September 22, 2011
To the Community Harvest Charter School Board of Directors:
I am saddened by the current state of operations at my alma mater, Community Harvest Charter School, and it is therefore with a saddened heart that I write this letter.
Let me begin by first introducing myself and how I became tied to the Community Harvest Charter School family. In January of 2001, I enrolled in the New Roads Middle School La Cienega campus as a then 7th Grader. Following my enrollment at New Roads, I was introduced to Charletta Johnson (principal), Jackie Gichohi (my 8th grade English teacher) and Viviana Trujillo (my Spanish teacher). The harmony they all displayed as educators was remarkable to me and they soon told my mother and I about their vision for Community Harvest Charter School, which revolved around the notion of opening a school in our community of South Los Angeles for our community. This vision is one that touched me and led my family to sign the petition to open this soon to be wonderful school.
After being awarded with a charter, CHCS opened its door in South Los Angeles and I enrolled in the school on the first day and went on to become a member of the first graduating class from this wonderful school that was deeply entrenched in and committed to the community. Because of the sense of social justice instilled in me by the educators of CHCS, I went on to attend Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA, where I majored in English and became involved in living wage campaigns, public policy fellowship programs at the University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy and NYU, coordinating volunteer service trips with Habitat for Humanity in Philadelphia, Miami, and New Orleans, along with a host of other activities. After graduating in 4 years with my B.A., I immediately enrolled in a Master of Public Administration program at the University of Southern California where I will be graduating in May with Honors and a host of professional contacts. I attribute a large chunk of my success to the sense of social justice that was instilled in me by CHCS.
Throughout my educational endeavors, I assumed and hope that CHCS was continuing to instill the same values in their students that they had in me. Unfortunately, this is not the case and I am horrified at the current state of operations at CHCS with issues ranging from:
- A campus location that is no longer in the community, for our community.
- A Board of Directors that does not reflect the CHCS constituency nor welcome their input.
- Continually declining test scores
- Excessive teacher turnover
Because I currently serve on the Board of Directors of a non-profit food distribution center in South Los Angeles, I am appalled by the manner in which you have not conducted a needs assessment from your constituency who is willing to provide suggestions for how to improve CHCS. It is for that reason, as well as many others, that I ask you to step down from your position on the board of CHCS so that the CHCS family can resume control of the school that they have a vested interest in maintaining and restoring to its original mission.
I understand board operations very well and am willing to explain my argument candidly so please feel free to contact me with any questions about any of my above statements. I hope and pray you make the right decision.
Sincerely,
Brandon M. McCall
Master of Public Administration Candidate, May 2012
University of Southern California
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