Mika wrote on Sep 8, 2008 4:17 PM:Here we go again! A board member threatened by a successful charter school coming to town. I guess if the district was doing such a great job, they wouldn't even care about the Classical Academy. But to stand in opposition makes VUSD look foolish. I guess the teachers union is still holding the purse strings of Carol Herrera and her jacket has a slit in the back where the union places their hand through to control her lips and words to the community. Oh well, unions are never about the students.

delightful wrote on Sep 8, 2008 8:25 PM:Mika, such a pleasant and tempered set of comments.

Let me summarize your post. Carol Herrera, former nun, who has volunteered countless hours to the community and her church does not have the moral courage to think or act in the best interests of the students of VUSD. She lets those self serving teachers tell her what to do and she listens and does just as she is told. She cares so little for her own integrity and for the good of our students that she will act to harm their best interests if she is directed to.

Love that black and white thinking. No shades of gray for Mika.

We have two seated VUSD board members with that same inability to see nuances. Safe bet that Mika is one of their supporters.

Inflammatory, slanderous and despicable charges are thrown around constantly in our district by these “anti” folks and their two “anti” board members. I guess that is why the Mikas and others in the "anti" group are called extremists.

Mika wrote on Sep 8, 2008 10:48 PM:Hello delightful - lets get a few facts straight on a subject that you seem to have little or no knowledge of at the VUSD.

Teachers unions appose charter schools.

It is a fact that the union supports Carol Hererra and her political view point.

It is a fact that the VUSD does not support The Classical Academy. Did you attend the last two board meetings?

It is a fact that The Classical Academy has a successful and quality program.

The best fact of all is that unions are not about what is best for students.

Wake up delightful. Your post seems to be void of any facts.

Frank wrote on Sep 9, 2008 12:29 AM:How can we go forward without asking the Mayor? Morris!! Tell us where to go!

Vista Watchdog wrote on Sep 9, 2008 7:42 AM:To delightful -
Slanderous, you say. Calling two board members "Anti" all the time when they have been doing everything in their power to improve the quality of education for the children of this community is what I'd call slanderous. I've also read quite a few posts by the Union side slandering Patty Anderson, even to the point of saying, "having a formal education does not necessarily mean one is educated." As another blogger (I believe it was Vista Teacher) said, that statement disrespects every teacher currently teaching at VUSD, as all of them have formal educations. I'd say that your many posts that only contain innuendoes and personal insults are far more slanderous than those that typically contain facts concerning the failed education system at VUSD.
By the way, did Carol Herrera ever consider that since VUSD has nearly 60% Hispanics in the District and currently has NO program that is even similar to that being offered by the Classical Academy Charter School, that maybe upon its arrival in this District it might actually provide an opportunity for the Hispanics that they currently don't have? Why, if she is so concerned about the students, would she be willing to deny them the opportunity to chase their dreams?

Reality wrote on Sep 9, 2008 8:40 AM:Herrera clouds the issue. The charter supports homeschooling parents. It doesn't turn down anybody. So they don't select. The parents do.

Special Ed parents think twice before homeschooling their children so Classical Academy has about 5% special ed.

Personally, as long as they take all comers and provide excellent academics I think Vista parents deserve access to this option with having to drive to Oceanside or Escondido.

Oside mom wrote on Sep 9, 2008 9:31 AM:I don't live in Vista. I do have kids that have been enrolled in schools operated by Classical Academy. Ms. Herrera has a very good point - Classical is not necessarily the best placement for a child who has learning challenges. But where is that place? Public schools constantly cry that their resources are stretched too thin to provide extra for those kids who need it. Charter schools say that they are too small to provide that "little extra". So when are the educators going to get to the real task of educating all kids - not just the ones who are "easy"???? It's a hard question, and I'm glad to see that a board member is thinking of the kids who often are left to fall through the cracks.

To Vista Watchdog... wrote on Sep 9, 2008 9:49 AM:There is one slight correction to your blog that I would like to make. There is a homeschooling program similar to Classical's program; it is the North Star Academy (K-8) program. My child benefited from its program. It doesn't get much support from the Board Majority either. Surprise, surprise.

In My Humble Opinion wrote on Sep 9, 2008 10:14 AM:The board should not consider any more "controversial" issues between now and the election, unless they are necessary. The vicious political atmosphere now prevailing will interfere with good decisions and make all decisions look political anyhow.

delightful wrote on Sep 9, 2008 10:54 AM:Vista Watchdog suggests 'anti" is slanderous; however, he is fine with calling into question an ex-nun's personal ethics and moral compass.

I wonder what Vista Watchdog's definition of slander is? Could it be as black and white as all the other views of his "anti" supporters?

It seems that slander to Vista Watchdog only occurs when either he or the other "anti" VUSD board member get criticism. Whereas no matter how vile and baseless the charges that his "anti" folks make, their charges are never over the top. They are just "truth".

Those; who see the world only as friend or foe, good or evil, black or white; are correctly labeled as extremists. Their world view leads conflict and chaos.

another parent wrote on Sep 9, 2008 2:05 PM:While Charter Schools may be good for some kids, it seems like in this area there are plenty of options to choose from, including the new Trade Tech High School, be careful not to overload one area with similar schools, someone is going to get the short end of the stick.

Vista Watchdog wrote on Sep 9, 2008 2:05 PM:As one who has been personally involved with VUSD for over 50 years I challenge you to prove that I am anti VUSD.

Can you show that many years of support for even one thing in your life?

I seriously doubt it.

What I am against is the tragic decline in education that I’ve personally witnessed over the past 20+ years taking place at VUSD. Our Public Schools were at one time the best in the nation. But now we are amongst the worst. I put 4 kids through VUSD, and have had 12 grandchildren in VUSD schools. $ of those 12 are now attending private schooling on my dime as I place a very high value on a quality education, and VUSD was NOT providing such for my grandchildren. However, that does NOT mean that I don't care about the rest of the children forced to accept less than the best from our tax dollars.
Please answer me this, if you think VTA is for the Children and not for Teachers first. VUSD saw a decline in enrollment from last year to this year of about 12%. Yet, not one teacher was let go, only maintenance people, librarians, and other CSEA members. How can you justify keeping teachers on staff when you are letting all the support staff go due to declining enrollments?
As for Black and White, Good and Evil: It is truly naïve to assume that simply because you see everything in shades of grey, others will leave you alone. There is GOOD and EVIL in this world, and evil MUST be met with an appropriate level of force to contain it. Otherwise you can be certain that your freedoms will soon be lost to those whose views are evil. Believe me when I say, I am willing to stand up for your rights and lay down my life to defend your right to be ignorant. But, I will never give up my right to be FREE from the evil that your ignorance would invite with open arms!
Simper Fi!

To Vista Watchdog wrote on Sep 9, 2008 3:48 PM:You go!!! Well said. will you run for school board in two years?? We parents need you advocating for our children. The Teachers Union won't!

To Another Parent wrote on Sep 9, 2008 4:50 PM:According to this article VUSD currently has two charter schools: GPA and Trade Tech. From what we know of Trade Tech it has only just opened and ahs taken about 100 students and has plans for no more than 400 max. considering that the District has 23,000 students that would mean Trade Tech would take a Maximum of 1.7% of the VUSD students. I don't know GPA's enrollment numbers, but I doubt they are taking more than 2% of the VUSD students. So, when you have failing schools in the quantities of VUSD, OPTIONS are what is needed! Restricting those options by refusing a 3rd charter is admitting that you can't stand up to the challenge of competition. If VUSD is so good that they don't need Options, then new Charters will fail, and those desiring to charter a school wont even be interested in the area.
Are you and those opposed to Charters that unwilling to allow Parental Choice where their children's Education is concerned? If so, then we know that your interests don't lie with the children and their futures!

delightful to Vista Watchdog wrote on Sep 9, 2008 7:19 PM:There is evil in this world--Osama Bin Laden for instance. In the life times of some still living Americans, there has been the even greater evil of Adolph Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot and Idi Amin.

However to accuse nice little Carol Herrera of being EVIL is just a little over the top, don't you think? Do you really think she belongs in the above list? Even in your emotional state surely you can see the difference.

Writing the last few sentences of your last post may have given you emotional release and satisfaction, but that kind of intemperate and illogical wildness does not help our VUSD students.

Calm down and re-read those last sentences tomorrow and you may begin to see why your ideas and your candidates are so fiercely resisted by the less easily agitated in our VUSD community. Having people with that kind of wildness in charge of our children’s lives is frightening.

another parent wrote on Sep 9, 2008 10:01 PM:Actually I think Eagles Peak qualifies, as does Bayshore Prep.and SIATECH. So if you add those to Trade Tech and Guajome(which enrolls 2,000 students)that should give parents plenty of choices. I'm not "anti" charter schools, I am not interested in competition between schools that's for the athletic fields, do what feels right for your child, public, private, or charter. School Boards make the decisions about which charters are viable, hopefully Classical Academy has a good plan, is solvent, etc... we all know how quickly these schools can fail.

To another parent wrote on Sep 10, 2008 7:29 AM:Those other schools you listed ar not part of VUSD. They may be located within the boundaries, but does that really count? If you want to count those, then you need to start counting all the charters that VUSD childrean attend outside of the VUSD boundaries. You would also have to count all the schools from other districts that VUSD children attend (inter-district transfers requested and approved due to the failing of VUSD). Finally, I guess you would need to count the Private schools too. But, as I said before, so long as VUSD is failing to provide a Quality education, are you going to deny parents the right to choose another option for the children by refusing to allow another charter school?

a parent wrote on Sep 10, 2008 7:40 AM:This is the second article where "diversity" has been mentioned in regards to a homeschool charter--as in not having enough. A charter can have many programs; some where parents homeschool their child full time or some with classes a few times a week. Either way it obviously requires one parent to be at home with the child at least 3 days a week. This means the other parent must have an occupation that pays enough to support the entire family on a single salary--or the family must be willing to sacrifice for the sake of their child's education. It also means the parent who stays at home must have enough education to teach the various subjects to their child. The parents are the ones teaching. This is not an issue of ethnicity but of parent choice.

Vista Watchdog wrote on Sep 10, 2008 7:45 AM:To delightful:

Maybe it is you who need to re-read your accusations put forth toward others: Seeing everything in Black and White.

As I clearly stated there is Evil in the world and it must be met with the “appropriate level” of force to contain it. I never stated Carol Herrera was on par with those extremes of evils which you now attempt to align her with. Thus, you are clearly the one seeing everything as black or white, good or evil. There are varying levels of good and bad, and yes I do have to say that from what I've seen of Herrera, not all that she has done over the years can be colored golden. She has not always done what is best for the children either. Therefore, I would have to classify Carol in the same category as the others with whom she aligns herself and who have supported her over the years: the California Teacher's Union. This is the same Union that has been responsible for the decline of California's schools over the past 20+ years. And so, YES, since this decline is hurting children, I would have to call it evil! Anyone who would deny children the opportunity to excel by refusing to provide them with as many options as possible for a quality education is not on the good side of the dividing line between good and evil.

another parent wrote on Sep 10, 2008 8:39 AM:Actually SiaTech is located in Vista, on Escondido Ave. Eagles Peak is located in Vista,on University Ave. In the end its not my decision or yours, the school board has the final say. It's not a matter of educational choice, its a ,matter of what's feasable!

Amanda wrote on Sep 10, 2008 9:01 AM:Gibson says "competition produces quality" and that we have just look at Guajome Park Academy Charter School and SIATech they sure have produced competition for VUSD.

They are all competing for the bottom scores 63% far bellow average how cool is this Mr. Gibson?

By the way does VUSD board ever inspect the charter schools they already have?

Rose wrote on Sep 10, 2008 9:04 AM:Sorry Mika reputable members of society oppose charter schools.

Just exactly how much do you know about VUSD charter schools?

How many lawsuits do they have?

These charters schools have more Teflon than Michael Jackson.

To another parent wrote on Sep 10, 2008 9:52 AM:I didn't question their locations, rather I was pointing out the fact that Eagles peak is not part of the VUSD system: i.e. VUSD does not hold the charter. Eagles Peak is charted out of Julian Union High School District, not VUSD. Although SIA Tech is Chartered through VUSD, it appears to have some strange conflicts concerning its Corporate association, SIA Tech, Inc. (two companies with the same name both listed in CA. One a non-profit running a number of charter schools around the Country, and the other an electronic company producing various electronics equipment and software). SAI Tech Charter appears on the surface to be doing a decent job of educating students, but has been so buried from exposure to the public that few VUSD parents know of its existence. In fact, most VUSD parents know only of Guajome Park Academy, and many don't even realize that is it is a Charter School. To make matters worse, VUSD has Vista Academy of Visual and Performing Arts, Vista Focus Academy, and North Star Academy. All three are non-charter schools that VUSD has created that tend to confuse parents with regard to Guajome and other charter schools. All in all I'd say that with the reputation for providing high quality alternative education that Classical Academy has developed over the years, it would be a serious shame to deny parents from the failing schools in VUSD the option of enrolling due to VUSD's denial of a charter.

If you support that denial, then you can be counted as one of those who is "Anti" quality education. And since Charter Schools are Public Schools authorized under the California Department of Education, you could actually be counted among those who are "Anti Public School."

Amanda wrote on Sep 10, 2008 9:55 AM:Vista charter schools? We will NEVER read a negative article about Guajome Park Academy because Guajome Park the one with more Teflon than Michael Jackson. It has a whole lot of friends not just at VUSD board but with the Republican politicians.

A good case for reading that is an eye opener and pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California is LUJAN v. Guajome Park Academy Case No. 06 cv 2770 - H (LSP).

It is an eye opener because while LUJAN sued Guajome Park Academy originally as it turns out; the United States of America came in to defend and intervene on behalf of Guajome Park Academy. This is a new trend in which, the California Attorney General normally comes in to defend PUBLIC SCHOOLS in California. So basically public schools and their employees can easily get away with murder and have the California Attorney General come in to protect them.

In the case of LUJAN v. Guajome Park Academy, the United States of America sent in K. P. HEWITT United States Attorney, T. B. REEVE, JR. Assistant U.S. Attorney, Attorneys for Defendant, the United States of America and many more attorneys.

Why? Because Guajome Park Academy and sister SIATech take in MILLIONS in FEDERAL funds.

I’d say Guajome Park Academy is a mother ship bigger than anyone can imagine with satellites all over the state of California and many other states.

To Rose wrote on Sep 10, 2008 9:57 AM:If you are going to question how many law suits filed against Charter Schools, then you need to also take a look at how many suites are filed against public schools in general. You will find that in CA that number is mighty high, and that it comes not only from parents, and students, but also from community members, private property owners, corporations, teachers, the Teachers' Union, staff members, and other employees. Better be careful what you choose to use as your metric by which you rate charter schools! Oh yes, Charter schools are PUBLIC Schools!

To another parent wrote on Sep 10, 2008 10:02 AM:The School Board is elected by the PEOPLE living within VUSD and paying the taxes that are used to run the District. Therefore, in the edn it si our decision, through our elected representatives. And, as we have seen in the past here in VUSD, if these elected representatives fail live up to the demands/expectations of teh taxpayers they can and will be replaced or even RECALLED!
So, you better take another look at what you say, " In the end its not my decision or yours, the school board has the final say." No, WE the TAXPAYERS have the FINAL say!

a parent wrote on Sep 10, 2008 10:37 AM:Rose wrote: reputable members of society oppose charter schools.

Excuse me? Are you are calling 1000s of homeschooling parents in San Diego, Riverside and counties all over the state disreputable?

Do you even know a homeschooling family? We are no threat to teachers or their unions. If you really think that all parents suddenly can or will sacrifice their free time or their careers to stay home and homeschool their child (with or without use of a charter)than you should think again. Charters and homeschooling will not replace schools. Some of the charters provide all day/everyday programs. But not all homeschoolers use these programs. Most have their children home with them.

Are there problems in charters? YES, but there are problems in the schools too. Don't label all charters as bad and don't label we homeschooling parents as disreputable!

The mix wrote on Sep 10, 2008 12:09 PM:The overall ethnicity, family wealth, level of education of the parents and first language of the children of VUSD and California are all very different today than thirty years ago.

This huge demographic shift and its resultant social change is the number one reason for the decline in scores.

Blaming unions, teachers, or parents for the decline is like blaming the police and fire fighters for bad weather.

Biggest Change wrote on Sep 10, 2008 12:36 PM:Yes, many things have changed. But what has changed most is the attitudes of parents and students. Students do what they want, don't have any respect for teachers or education, and don't come to school to learn. And why do they feel this way? Because parents have taught them to act that way. Parents don't discipline the kids, don't make them responsible for their actions, act respectfully when the situation warrants it, and expect others to treat them this same way. And when someone else tries to teach them to respect education, or how to be disciplined, or how to be accountable for their actions, then the parents come to the aid of their kids, instead of supporting what the teachers are trying to do, often suing the schools in the process. Teachers can't teach and students can't learn in this sort of environment.

It really has nothing to do with money, or language, or ethnicity. It has to do with attitudes. And that is something that will be impossible to change any time soon. We are just a ruder, less responsible, less polite, less respectful society today than we were years ago, and that's going to hurt is in many ways, education just being one of them.

And, BTW, this is one thing that is very different about many charter school/home school programs. They are voluntary, so those involved DO show respect, DO support the teacher/parent, DO hold themselves and students accountable. That's why the kids learn.

Instead of Leave it to Beaver being the model family, we have those dolts on Jerry Springer!

Rose wrote on Sep 11, 2008 10:28 AM:Hah! Here is where good reading and comprehension skills come in handy.
I was replying to Mika who blamed the (a) board member and the unions and stated that they are against, “charter schools.”

So I wrote that, “reputable” members of society ALSO oppose charter schools.
Meaning that people that know about charter schools ins and outs and about charter schools regulations and procedures.
With this in mind I asked how much do people know about charter schools?
Apparently not much when we have charter schools like the ones in Vista, which happen to have a lot of RED FLAGS and neither the VUSD Board, the County Office or Education or the State, will monitor, audit or investigate complaints.

Well why not? Because they all belong to the same GPA Risk Management Pool.
They are all related in one way or another is there a conflict of interest or appearance of impropriety? Well, perhaps but read for yourself in the case of GUAJOME PARK ACADEMY VS. NEW EDUCATION FOR THE WORKPLACE, INC.
37-2007-00053139-CU-BC-NC. The same attorney who is representing Guajome Park Academy in a San Diego Federal Court is also representing the party against Guajome Park Academy in the case above. hummm……

So I said NOTHING about homeschoolers this subject is in another chapter.

I also homeschooled my kids but I was very informed.

to Rose wrote on Sep 11, 2008 10:00 PM:It seems that you are "very informed" on the negatives about charter schools, but you seem to have no opinion on the negatives of Public Schools. Yet, you mention the interesting fact that these Charter Schools, of which you seem to detest, are all overseen by the very same Board Members overseeing the Public Schools.
Therefore, if these Board Members are such terrible overseers of the Charter Schools, wouldn't they be equally bad overseers of the Public Schools?

GPA wrote on Sep 28, 2008 5:59 PM:Guajome has closer to 5% of VUSD's population, not 2%.