District Administration - February 2010 - (Page 38)

Dolores Huerta Preparatory High School Students graduate with a high school diploma and an associate degree, which gives them credits they can transfer to a four-year institution. Also, eighth-grade honors students at Cesar Chavez Academy can take courses at DHPH and begin earning their high school credits early. Mestas stresses that “we also have to educate the parents about why college is so important.” rough its Parent Academy, DHPH instructs parents how to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and to determine if they qualify for other scholarship opportunities. “Parents don’t understand why they have to release ﬁnancial information,” Mestas says. “You’d be surprised how many parents are reluctant to do that. We try to eliminate all barriers for them so that they understand our program and embrace it. ey are the key piece to continuing their kids’ success.” Meanwhile, last October, the board of the Cesar Chavez School Network ﬁred the Hernandez couple, who were the chief executive oﬃcer and chief operating oﬃcer. According to local news reports, they were dismissed in part over allegations of ﬁnancial mismanagement and questions about students’ test scores on the Colorado Student Assessment Program. e Colorado Department of Education audited the testing procedures used at Cesar Chavez Academy and reported in December that it found “extremely high rates of extra time accommodation” for students on tests from 2007-2009. In another development, a projected $1.5 million budget deﬁcit for the two charter schools and the network that was “absolutely” related to the Hernandezes’ management caused the boards of the schools and the network to cut $974,000 from their budgets last November, according to Dennis Feuerstein, board president of the academy and DHPH. e cuts included an athletics instructor, six noninstructional personnel, funding for athletic uniforms, reduction of service contracts, limits on the hours the building would be open, and elimination of nonessential spending on cell phone use and travel. In the end, the way to look at these charter schools for ELLs is to “see what is happening to some of those kids,” says Pompa of NCLR. “You see low dropout rates and good academic growth and performance,” which, NCLR hopes, will lead the schools’ graduates to successful college experiences and careers. DA www.DistrictAdministration.com Read more about ELL charter budgets. Alan Dessoﬀ is a contributing writer for D A. RESOURCES Multicultural Education, Training & Advocacy www.buscapique.com/latinusa/buscaﬁle/ oeste/meta.htm National Council of La Raza www.nclr.org Stanford Center for Research on Education Outcomes credo.stanford.edu/home.html 38 February 2010 District Administration http://www.DistrictAdministration.com http://www.buscapique.com/latinusa/buscafile/oeste/meta.htm http://www.buscapique.com/latinusa/buscafile/oeste/meta.htm http://www.nclr.org http://polarusa.com/education http://polarusa.com/education http://credo.stanford.edu/home.html

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - February 2010

District Administration - February 2010
Contents
Advertiser Index
News Update
Facilities Update
District Profile
Administrator Profile
New Books
Problem/ Solution
Pursuing Peace in Chicago
English Language Learner Charter Schools
Tweeting Your Own Horn
Tech Disruptions
Professional Opinion
Research Center
New Products
Product Focus

District Administration - February 2010