Rukiya Umoja (ALUMNI) Letter to the Board.

To the Board of Directors:

My name is Rukiya Umoja. I graduated from Community Harvest Charter School (CHCS) in 2006. I was the 2005-2006 Student Body President. My years at CHCS were INCREDIBLE. CHCS really prepared me for life beyond high school. In December of 2011, I graduated from Tougaloo College with a Bachelors of Science in Chemistry. CHCS played an integral role in my development as a person and as a woman. I always believed I’d return to CHCS and harvest the seeds that were implanted in me. I no longer embody that belief.

CHCS was the gem of charter schools in LOS ANGELES—one reason was its test scores. From 2003 to 2008 (the final year CHCS was located in Los Angeles), the average change in test scores was +34. Since the school moved to Sherman Oaks in 2008, the average change in test scores is -17.  But that’s only the average.  2011 marks the third year CHCS has been a Program Improvement School.  This year our API scored dropped by 39 points!  Last year it dropped 16 points.  In the same year, 2010 scores for English Language Learners dropped by 70 points!!  This year, 2011, ELL continue to drop by 29 points!!  This spiraling is a trend at CHCS.  Look at the scores for Latinos.  Down 36 points this year, 2011; down 34 points last year, 2010.  For African Americans—the same is true; they dropped 28 points in 2011.  What will it take for the Board to see that something has gone horribly wrong?  With the school being in PI status for 3 year (which could mean closure for CHCS, our alma mater) a new direction for CHCS is sorely needed.

The vision of CHCS is lost. The foundation has crumbled. The school has been in a downward spiral since its relocation to Sherman Oaks. What community are we harvesting? According to the Board Governance Training for the Trustees of CHCS which was given August 7, 2010 by the Law Offices of Middleton, Young & Minney, the Boards’ primary function is “to be concerned with student achievement.” If that’s your primary function, you have failed miserably. Considering CHCS has gone from being one of the best schools in the nation to one of the lowest performing schools in the state clearly illustrates your lack of concern for student achievement. Do you even care?  We all know the answer to that.  Your resignation from the Board of Directors is imperative and compulsory.  Community Harvest Charter School deserves more!  WE WANT YOUR HANDS OFF OF OUR SCHOOL!  I look forward to your responses regarding my inquiry.

GREEN= % GROWTH/YEAR
RED= % DECLINE/YEAR

YEAR	SCHOOLWIDE API	PI STATUS	AF-AM		LATINO-AM		ELL
2010-11	API-635/39	YES	658/28		624/36		583/29
2009-10	API-674/16	YES	687/10		660/34		612/70
2008-9	API-696/4	YES	698/7		694/20		682
2007-8	API-692/1	NO	705/2		674/2		NA
2006-7	API-691/18	NO	707/23		672/15		NA
2005-6	API-709/52	NO	730/48		687/48		NA
2004-5	API-657/101	NO	682/119		639/101		SED
2003-4	API-556	NO	563		538		SED
2008-11	AVG CHANGE=17		15		16.7		49.5
2004-8	AVG CHANGE/34		35.5		34		SED-38.25

Note: 2008-2011 REPRESENTS CHCS API SCORES IN SHERMAN OAKS AND 2004-8 REPRESENTS CHCS API SCORES IN LOS ANGELES

Regards,

Rukiya Umoja