It was August 4 when CHarv alumni, feeling nostalgic about CHARV created a Face book group to connect with their family. The response was overwhelmingly. Warm memories flooded FB and more than 200 CHARV 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 abrubtly wrote about the horrible conditions , the school climate, corruption, and the numbers 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. The following are excerpts from students, alumni, parents, and teachers. If you would like to see all of the postings, give us your FB name and we will gladly add you to our family. You will see factual information that has been written by teachers, students, and other stakeholders. We need your help. We want to see our school continued. It will not under the direction of the current administration. 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. Yes We Can, Si Se Puede.
You KNOW YOU WENT TO CHARV…
Vanessa Akala, alumni… The teachers made you feel like there was nothing in this world that you couldn't do
Kelly Murray, teacher, parent…. You felt it was your school, you had a say and folks actually listened!
ON THE DECLINE OF CHARV
Alesha Escobar, former teacher who quit….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.
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.
Daniella Gonzalez , alumni… Community Harvest Charter School just isn't the same ANYMORE! plain & simple and the ones hurting in on all this DRAMA are the current students still attending Charv. I REMEMBER WHEN "I LOVED" going to c-harv (LA Campus) EVERYDAY! But my last 2 years of HIGH SCHOOL at the Sherman Oaks campus was THE WORST EXPERIENCE EVER! #realtalk……..!! All in all everyone is entitled to their own opinion about the school & their current situation but i want to make clear that something that started so great has terribly gone in a different direction but HOPEFULLY it can one day again be on of the greatest school's in the nation. - Daniella Gonzalez C/0 10':)
Wendy Gramajo, alumni…what the hell was the motive behind keeping the school in Sherman oaks? Made no damn sense. Waste of money, and just totally killed the meaning behind the school's name. That community up there is not harvesting shit anymore; student’s dont know what it means to be a C-harv kid. I'm a recent graduate from the c/o ‘11, and i'm glad i got out of there before the school went into a deeper whole. The school has lost its value, its best teachers, and you know, it seems like C-Harv is just like any other crap school out there. In it for the money and full of the same lies repeated over and over and promises that are yet to be seen
Rukiya Umoja, alumni 06… Did you know that Community Harvest Charter School has gone from one of the BEST schools in the NATION to one of the lowest performing charter schools in LAUSD within a matter of 4 years? And do you know who is ultimately losing.......the students
ON THE TERMINATION OF MS. ANNA KLEMMER who is the latest staff to be fired September 9
Anna Klemmer Robinson Hi CHarv! You can now add me to the long list of exceptionally dedicated, passionate teachers that have been let go. I read George Orwell's Animal Farm cover to cover last night, and for all of you who are seeking clarity, your favoriteEnglish teacher is telling you it is a must read!
Dustin Johnson, former teacher who left… 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.
Asani Myers, alumni …. And the sad thing about it, from what I'm hearing from current students, is that the school is allowing the current students to be under the impression that Ms. Klemmer left the school. She would never ever just up and abandon you all…
Dustin Johnson former teacher... 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 serves merely as an institution where they can act out strange games of power and domination.
Michelai Lowe alumni 06 …on Ms. Anna Klemmer Robinson ...I think Animal Farm is a great example of what is happening to CHARV!!! The main idea, arguably, is that power corrupts. The pigs (Current Administration) are blinded by greed and control. In doing so, they quickly lose touch with the principles that guided their original cause (the TRUE Vision of Community Harvest). The Pigs (Current Admin of CHarv) do little to help the (Teachers, students, parents, etc) to build infrastructure, or to produce the goods that are required in order to run a sustainable society. (for example, a school that is actually a part of the community it serves, a school where the community plays a proactive part in student development) I feel that it’s absolutely ridiculous that the students are suffering (in some cases unknowingly), and that some of the faculty&Staff's livelihood have been amputated.
THE MOVEMENT TO RECLAIM CHCS
Kweli Umoja, co-founder who was fired in May……..I filed the lawsuit against the Board of Directors and the current administration because they refused to have a public meeting to discuss the concerns I have regarding the misuse of funds and the ultimate mismanagement of the school. They wouldn’t have a public meeting with me, the parents or anyone to discuss the issues and concerns. The only way to get this resolved is to make it public--take it to court so they will be forced to address the issues at hand. This lawsuit is about more than just my termination. It is not simply me who is the plaintiff. This lawsuit represents hundreds who have suffered--families, students, parents, staff and teachers who have invested their time, talent and treasure because they believe in the ORIGINAL vision and mission of Community Harvest Charter School.
=Dustin Johnson...former teacher…. 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
Antoinette Magee-Lowe--parent
If this latest set of events/firings by community harvest does not inspire US (you and me) to take immediate, organized, continuous actions, maybe nothing will...I'm going to do my part and work towards a positive change for the benefit of community harvest students -- past, present and future....so keep it going!!!
David Ritcherson, alumni 06… Scores of alumni, teachers, parents, and stakeholders from Community Harvest Charter School demonstrated in front of Holman United Methodist Church last week where CHCS hosted a orientation for new and returning students. It’s clear the current admin doesn’t want anyone to know about the dismal record of CHCS. They planned a board meeting the following night at 6 pm in Sherman Oaks. And they didn’t even mention the meeting to parents. … What parents can come to Sherman Oaks at 6pm. …. Our teachers trained us to be social activists in the spirit of Caesar Chavez and Martin Luther King, Jr. to stand up for justice. We are putting into practice what we believe. We want our school back in our community. We want the current administrators replaced, we want a new Board of Directors, and we want an audit.
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