A. E. Wright campus chosen for new alternative school
Would be similar to a charter school
By Stephanie Bertholdo  bertholdo@theacorn.com

The Las Virgenes Community Learning Center, the fast-tracked alternative education elementary school set to open in the fall, will be temporarily located at A.E. Wright Middle School, said Las Virgenes Unified School District Superintendent Sandra Smyser in a recent letter to parents.

Smyser said the decision to locate the Community Learning Center at A.E. Wright was "not made lightly."

"I considered other sites, including Indian Hills, Buttercup, Westlake, splitting the program into vacant rooms at several elementary schools and a short-term use of old Yerba Buena," Smyser said.

"It became clear to me that A.E. Wright was the best option in terms of addressing all of the concerns and needs that were presented due to the number of available classrooms and total acreage of the site."

Some parents objected when they heard the new school might be housed at the former Yerba Buena school site, which recently gained much-needed elbow room with the opening of another campus.

"It was not until Yerba Buena moved to its new campus that (parents and staff) realized the extent of the pressure that we were living under on a daily basis," parent Penny Sylvester told board members at the May 8 meeting.

Jane Contis, president of the Parent Faculty Club at A.E. Wright Middle School, asked board members to consider other alternatives for the new school locale. She asked whether it was better to move the stable student population of 80 or 90 Indian Hills High School students onto the A.E. Wright campus rather than small children with smaller class sizes into the largest classrooms at A.E. Wright.

Why the rush?

When Brenda and Itamar Harari, owners of Heart in Education, an Agoura Hills educational consulting firm, petitioned the district to open a charter school in the area last year, school officials were required by law to consider their plan.

Unlike a charter school, the new Community Learning Center will operate under complete district control.

Both charter schools and alternative schools offer a unique learning environment in which students learn at their own pace and teachers are given more flexibility.

But opening a charter school would have meant lost revenue for the school district. Funds the district ordinarily received from the state for public education would have been redirected to the charter school.

District officials and the Hararis negotiated what they call a win-win solution with the Community Learning Center. The school fits nicely under the district's existing alternative education umbrella. Over the last few years, the district has expanded their alternative education offerings to include home schooling, online courses, independent study, a "virtual" school and other options.

The Hararis' educational philosophy embraces individual learning styles, "compassionate communication" and global education.

Small class sizes, hands-on activities and other research-based approaches to learning in a "stress-free" environment characterize the Hararis' philosophy toward education.

Plans are underway

Choosing a site for the new school was just one of myriad details required to open the school by September. The school will be located in the back of the A.E. Wright campus and operate separately with its own facilities and staff, Brenda Harari said.

A permanent site has yet to be determined.

According to recent reports, 200 children are enrolled at the school and teachers have been hired. The Hararis will not reveal student placement and the names of the teachers until the beginning of August.

District officials say 13 classrooms will be needed to operate the kindergarten-through-fifth-grade school.

Fencing, landscaping, drinking fountains, bathrooms and other details of the school are still in the planning stages.

The school has been such a popular choice with parents that the Hararis will not place any more students on the wait list.

"The parents of the new (school) are thrilled to know that a site has been chosen and are looking forward to working closely with the A.E. Wright community and district leadership to create an effective partnership where everyone's needs are mutually considered," Harari said.