department of Education (CDE) provides the following guidance for charter school renewal.

Determining Pupil Academic Achievement for Purposes of Charter Renewal

The law requires that charter school authorizers consider increases in pupil academic achievement for all

groups of pupils served by the charter school as the most important factor in determining whether to grant

a charter renewal. A charter school authorizer may make this determination by examining pupil academic

achievement measures under the renewal criteria set out in EC Sections 47607(b)(4), 47607(b)(5), or

52052(e)(4).

Renewal Criteria under EC Section 47607(b)

Before it can be considered for renewal, a charter school that has been in operation for four years shall

meet at least one of four criteria outlined in EC Section 47607(b): (NOTE: 1-3 NOW DEFUNCT-- SKIP

TO #4)

● Criterion 1: Attained its Academic Performance Index (API) growth target in the prior year or in

two of the last three years, both schoolwide and for all groups of pupils served by the charter

school.

● Criterion 2: Ranked in deciles 4 to 10, inclusive, on the API in the prior year or in two of the last

three years.

● Criterion 3: Ranked in deciles 4 to 10, inclusive, on the API for a demographically comparable

school API in the prior year or in two of the last three years.

Due to the suspension of the API, and because the API ranking of schools is no longer required, Criteria

1, 2, and 3 are not applicable to charter renewals at this time.

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If a charter school can provide academic achievement data that is comparable to data used to measure

academic achievement in demographically similar pupil populations as comparison schools, an

authorizer may use EC Section 47607(b)(4):

● Criterion 4: The entity that granted the charter determines that the academic performance of the

charter school is at least equal to the academic performance of the public schools pupils that the

charter school pupils would otherwise have been required to attend, as well as the academic

performance of the schools in the school district in which the charter school is located, taking into

account the composition of the pupil population that is served at the charter school.

As outlined in EC Section 47607(b)(4)(B), the determination made pursuant to Criterion 4 shall be based

upon the following:

● Documented and clear and convincing data.

● Pupil achievement data from assessments, including, but not limited to, California Assessment of

Student Performance and Progress established by Article 4 (commencing with Section 60640) of

Chapter 5 of Part 33 for demographically similar pupil populations in the comparison

schools.

● Information submitted by the charter school.

Note: As charter schools are “schools of choice” and students from throughout the District enroll it if

reasonable to consider the scores of all District schools when making comparisons, rather than those

within a close proximity.

ETHNICITIES SERVED

Ethnicity Manzanita WCCUSD

African American 5.00% 15.70%

Amer.Ind./ Alaskan 0.0% 0.30%

Asian 1.70% 10.90%

Filipino 0.80% 5.20%

Hispanic /Latino 88.20% 52.00%

Pacific Islander 0.00% 0.70%

White 1.7% 11.30%

Two or More

Ethnicity

2.50% 3.90%

Not Reported 0.00% 0.00%

Note: District data includes all grade levels.

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SUBGROUPS (Special Populations) SERVED, 2018-19

Subgroup Charter District

English Learners 37.00% 32.2%

Foster Youth 0% .4%

Homeless Youth 0% 2.9%

Special Education 7.6% 12.4%

Socio Economically Disadvantaged 74.89% 70.60%

Note: District data includes all grade levels, yet ratios remain consistent throughout all grade levels.

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In 2018-19, the charter school served:

● 4.8% points more English Language Learners compared to the District (37% in 2018-19 versus

the District: 32.20%).

● No homeless or foster youth, compared to the District percentages given above.

● Fewer special education students (4.8% difference).

● Slightly higher percentages 4.29% difference) of socioeconomically disadvantaged students.

CAASPP Results, Manzanita and All District Middle Schools

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The majority of Manzanita’s enrollment consists of students from DeJean and Helms, although for

comparison District staff have provided test data from all District middle schools. The charts above show

Manzanita’s scores fall within the range of District schools.

The Manzanita leadership discussed growth over time in the charter petition and the presentation to the

board. The most expeditious way to document this growth is the Mean Scale Score—a measure available

on Dataquest that shows the average performance of a group of students on the CAASPP test. It is

calculated by adding all individual student scores and dividing by the number of total scores.

The following chart shows a positive change over time for the same cohort as they advance through grade

levels at the school from 6th to 8th grade beginning in 2016-17 and ending in 2018-19.

Mean Scale Score

Grade 6 (2016-17)

Grade 7 (2017-18)

Grade 8 (2018-19)

ELA 2496.3 2511.8 2528

MATH 2460.8 2485.6 2505

In English Language Arts and Math the scores are rising, demonstrating that as students engage in the

academic program at the school, they are learning over time.

English Language Learners

The petition described a robust program for English Language Learners that provides a variety of

supports and designated time to master English. School leadership have described a focus on this area

over the last several years as the population of Els has grown.

Name English Only (EO) Initial

Prof.(IFEP) ELs Reclass.

Fluent (RFEP) (TBD) Total

West Contra Costa Unified 45.50% 4.60% 32.20% 17.70% 0.00% 28,121

Manzanita Middle 11.80% 1.70% 37.00% 49.60% 0.00% 119

Reviewing columns from left to right, the District has approximately 3 times the English Only population,

and higher percentages of Initial Proficient speakers. Manzanita has more ELs overall, and higher

numbers of Reclassified Fluent speakers. As with all other charter schools in the District there are fewer,

if any, newcomer or early English Language Learners. The school leadership have discussed possible

outreach methods to solve this discrepancy, and District staff have pointed to other schools (LPS and

Aspire) who have changed lottery and enrollment practices toward reaching the Newcomer population.

DASHBOARD, 2018-19

Dashboard Category Red Orange Yellow Green Blue

Chronic Absenteeism X

Suspension Rate X

ELL Progress n/a

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Graduation Rate n/a

College/Career Ready n/a

ELA (w/ score) X

Math (w/ score) X

LOCAL INDICATORS

Category Met Not Met

Basics: teachers, Instructional Materials, Facilities x

Implementation of Academic Standards x

Parent & Family Engagement x

Local Climate Survey x

Access to a Broad Course of Study x

ADVERSE FACTORS

Has the charter received any Notices of Concern or Notices of Violation? NO

SCHOOL RESPONSIVENESS

Does the school promptly respond to requests for information: YES

SCHOOL STRENGTHS

Manzanita Middle School is the District’s first charter school started by a group of parents and educators

who were interested in a small school for the children of the community. In the last two years a dynamic

and remarkably capable leader has taken the helm. She has provided a strong focus on data to guide

changes in both curriculum and pedagogy. She works in partnership with teachers and leaders at multiple

District sites, and is committed to fulfilling one initial goal of charter schools—the sharing of best

practices in both directions: from District to charter, and charter to District.

The school benefits from the steady fiscal management of an individual with deep District-level

experience in managing budgets and a keen eye for ensuring that resources are directed to classrooms for

the benefit of students.

The governance board is comprised entirely of parents from the school, enabling another early goal of

charter schools: encouraging parent voice in authentic decision-making. Parents spoke of the benefit they

see in the school, and in modeling involvement to their children.

In her presentation, the school leader spoke at length about the advantages of a small school for students

who need a “restart”. During visits and conversations with District staff and the WCCUSD Board trustee

who was able to tour the school she described how a number of Manzanita students had a multitude of

discipline infractions elsewhere, but who have found a safe harbor at Manzanita.

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STAFF RECOMMENDATION

Approve the petition.

Encourage Manzanita to conduct outreach to unrepresented populations, to Newcomers, and levels 1 and

2 of English Language Learners.

WEST CONTRA COSTA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 2019-2020 OPEN ENROLLMENT TRANSFER APPLICATION

Open Enrollment Period for Transfers within WCCUSD: Monday, February 4 through Friday, February 15, 2019. 1. Student Information – PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY

Name of Student Sex • M • F

(Last) (First) (Middle Initial)

Date of Birth Grade in 2019-20 Current School of Attendance Month/day/year

Student ID# Parents/GuardiansNames

Home Address (no P.O. Box) Street Address Apt. # City Zip Code

Telephone Home Cell E-mail

2. Student Education Questions Is your child in a bilingual class?

*Is your child receiving Special Education Services? If yes, which one? Resource Specialist Program Speech 504 Plan Other _

*If your child is in a special day class in either NSH or SH, you do not need to complete this form. You must contact the Special Education Department for placement

3. School of Choice In priority order, list the schools (#1-2) you are applying for. Every attempt will be made to place student in the #1 school listed. There will only be one offer of

enrollment per student based on priority and space availability.

1. 2.

4. Reason for Request: (Please read the back of the application for clarification of priorities) □ 1. Sibling(s) brother or sister enrolled at the same time at the requested school. Name and grade of sibling enrolled in requested school

□ 2. Any student whose parent/guardian is assigned to that school as his/her primary place of employment □ 3. Any student enrolled in a persistently low performing district school that has been identified for comprehensive Support and

Improvement (CSI) by the State of California □ 4. Program □ 5. Safety Any student who is a victim of a violent crime while on school grounds (20 USC 7912) □ 6. Special Circumstances (include, but are not limited to, threats of bodily harm or threats to the emotional stability of the student) □ 7. Continuing Student □ 8. Displaced Residents

5. Parent/Guardian Acceptance of Transfer Terms I understand that transfer requests are subject to space availability at the requested site. WCCUSD anticipates that not all schools will have space

available for transfers. I understand that only one Open Enrollment Application per student per school year will be processed. If space is available and my transfer request is approved, I must commit to the Approved Transfers and Acceptance Terms (see back of application). If my transfer request is not awarded before the school year begins, my application will remain active for the duration of the 2019-2020 school year only. Student will be able to

stay at approved school site until the highest grade. I have read and understood the terms and conditions on the transfer request. I certify under penalty of perjury that the information I supplied is true and correct. I understand that the mere act of completing this application and providing all required

documentation DOES NOT guarantee that the request will be approved.

Parent/Guardian Signature Date

6. You can submit your application Schools do not accept transfer applications. All applications must be submitted to the Transfer Office by 4:00 pm on February 15, 2019. Transfers may be submitted to the Transfer Office with all supporting documentation by email, fax, or in person.

Transfer Office: Phone (510) 307-4535 1108 Bissell Ave. Room 108 Fax: (510) 620-2085 Richmond, CA 94801 Email: TransferOffice@wccusd.net

Office hours during the Open Enrollment period: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm

FOR OFFICE USE ONLY:

Resident School: PS Address: Matches Other: Received:

ELD Level: Sp. Ed: Declined Space Cancelled Submitted to E.D. on:

Approved Denied By: Date:

Reason of approval/denial: Approved School: Approved for current year only

Approved up to the highest grade level

Additional Instructions/Comments:

Important Notes: A current utility bill (WITHIN 45 DAYS) under the parent’s/guardian’s name (such as PG&E, water or garbage) is required for address verification purposes and must be submitted along with your application. (No drivers licence!) Incomplete applications or applications without address verification will not be accepted. No priorities are given to early submission during the open enrollment period.

WEST CONTRA COSTA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

2019-2020 STATUTORY NOTIFICATION TO PARENTS/GUARDIANS ON OPEN ENROLLMENT TRANSFERS

The West Contra Costa Unified School District assigns students to schools according to designated attendance areas. One of the following conditions must be met in order to establish residency within the WCCUSD:

▪ Residing in the attendance area ▪ Residency of students in foster care ▪ Residency of students with guardian

*Please note that homeless children are not subject to the residency requirement.

INFORMATION FOR NEW OPEN ENROLLMENT TRANSFER APPLICATIONS The Governing Board desires to provide transfer options that meet the diverse needs and interest of district students. The 2019-2020 school year open enrollment period for transfers is from Monday, February 4 through Friday, February 15, 2019. Transfer applications may be obtained starting on February 1st from the office of any school, online at www.wccusd.net or at the Transfer Office. Office hours during the open enrollment transfer period: Monday thru Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. A current utility bill (WITHIN 45 DAYS) under the parent’s/guardian’s name (such as PG&E, water or garbage) is required for address verification purposes and must be submitted along

with your application. Please note that we do not accept drivers licence.

TRANSFER PROCESS, STUDENT SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION

Transfer requests are subject to space availability at the requested school. WCCUSD anticipates that not all schools will have space for transfers. All requests will be considered in an unbiased random selection process according to priority to determine which pupils will be approved for transfers. The Transfer Office aims to mail out notification of the approval/denial of transfer requests by the end of May 2019.

PRIORITY SELECTION Transfer requests will be considered according to the following priorities [bp 5116.1]: 1. Sibling (brother or sister) transfers are considered only if they would be in attendance at the same time at the requested school. Must provide proof of sibling’s current enrollment. (Having a sibling at the school requested does not guarantee that a transfer will be granted.)

2. Any student whose parent/guardian is assigned to that school as his/her primary place of employment.

3. Any student enrolled in a persistently low performing district school that has been identified for comprehensive Support and

Improvement (CSI) by the State of California. A program improvement school is a school that has not made adequate yearly academic growth for two consecutive years as determined by the California Department of Education. Requested school should be to a school that is not Program Improvement.

4. Program Transfers Any student may request to attend a school outside his/her attendance area for a specific program (e.g. Pathways, Dual Immersion, TBE, etc.) offering that is not offered as his/her school of residence. Prerequisites may be necessary for enrollment in certain courses.

5. Safety Any student who is a victim of a violent crime while on school grounds (Ed Code 20 USC 7912)

6. Special Circumstances Upon a finding that special circumstances exist that might be harmful or dangerous to the student in the current attendance ares, Special circumstances include, but are not limited to, threats of bodily harm or threats to the emotional stability of the student. Any student may transfer to a district school that is at capacity and otherwise closed to transfers. To grant priority under these circumstances, the Superintendent or designee must have received either:(Ed Code 35160.5) a. A written statement from a representative of an appropriate state or local agency, including but not limited to a law enforcement official or social worker, or a properly licensed or registered professional, including, but not limited to, a psychiatrist, psychologist, or marriage and family therapist; or b. A court order, including a temporary restraining order and injunction

7. Continuing Student An elementary or middle/junior high school student may continue at a school for the rest of the school year if his/her parent/guardian has moved to another school attendance area

8. Displaced Residents A student may be redirected to another school if there is no space available at his/her grade level at the school of residence. The student will be placed on a waiting list at his/her school of residence and may return when space becomes available. A redirect student who elects to remain at the receiving school the following year shall be considered a transfer student and will no longer be considered a displaced resident. The student shall be allowed to remain at the re-directed school until he/she completes the highest grade offered at that school and shall not be subject to further displacement.

APPROVED TRANSFERS ACCEPTANCE TERMS I understand that if my Open Enrollment Transfer request is granted, I must confirm enrollment with the approved school by the stated deadline on the notification. In addition, I understand that by confirming enrollment at the approved school my child automatically loses his/her spot at the current school of attendance. Failure to confirm enrollment by the deadline, will result in the forfeiture of the approval. My son/daughter and I are committed to maintain the following Approval Terms:

1. Minimum attendance rate of 95% for each grading period: 2. No truancies or unexcused absences during the school year: 3. Appropriate school behavior as outlined in the Student Handbook and Code of Conduct: 4. Secondary students are expected to maintain a Grade Point Average of 2.0 for each grading period.

Your student will remain at the requested school site as long as the terms listed above are followed. School site administrators will be reviewing your student’s academic and disciplinary standing to determine eligibility. Though not currently anticipated, students on a transfer may be subject to be displaced to their resident school due to excessive enrollment. Transfers will be revoked if terms listed above are not followed ; meeting with executive director will be needed

APPEAL PROCESS

Open Enrollment Transfer denials on new applications may be appealed by submitting the appeal form, a statement, and providing a copy of the denial notice to the Transfer Office within 14 days of denial notice date. The appeal form is available on our district website at www.wccusd.net and in the Transfer Office. Appeals will be reviewed by the Director of Student Services or designee.

Legal Reference: Education Code 35160.5 District policies: rules and regulations 35351 Assignment of students to particular schools 35291 Rules 48980 Notice at beginning of term

WEST CONTRA COSTA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

1108 Bissell Avenue

Richmond, CA 94801-3135

Matthew Duffy Telephone: (510) 231-1101

Superintendent

FAX: (510) 236-6784

To Whom it May Concern:

This letter confirms that Manzanita Middle School was refused a charter renewal by the West Contra Costa

Unified School District over the course of two meetings: April 22 and April 28, 2020.

Linda Delgado-Pelton

Charter Oversight

1107 9Th Street, Suite 200. | Sacramento, CA 95814 p 916-448-0995 | f 916-448-0998 | www.ccsa.org

April 28, 2020 Board of Education West Contra Costa Unified School District 1108 Bissell Avenue Richmond, CA 94801 Dear Members of the West Contra Costa Unified School District Board of Education: On behalf of the California Charter Schools Association (“CCSA”), I am writing to express our support for the renewal of Manzanita Middle School (“Manzanita”). We agree with District staff’s recommendation for renewal, and we are disappointed with the lack of meaningful discussion at the Decision Hearing held on April 22, 2020. We strongly urge you not to adopt the Findings of Fact during the special meeting of the Board on Tuesday, April 28, 2020. Manzanita has been operating in Richmond since 2000 and has been renewed by this Board in 2005, 2010, and 2015. The spirit behind the Charter Schools Act is to provide increased autonomy in exchange for accountability, and we agree with this Board’s focus on academic outcomes. In fact, five years ago, we advocated for the charter’s non-renewal due to poor outcomes for students during the preceeding years. But in the years since 2015 the school has undergone a leadership transition, and during this most recent charter term Manzanita has demonstrated student growth and learning. Manzanita saw a large CAASPP improvement in the 2017 school year, and when looking at grade-level cohorts of students the growth is quite evident. The 2015 6th grade cohort improved by 80 points on ELA in 2017, and by 40 points in Math. The 2018 6th graders also made progress in both ELA and Math, scoring about 30 points higher in both subjects compared to the prior year. California education code section 52052(f) clearly allows alternative measures, in addition to CAASPP, to be used to demonstrate increases in pupil academic achievement. In addition to these strong CAASPP gains in 2017-18, Manzanita has Lexile and Imagine Math results that show students starting Middle School far behind but growing. More than 60% of students made average or more than average Lexile growth in 2017-18 and despite all students starting

the year substantially below grade level, the school accelerated between 5-20% students out of the lowest band of performance on Imagine Math. And further, California education code section 47607(b) includes as a condition for renewal that a charter’s academic performance is at least equal to the academic performance of the public schools that the charter school pupils would otherwise have been required to attend, as well as the academic performance of the schools in the school district in which the charter school is located, taking into account the composition of the pupil population that is served at the charter school. Manzanita far outscores DeJean, the district school half a mile away, while serving a similar population. When compared to the district, the school's EL reclassification rate has been higher than its District for the past four years: 24% to 13% in 2018-19, 28% to 11% in 2017-18, 11% to 9% in 2016-17, and 15%-8% in 2015-16. And, in 2018, the school's suspension rate was just 0.7%, compared to the District's 5.9%. In each of these ways, students at the charter are more likely to see better outcomes than if they were attending their neighborhood district-run school. Manzanita has demonstrated a nuanced collection of data and use of that data to inform interventions for students entering middle school far behind. They have been able to successfully move students out of the lowest band of performance. These data points illustrate how Manzanita meets the threshold for renewal according to California education code and demonstrated success in increasing student learning on multiple metrics. As such, we strongly urge you to deny these Findings of Fact and renew the charter for another five-year term. If I can answer any questions about our review process or our position here, please do not hesitate to reach out via email (amichalski@ccsa.org) or phone (504) 418-7874. Respectfully,

Aron Michalski Director, Bay Area Local Advocacy cc: Matthew Duffy, Superintendent, West Contra Costa Unified School District Chantel Caldwell, Principal, Manzanita Middle School

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