ALL INFORMATION IN THIS NEWSLETTER COMES FROM FORMER CHARV TEACHERS AND STAFF.
It was August 4 when CHarv alumni, feeling nostalgic about CHARV created a Facebook group to connect with their family. The response was overwhelmingly warm. Warm memories flooded FB and more than 200 CHARV students, teachers, and parents posted from Thursday evening until Sunday morning—non–stop with the topic YOU KNOW YOU WENT TO CHARV if…. The name of the Group continued changing…”C-Harv, where are you now?…”Alumni from as far away as Japan updated the CHARV family of their successes in college, or simply their current station in life. Many have married; some have children, and others asked for support and help.
When the question changed to: “C-Harv did you know…” a plethora of disturbing emotions ensued. A bomb dropped when a teacher who quit abruptly wrote about the horrible conditions , the school climate, corruption, and the number of teachers who were terminated or who quit.
We the alumni love CHARV. We know first hand how it changed our lives. We have created “The Movement” to reclaim OUR school, your children who are a part of our CHARV family. We have created this newsletter for you—parents who have no idea what’s going on at CHARV. Who would know more than the teachers and staff who have worked there? “The Movement by no means is meant to demean the current administration. In 2009 CHARV was one of the best schools in the nation! Sadly today, under the current administration, CHARV has become one of the lowest performing school in Los Angeles.
We the alumni, are in a position to give back. We want to see our school continued. Our teachers trained us to be social activists in the spirit of Caesar Chavez and Martin Luther King Jr.-- to stand up for justice and what we believe. We want our school back in our community, we want the administrators replaced, we want a new Board of Directors, and we want an audit
We have a plan to return CHARV to Los Angeles and to restore the original vision when we were voted as one of the Best High Schools in the USA.
If
you want more information about
the movement to reclaim CHARV please visit:
themovementofchange06.blogspot.com
or send us your email address to
charvmovement@yahoo.com .
If you want copies of material, please call: 323.776.3674
Who could tell the story of Community Harvest . The following are statements :
FROM THE MOUTHS OF OUR TEACHERS
As a former teacher of Community Harvest who spent four years on the Adams campus and three years at the Sherman Oaks campus, I am in a unique position to speak on the complete deterioration of the school's vision, mission, and culture.
Working with Ms. J and Mr. Umoja was invigorating. We had professional development and staff retreats, which created a strong unified staff of dedicated educators wanting to make a real positive impact on the lives of our students. We taught our students to question and think critically.
Now, the campus environment is one of distrust and fear. The current administration does not want a unified staff and students who think critically because they know that if people talk about what is happening on campus, they will question how a school can be allowed to run so poorly.
I joined the movement because I cannot believe that the beauty of the original vision is dead. The fact that so many alumni, former staff members, parents and educators feel the same way confirms that the true spirit of Community Harvest still lives.
WHAT WE GROW, THE COMMUNITY HARVESTS
I taught at Community Harvest Charter School from 2006 to 2010. Much of my time at the school was, and still remains, the most special time in my life. .. The spontaneous day-to-day schedules made C-Harv an unpredictable place to work and learn, but high test scores, graduation rates and student satisfaction levels proved that the administration was onto something great, and that the students were flourishing. I do not think that anyone can honestly claim that the same atmosphere exists at the school in Sherman Oaks. I think that there are a number of reasons for the change, but the most important one (the one that impacts the students most dramatically) is the daily bus rides.
There was a significant number of students who seemed very tired every day. As the students’ energy levels went down, so did their homework completion rates and test scores. However, C-Harv students deserve an environment where they can do more than just fight againstunnecessary odds to make it work.
It’s not too late to move the school back to Los Angeles, where students, staff and community members can reengage with C-Harv on an everyday basis in their own neighborhood. One only needs to examine the school’s name to understand that community-based education is far preferable over a long commute to an area where the residents show no interest in investing in the school. Community Harvest has never been perfect, but the temporary Sherman Oaks situation has gone on long enough. Bring C-Harv home, where its family is still waiting with open arms.
WHAT WE GROW, THE COMMUNITY HARVESTS
The school does not provide access to technology. There was not a working student computer on campus. The computer lab is dismantled, and there is not a technology person to deal with technology problems. Students who do not have access to technology at home are penalized because they cannot do research or produce typed work. Further, these students do not know how to use technology, leaving them behind students who graduate from other schools.
The Computer lab was suitable for 12-15 students but a minimum of 22 students was enrolled. The lab contained 12 working computers which students paired up for use. The room was cramped With desks/chairs, poor air circulation from heat producing laptops. There ws no window for ventilation; a lack of fire hazard safety made this an uncomfortable learning environment for the students. The chosen class time was after lunch when students are pulsating from heat after being outside. It made the class unbearable
- Text books are trashed. The 8th grade science books are so old that Pluto is still a planet. Entire novel sets are so destroyed that not one can be salvaged. This is indicative both of the length of time since any new materials have been purchased, and also the lack of respect students have for school property. Yet at a Board Meeting in July 2010, administration reported that over $100,000 had been spent on books. That was a lie
Classes are not always staffed, leaving students to .their own devices for hours of the school day. They spend up to three hours of each day on a school bus. Students, who are falling far behind their peers in other schools, do not even have the option to stay after school for tutoring, as the busses leave at 3:35. Teachers know their students need help, are willing to help, but are powerless to do so.
“I cried when I found out that Mrs Klemmer was fired,” said a senior at CHCS. “Mrs. Klemmer and Mr. Vann were the only teachers who knew all the seniors. Who knows us? Who can honestly write a letter of recommendation for us? Did the admin think about us when they fired Mrs. Klemmer?”
Did YOU KNOW?
- On the first day of school, there were 9 substitute teachers.
- 6 teachers quit midyear last year in frustration.
- 70% of last year's teaching staff did not return this year.
- Classes are being taught by short-term and long-term substitutes.
- For list of teachers who have quit, laid off, or fired, please go to blogspot
SEX, FIGHTS, GRFFITI, URINE, OVERCROWDED CLASSROOMS
Unsupervised bus rides, which has resulted in kids throwing things out of the windows on the freeway, engaging in sexual activity on the bus, and fighting.
Upon visiting my classroom, my pristine tables that did not need to be replaced as of 2 weeks ago, are now covered in graffiti. This is indicative of the overall loss of respect for the campus. We have had enormous problems with students not cleaning up after themselves. We have also had many issues with boys urinating all over the floor and walls of the bathroom.
Classrooms are overflowing with students. Rooms that are meant to have a maximum of 25 people, have over 30 students crammed into them. (For example, my room had 6 tables to accommodate 25 students (which was always very tight), and when I went back to retrieve my belongings, there were two additional tables crammed in the room.
Upon visiting my classroom, my pristine tables that did not need to be replaced as of 2 weeks ago, are now covered in graffiti. This is indicative of the overall loss of respect for the campus. We have had enormous problems with students not cleaning up after themselves. We have also had many issues with boys urinating all over the floor and walls of the bathroom.
CONNECTIONS
The students at the current school are suffering. They lack the vital human connections with the teachers that always set our school apart. They are doing “team building” with substitute teachers… a fact that many of my former students wrote e-mails to me about, laughing at the irony. The school has abandoned one of its core practices: Connections.
Students at Community Harvest were always fortunate to have Connections, a time when we talked and shared our lives. It prevented fights and other mean-spirited activities that are now just part of the day-to-day at the school. Connections promoted good decision making and thinking about the consequences of your actions. Last year’s senior class saw four pregnancies (that is 20% of the girls in the class!). The students do not respect the school; they leave trash everywhere, tag the walls and tables, and urinate all over the bathroom walls and floors. No kidding - this is what has become of our beautiful little community!
I was once deeply proud to be a part of Community Harvest. I felt a strong sense of purpose, and I knew that what we grew the community was harvesting. On the old campus, funders came through campus constantly with looks of sheer joy at the happenings on campus. During the charter renewal process in 2006, LAUSD representatives were so taken with the beauty of our little school that they just kept hanging around our campus soaking it all in. I have not seen anyone interested in funding our school in years, and LAUSD visits are feared (for good reason). Watching our thriving school implode under the direction of inefficient, dishonest leaders provokes a sadness in me that words fail to express.
Have you tracked the test scores from the last three years only to find that they have dropped? Are you concerned that LAUSD may not renew the charter because of this?:
Safety
Two Bee Hives
Students were allowed to retrieve balls and other lost artifacts from the rooftops using a school ladder. Once, there were 2 bee hives that had gone unnoticed or unattended to. When the hives were disturbed, a school wide panic ensued—students had to stay in classrooms.
Roof
There was roof top/ceiling flooding that displaced four classrooms. The flooding caused infrastructural damages to the interior of the walls.
Rat Infestation
There was rat infestation schoolwide. This included the classrooms. There was one rat that lay dead in the ceiling of a classroom. Students were placed in another room due to the unbearable smell and odor.
Broken door handles
There were classroom and bathroom with broken door handles that cut students hands. They were not replaced as soon as it was reported. Some students were trapped in classroom because the door was broken
Electrical Outlets
Also noticed were uncovered electrical wall outlets showing wires. Although this was reported, action was not taken immediately. Faulty wall outlets admitting sparks when connected a plug. This caused the entire room to lose power.
LEADERSHIP
…There are now no remaining teachers from the original school. Every teacher starts out dedicated- hoping to uplift and educate students. By the time they reach the end of their tenure (usually five or six years) they have either offended their tyrannical leaders or are fed up with the vicious politics of the school. The school has now become a cannibalistic organization, feeding on the souls of the teachers and students to feed some sadistic appetite of power and politics only understood by the current administration.
…..the school has now become a cannibalistic organization, feeding on the souls of the teachers and students to feed some sadistic appetite of power and politics only understood by the current administration. They really need to quit playing games with the lives of students and teachers who deserve much more than this. I remember all of the teachers would contact each other at the end of every summer to see who was fired and who was retained(usually in August) The lack of job security and vicious politics leads to a teaching cohort who is more nervous about keeping their jobs than catering to their students. I think the current leaders of the school need to do some serious soul searching. Are they in this business to create incredible students, or does c-harv serve merely as an institution where they can act out strange games of power and domination. Increasingly, it appears to be the latter.
….. I write this because I feel otherwise powerless to change the culture and the administration of the school. I feel that these issues, and many others, need to be thoroughly examined and addressed before it is too late. I cannot imagine that LAUSD would renew this charter, and the only way to save the school is to replace the existing board and to hire qualified administrators whose sincere interest lies not in their own glory, their own pocketbook, or their own job security, but in the interest of the students they serve
……Several of you may remember me as one of the English teachers (mostly middle school) from Fall '07 up until February of this year when I literally handed the office my keys and walked out. In the beginning, when we had the support and leadership of Mr. Umoja and Ms. Johnson, CHarv was a wonderful community and school for me to be at. My co-workers were like family, the students were a diverse and intelligent group of kids who would make me laugh and challenge me to think--and I still feel that way about them!
Unfortunately, instead of properly addressing the obstacles and problems that many schools face, the current administration (we know who they are) chose to deceive and play politics to save their own image. I have been asked to adjust/change grades or my grading policies so that failing students could pass, and when I tried to enforce discipline, I found that my only real support were fellow teachers who were enduring the same difficulties.
Report card grades were changes by the administration sometimes with or without teachers consent. Changes would be done verbally and not following protocol by submitting written documentation of changes to be signed by administrators and teachers.
…..Unfortunately this process wasn't nourished by the current administration (Mrs. Gichohi and Ms. Trujillo) nor the board of directors, and this is much to the detriment of bright teachers who could potentially make a difference and the student body. Due to a stressful environment of deception, lack of leadership, political games, and not receiving support (in addition to being asked to change failing grades to passing ones, or being subtly threatened with termination when requesting too long of a maternity leave), I left Community Harvest this year in the Spring. I wasn't surprised to learn that almost all my fellow teachers either quit or were terminated by the current administration.
C-harv used to have…..transformative magic. Children would come to a school that was aesthetically pleasing with warm teachers and admin that were supportive. The students would be educated in innovative ways that taught them to question authority, question the dominant educational paradigm of white supremacist -capitalist -patriarchy, and bring to bare all of their gifts of art, music, dance, humor to create an incredibly vibrant educational "community".
These students are now changing the world instead of merely living on it. This is why it should not be a surprise to the current administration that our students are engaged in a battle for the very soul of the institution that helped them discover and use their innate, unique talents to alter circumstances that they deemed unjust. Now, the culture of C-Harv seems dedicated to surveillance and domination of their teachers and the creation of students who are not critical thinkers but test taking automatons. When I left the school it was becoming eerily similar to another George Orwell book "1984".
Hello Big Brother. However, the tightly controlled image of the school can not be contained within the walls of the school anymore, it has overflowed the bounds of thought control and has rushed out into cyberspace
Our teachers trained us to be social activists in the spirit of Caesar Chavez and Martin Luther King Jr.-- to stand up for justice and what we believe. We want our school back in our community, we want the administrators replaced and we want a new Board of Directors. We have a plan to return CHARV to Los Angeles and to restore the original vision when we were voted as one of the Best High Schools in the USA.
