Las Virgenes District studies possibility of new charter school
Opening could be next year
By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

Alternative education is a trend that’s been growing in the Las Virgenes Unified School District for several years, but district officials and board of education members will soon be asked to add another layer of choice to their program.

Homeschooling, online courses, independent study and other options are all considered alternatives to typical public school education. Absent in the plethora of choices in Las Virgenes are charter schools.

Itamar and Brenda Harari both have doctorates in education and run an educational research consulting firm in Agoura Hills. The Hararis have developed a plan for a Las Virgenes charter school. The husband-and-wife team hopes to secure approval of their charter petition in January and have the Agoura Hills Family Charter School kindergartenthroughfifthgrade campus up and running by the fall of next year.

Public with a twist

Charter schools are public, tuition-free schools with a twist. They are operated by parents, students and teachers in an environment that is big on flexibility and innovation and short on administrators and bureaucracy.

“It’s public school with local control,” said Brenda Harari, who will serve as the school’s director of education. Members of the school will be involved in decisions on how money is spent and how the curriculum is taught. Charter schools also have the option of placing an emphasis on particular subjects. Some may focus on technology and others may concentrate on the arts or science, she said.

“Our philosophy and approach to education embraces individual learning styles, compassionate communication and global education,” the Hararis said. The school will emphasize empathy, honesty, acceptance and compassion, Brenda Harari said.

The couple said charter schools are bound by the same accountability as other public schools, and must follow a standard curriculum, hire credentialed teachers and give standardized tests. The difference is that students will be more actively engaged in their own education, from what they learn to how they learn, Brenda Harari said.

A child may choose to work at various centers, all of which fit into the day’s theme. As an example, ecology might be a theme, and lessons taught at each center would incorporate ecology into all subject areas, from language arts and math to science and history. Children will navigate their day, Brenda Harari said.

“Our focus will include educating the whole child by addressing the cognitive, social, emotional and physical needs of our students,” Itamar Harari said.

A small, studentcentered environment will allow students to learn a standardsbased curriculum both independently and cooperatively with others, he said.

“Our program is consistent with the Montessori philosophy in that students learn at their own pace, are actively engaged in ‘real world’ problem solving, and that we trust students’ inherent curiosity and desire to learn and master their environment,” Itamar Harari said. “However, we are not a certified Montessori school, and we will incorporate other instructional approaches and theories beyond Montessori.”

Lost revenue for district

Las Virgenes Superintendent Sandra Smyser supports alternative education. “. . . Philosophically I am in favor of alternatives for children,” Smyser said. “These types of alternatives generally appeal to a small proportion of families, but usually are very popular with those who desire an alternative to a traditional classroom.”

Although the Las Virgenes district already operates several alternative programs, Smyser said the district is applying to the state to create an alternative school as an official part of the district. The school would not be a charter facility.

“The board has embraced this idea and already includes this as part of their plans for the next few years,” Smyser said. “In some ways the charter petition may be a duplicate of what we are working on.”

Laws governing the development of charter schools prevent school boards from considering the financial implications when reviewing a petition for a charter school, Brenda Harari said.

“Any student who would go to (a) charter from the LVUSD would cause the same financial implications of any child leaving our district—they would be counted as declining enrollment, and we would lose the revenue from those children,” Smyser said. “So this would likely make the financial picture more difficult for us.”

An example of how a charter school would financially affect the school district, Smyser said, would be if 100 students moved from a typical Las Virgenes school to the charter school, the district would lose a $500,000 of annual revenue without being able to cut expenditures to make up for the shortfall.

“Also, charter schools, if granted by the board, take a share of parcel and general obligation bond money, so we would share those revenues with the charter based on the number of pupils they take from the district,” Smyser said.

The Hararis hope to open the school in leased facilities that will accommodate between 200 and 400 students. They believe the financial consequences will be improved by an upswing in use of the charter option by current homeschooled students.

Brenda Harari said the charter school would purchase services from the district office, also lessening the financial impact. If approved, Agoura Hills Family Charter School would be the only charter school in the Conejo Valley.

Community benefit

“Based on our experience in education, documented research and the overwhelming response that we’ve received from the communities, we are quite certain that families, even in this area, will benefit by having an alternative option for their children’s education,” Itamar Harari said. “The charter school will provide an alternative choice that does not exist in this area.”

Once the Hararis submit a charter petition to the Las Virgenes Board of Education, the district will have 60 days to review and respond, Itamar Harari said.

An informational meeting for parents is tentatively scheduled for Tues., Jan. 9. The Hararis can be reached at (818) 991-9749, or by visiting their website, www.heartineducation.com/ ahflc.