David Ritcherson (ALUMNI) Letter to the Board.

September 25, 2011

Open Letter to the Community Harvest Charter School (CHCS) Board of Directors: Lourdes Castro Ramirez, Gipson Lyles, Jaime Maldonado.

It is with a heavy heart and open mind in which I present this letter.

I am saddened by the current status and operation of my alma mater and will continue to be an active member of the Community Harvest family. However this is message is time sensitive and I am urging you to act promptly.

In short, this story begins in South Los Angeles, where the idea of building “Community Harvest Charter School(s)” was conceived. By the help of brilliant educators, families and community support we were able to open a new school (as well as future schools) in our community, for our community.  


Can you imagine the pride we would have, as students from South Central Los Angeles to have an extraordinary school in our own community? As an alumnus from the first graduating class (2006), I take much pride in my school and being one of the pioneers who helped pave way for the current and future students.

I am a recent graduate of UC San Diego, with a bachelor’s degree in Ethic Studies with intensive experience in aiding families in inner cities throughout Los Angeles, administrative oversight and strategic planning and program development. Community Harvest groomed me into this type of leader. 


We as alumni have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share with the current students, but unfortunately we have been shunned by the CHCS Board and Administration. What kind of school administration turns it back on alumni, especially its first graduation class? As current and past board members I would like to thank you for getting involved with Community Harvest and I hope you can understand my message as well as my reasoning. I would also like to stress that as board members you have agency. As board members you are the fundamental leadership of the Community Harvest family.  Which communities are you serving? What seeds are you planting? What community are we harvesting?

Now can we take an honest inventory within?

·       What have we done as board members to promote the mission and vision of Community Harvest?

·       How many students and parents have we talked to about their stories at C-HARV?

·       How much money and/or resources have I leveraged to fiscally support the students and programs at Community Harvest?

·       Would you want your children and family members to attend a three-year Performance Improvement (PI) status school?

·       How many Community Harvest events (sporting games, fundraisers, careers day etc.) have I attended?

If some of these questions are difficult to answer that is unfortunate, but then again, you may not be at fault.

·       When is Community Harvest Charter School up for review?

·       Do you truly want to continue to be a part of this situation?

·       How much money is spent on substitute teachers’ daily/weekly/monthly?

·       How much money is spent on utilizing Holman Church as a pick-up/drop-off zone for Community Harvest?

Some of the most fundamental aspects of the school were the campus culture, extraordinary teachers, and an unconditional support. The teachers wholeheartedly truly made that experience possible. I truly believe one way to measure the success of a school is by the strength in unity of the teachers.   I was fortunate enough to have the same teachers for my core classes (Math, Science, English), which was integral in my academic success and personal development. One thing I remember most about the teachers is that they were more than educators and good in their fields, but they were best at helping build character amongst the students and the school at-large. I am dismayed about the high turnover rate with teachers at Community Harvest. What steps have you taken to help retain teachers at Community Harvest? How have you supported your non-credential teachers in helping them achieve certification? It might be a good idea to refer to the Board Constitution and By-Laws including the primary duties of the board members.

So why is all of this important to you? If you care about making a real, positive impact on the lives of our children, their futures and truly believe that we need to hold our community stakeholders accountable for educational equity then I encourage you to step down from the Board. 

At this point the board has failed to uphold its duty to responsibly lead and oversee Community Harvest and I would like to urge you that your resignation of the CHCS Board is imperative to salvage the remaining life of my school.

I belong to a class and a generation of youth and young adults who are the true examples of the essence of Community Harvest spirit and culture and will continue to uphold our responsibility to hold the Board and the Administration accountable to the students and the public resources. We are relentless in our cause.  WE WANT YOUR HANDS OFF OF OUR SCHOOL!