Uche Ollawa (ALUMNI) Letter to the board.

To the Board of Directors:

      

My name is Uchechukwu Sammuel Ollawa.  With the support of teacher/mentor Mr.Ali’El, I was one of the founders of the high schools first on campus organization/club called Freestone Unlimited.  My position within the organization was President and I was also Vice President of the 2005-2006 Student Body government.  As a student/athlete I played Basketball, Baseball, and ran Cross Country.  The academic and leadership training that Community Harvest has taught me have been powerful enough for me to use for the rest of my life.  The grassroots work ethics that has been implanted in me through Community Harvest has given me character and the art of perseverance.

      When I graduated from Community Harvest Charter School I was accepted to California State University of Fullerton.  For whatever reason I ended up on academic probation and my experience at California State University of Fullerton did not last long.  Due to my character and perseverance, quitting was not an option, so I continued my education and graduated with an Associates degree in Liberal Arts from West Los Angeles College. I now attend California State University Dominguez Hills and expecting to graduate with a degree in Sociology in May 2012.  Through all my college career I have always been working with the youth through tutoring services, lunch programs, Enrichment programs, and Special Education.

       My goal with this letter is to make a contribution and give back to Community Harvest by any means necessary.  The support that was given to me by the founders of Community Harvest Charter School, Ms. Charletta Johnson and Mr. Kweli Umoja through my high school career can never be matched.  It saddens me that the political corruption within Community Harvest has become so much more important that the current students attending now are the ones who are really losing.  When I attended Community Harvest I gained pride for my school and where I came from.  I am sure with this letter it is obvious that I have never forgotten about the pride Community Harvest Charter School has given me.  Community Harvest was created for progression of the future and not be a part of the problem.  The mission of COMMUNITY Harvest is to serve the COMMUNITY. What community are we harvesting in Sherman Oaks? The school MUST be returned to South Central Los Angeles!!

Sincerely,

Uche Ollawa

Kirby Van Amburgh (Former Teacher) Letter to the board.

October 3, 2011

Dear Community Harvest Board of Directors:

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.  By no means was it the easiest, calmest or most organized, but it was definitely the most special.

I began teaching at Community Harvest one month after moving to Los Angeles from the East Coast, and I was so grateful to be greeted with such encouragement, guidance and friendship.  I can sincerely say that in a city where it would have been very easy to feel completely alone, I found that the students, staff and school community became true family to me in my new home. At the same time, the active engagement of administration and students’ families meant that I was under the watchful eyes of those who expected my best and voiced such concerns, just like true family does, even when it is difficult to hear.

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.

The fact that so many students have stuck with Community Harvest after the move—enduring hours of bus travel every day and pushing themselves to maintain their grades—is a testament to their incredible resilience.  However, C-Harv students deserve an environment where they can do more than just fight against unnecessary odds to make it work.  They deserve an environment where they can THRIVE.

What could students do with that lost 2 hours of bus time every day?

-        Go to a pottery class, football practice, Student Council meeting or after-school job

-        Volunteer at a food bank, community clinic or animal shelter

-        Get a yearly check-up at the doctor’s office without missing school

-        Create an award-winning science project or modern dance routine

-        Utilize books, academic journals and online research materials at the public library

-        Receive tutoring or preparation for the CAHSEE and SAT at an after-school program

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.

Sincerely,

Kirby Van Amburgh

Former Teacher

Kelly Murray (Former Teacher) Letter to the board.

Dear Community Harvest Board Member,

As an interested party and stakeholder of Community Harvest Charter School I am compelled to express my dismay, utter shock and sheer outrage over the continuing and escalating demise of the school.  I, along with many others, have a plethora of questions and concerns that need to be addressed in order to assist us with developing solutions so that the necessary and appropriate actions may be taken to once again align the school with its intended mission and vision.   

As the board you are the steward of the organization, therefore the debilitation and debauchery that has overrun Community Harvest Charter School rests squarely on your shoulders and it is from you that we seek answers.

Some of the questions and concerns include but are not limited to:

How has this board actively participated in the strategic planning to accomplish the mission and vision of the school? 

How has the board clearly articulated the organization’s mission to the public and garnered support from the community?

How has this board ensured legal and ethical integrity of Community Harvest?

What has this board done to ensure the financial and academic success of the school?

What kinds of financial oversight has this board employed and are proper financial controls in place?

What has this board done to enhance Community Harvest’s public standing?

What is the frequency, what types and who is responsible for performance evaluations of the school’s administration?

What has been done to build a competent board?

What is the frequency, what type of evaluations are used and who is responsible for assessing and evaluating the performance of the board upon which you sit?

After the resignation of two board members, what was the process by which they were replaced?  How and why were terminations of administration and other decisions conducted during this time without a full board in place?

What was the cause of resignation from not one, but two board members and from the founding member of the school administration?

 

What concern do you have for the organization you represent?

Based on results, it is painfully clear that the board has chosen to either ignore the mission and vision of the school or is completely ignorant of them.   The school is no longer located in the community in which it was meant to serve; test scores have plummeted; the school is under review and can no longer boast of excellence; the school and the board itself has been and is out of compliance in a number of areas; and most importantly, the culture of the school and the organization as a whole has been obliterated and is now one where fear; dishonesty; disloyalty; mistrust; blatant disrespect and degradation run amuck.  

  

Board meetings have been poorly publicized, therefore poorly attended not only by the public but by the board members themselves.  Compliance issues; the board’s lack of response to questions, issues, and concerns thus far and the board’s actions as well as support an image of back room politics, subversion and the idea that the board has been nothing more than a rubber stamp for an incompetent, corrupt and unethical administration helmed by Viviana Trujillo and Jackie Gichohi who lack the necessary experience and credentials to effectively run a school, particularly a Community Harvest Charter School.

You have been asked to address some of these questions and concerns in prior board meetings, but have yet to be forthcoming with a redress of any sort. 

This is an impassioned plea for support in regards to these and many more issues.  I hope your sense of values and personal integrity will implore you to provide honest answers, true reflection and definitive actions that will seek to rectify these issues thereby garnering support from the CHCS community instead of continuing to ignore it.

Thank you for your time, your open heart and your open mind.  I look forward to hearing from you soon.

In Earnest Sincerity,

Kelly Murray

Jonathan Gooden (ALUMNI) Letter to the board.

Letter to the Community Harvest Board of Directors

            I a former student of the family of CHCS can remember when I first started attending Community Harvest. I spent my freshman year bouncing around from two different schools whose vision wasn’t based around the needs and concerns of the people in the community, whom they were supposed to serve! In only a year’s time in high school, my future seemed very dim, based on the opportunities I was given to excel as a student. I felt as if I was a number being counted on a daily basis to fulfill some quota, but when I first stepped foot onto our old Community Harvest campus, I felt an atmosphere of love. Although I didn’t know how to accept it, because I had never experienced an environment such as this.

            A group of educators and staff members whose sole objective, was to mold young people into the next great minds characterizes CHARV.  Coming from inner city schools in Los Angeles, and considering how the educational system is set-up, it seems impossible with the tools we are given that we could amount to anything.   Community Harvest educated individuals whose grand view of their world, community, and themselves is more than what everyone else   told them it could be. And we believed them! I see it as a blessing that I was able to attend CHCS, because there was something special about that small campus, that we occupied and the way it was run. Whether there was enough funding or not we made it work, and as a member of the family I never felt l was in a position of lack. Looking back on it now as an adult I have been able to reflect on the opportunities afforded to me by CHCS, and I feel sorry for those who didn’t have opportunity to grow up in such an environment.

            It’s very difficult to put into words exactly how the original C-Harv was and how it affected me as an individual, but it is easy for me to say that without C-Harv I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Looking at the current state of the school, how we carry the name, and what we are doing to each other, I am saddened. That as a family we have lost that zeal of having each other’s best interest at heart brings me pain. Families fight and disagree, but this has gotten to a point where we have let foolishness and pride over-ride sensibility and integrity. We have lost the right to still claim the words of our mission statement “What we grow, the community harvests”. With the movement out of the community we have stopped serving the people of the community, and moved into a foreign area. The busing and change of venue has become a distraction from the student’s success and the stability of the program.

            I pray and have faith that as these meetings go forth that we would strive to work towards bringing the school back to where it belongs in “the community”, and having the children’s best interest at heart and not continue to make decisions based upon false pride and ill-informed research. We created something special together.  I hope we can reformulate the genius of the original campus, and as the details of how the funds has been spent and the direction we are moving towards I don’t believe it would be conducive to continue on with the current board of directors. I can only say this from a place of love, because speaking it in any other form or fashion wouldn’t be representative of the values that were instilled in me at Community Harvest Charter School.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Gooden

Cherica Bell (ALUMNI) Letter to the board.

Attention Community Harvest Board of Directors:

It is with great concern that I submit this letter on behalf of the stakeholders of Community Harvest Charter School.

My name is Cherica Bell and I am a Community Harvest graduate from the class of 2008. My C-Harv experience did not begin in high school; I was a product of New Roads Middle School and apart of the original creation of Community Harvest Charter School. As I look at what was been made of my school, I am deeply saddened. Community Harvest was supposed to be an oasis within an otherwise corrupt community, “our” community, to help better children and any one that came in contact with our school. During my time at C-Harv I learned many lessons that have changed my life, including standing up for what I believe in; whether it was through academics, sports or one of our many elective classes. Because of Community Harvest and its original teaching staff, I have blossomed into the person I am today.

Enough about me, I would like to get to the current issue at hand. My main issue has all to deal with the corrupt motives of the current administrators, and even you as board members. What is so difficult about running a school within the original vision that helped to change the life of many? What type of service is Community Harvest doing to help better our community while being located in Sherman Oaks? I would like to offer an answer: NOTHING. If Community Harvest is a school about the students, why are so many outstanding and dedicated teachers being fired? The foundation of Community Harvest was not only built on students, it was also built on teachers who genuinely cared about every student they came in contact with. C-Harv teachers not only put their all into teaching, but they also made a point to change lives. Yet again, the answer to my question is quite simple: Community Harvest is no longer a school about students.

I have recently found out that CHCS teachers were asked to change the grades of failing students in order to pad the school’s good standings. I truly believe that if students were in an environment that was conducive to learning, there would be little to no failing students, thus alleviating the need to change grades. Going along with this topic, why would Community Harvest administration and board of directors choose to move our school to Sherman Oaks into a building that was move-in ready, but then end up paying $600,000 in repairs to fix-up the campus? That does not sound too move in ready to me. I actually visited the campus 2 years ago was appalled by what I was witnessing. Honestly speaking, the campus looked like old grounds of a seedy motel. How are students supposed to learn in overcrowded and under ventilated classrooms? How are students supposed to participate in dance classes where the rooms are too small to move in? More importantly, how are students supposed to relieve themselves in unfinished restrooms? I think it is now safe to say that Community Harvest was conducive to physical health and is still not an open environment where students can comfortably learn.

According to current administration, CHCS was only supposed to be in Sherman Oaks for one year however, at least four years have passed by and students are still being bused to Sherman Oaks. Yet again this leads me to my main point, how is Community Harvest serving the community, the students and the parents? These parents are trusting CHCS staff with their children but they cannot get their questions answered at parent meetings or student orientations. What type of message is this sending to parents? I hope you are starting to see my point.

In my opinion, current administrators are not the only ones responsible for the demise of Community Harvest Charter School; you, as board members, also have some responsibility in this situation. It seems to me that you have no true concern for the well-being of the students, no regard for the concerns of the parents, and ultimately no belief in the true vision of Community Harvest Charter School. In my eyes, the only thing you are contributing to is our minorities failing in college and in life. Therefore, as a result of your blatant negligence, I am asking that you, as board members, TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF OUR SCHOOL.

With Respect,

Cherica J Bell

Alumni, 2008

Robert "Bobby" Aguirre (ALUMNI) Letter to the board.

Board of Directors and concerned Stakeholders,

I am writing to stress the disappointment that many alumni have with Community Harvest Charter School.  Students, families, faculty, and staff are leaving more and more as time goes on.  As Community Harvest Charter School grows older the culture and esteem that it once held has dimmed.  Now it’s like a small, public school.   I used to be proud to say that I graduated from Community Harvest.  My school had style, meaning, significance, culture, and most of all passion.  Teachers, families, students, and staff all came together as one.  Now…well   the school is not even remotely similar to what used to be. 

Faculty, staff, juniors, and seniors helped lead the way for the younger student.  I truly feel that we set the bar high; we were proud to mentor the younger students and we are proud of what we accomplished!  We started a culture in which we were not willing to settle for to settle for the bare minimum was not an option.  Our leaders taught us that unity was key; and in our case lead to the black and brown communities collaborating e in order for a more progressive future.  One of our leaders, Mr. Frank Trujillo taught each of us that we should not be willing to settle, to actually question that which seems doubtful, to stand up for what we believed in. 

Regardless if we culminated or graduated, or not, Community Harvest impacted each of us, whether we wanted it to happen or not; that is how strong the passion was.  It brought students and families from the inner cities and we were lead to believe that we too, deserved a first rate education,    opportunity, support, and love.  We felt it!  We lived it!  And we believed it!!  What I now see of Community Harvest…I really see it as a shame that these my fellow CHARV students are not experiencing what I experienced.  I was a young male from Pico Union, whose goal in life was nothing more than to graduate from high school.  It was leaders like Ms. Johnson, Mr. Trujillo, Mr. Pearson, Ms. Hansen, Mr. Ali-El, and Ms. Montoya that taught it me that there is much more in life than simply stopping at High School culmination!   (I am now in a master degree program.)

College, careers, and culture, these aspects were instilled in me.  When visiting Community Harvest now, whether it is the campus or meetings, this sense of culture respect is lost. The culture is diminishing and the board, why the board does not have much to say, much less even taking action. If the board is not taking action then why are they present?  Why do they hold the position?  It appears that they are friends with the current administrators.  Their willingness to rubber stamp the voice of the administration is destroying our beloved school and negatively impacting the students.     It becomes a cycle one individual who could care less passes it down to a student who could care less!  Please, we must strive for better outcomes in life; let’s give these students better opportunities, and stop this cycle! 

Sincerely,

Robert “Bobby” Aguirre

Tiffany McLean (Alumni) Letter to the board.

To The Board Members of CHCS:

My name is Tiffany McLean and I am also part of the first graduating class at Community Harvest Charter School.  I would like to start off with my background and how CHCS became such a big impact on my life as an adolescent and an adult. I grew up very poor in the South Central area. Although I was considered a “gifted” student all through my elementary and middle school years, the environment in which I was receiving an education in a lot of ways hindered my way of thinking. Surrounded by gangs, sex, poverty and drugs I never even dreamed of REALLY going to college. 

I didn’t know any better and definitely was not given the proper tools and principles to achieve such things.  In my 8^th grade year of middle school, my Algebra 1 teacher recognized the potential in me and reached out to me and a few others. She believed that if that if we were put in better surroundings we would have a better chance. So she referred us to a new charter school (CHCS) in hopes that we could blossom in better surroundings and I’m happy to say 9 years later it definitely was the changing point in my life.

Community Harvest to me and so many others has been more than just a school, it’s a HOME. It was our safe haven. It’s what kept a lot of us on the right path and out the streets of Los Angeles. It has instilled so many principles and morals in us that I don’t see coming from other schools. Not only did we blossom academically but we also blossomed in many ways personally and spiritually. It taught us to be well rounded members of our community. The teachers were all always like our parents away from home, our guidance counselors, and even a friend when you needed one. There are no words that can describe what CHCS has given to me.

With that being said, you cannot imagine the amount of joy I had when my youngest sibling announced he would be attending CHCS his middle and high school years. That joy was quickly taken over by pure disappointment and sadness once the campus moved to Sherman Oaks. The stories I would hear from him, his friends, and their parents after school, the way things were being handled, and even the state of the campus itself raised great concern all around. Why wasn’t anything being done? Why were we in Sherman Oaks in the first place and why so long? What was happening to our sense of community? And why weren’t these issues being addressed by the Board Members? Our test scores are declining, our school is no longer in OUR community, and our beloved teachers are no longer there. That’s not even taking into consideration what all this busing and renovation of the “temporary” campus has been costing the school and how much debt we are potentially in. Board meeting after board meeting you all have failed to give us answers and help work towards a solution. How could you let our school fall into this state and do NOTHING? I believe the resignation of the current board members is extremely imperative to the change and uprising of our school before it is too late. LET US HAVE OUR SCHOOL BACK! That is all that we ask.

Sincerely,

Tiffany McLean

Ashanti Johnson (Former Teacher) Letter to the board.

October 7, 2011
Community Harvest Charter School Board of Directors,

It is with a heavy heart that I write this letter of disappointment. I am disappointed in the many turns of events leading to the negative shift in the culture and leadership at Community Harvest Charter School.

My name is Ashanti Johnson and I taught dance as a part-time instructor at Community Harvest from September 2005 to February 2011. It was in February of this year that I rendered my two-week notice to vacate my position.
While there were many issues leading to my decision to leave my job at Community Harvest, the commute and clear changes in the student, faculty and staff community were at the top of that list. When the school moved to Sherman Oaks in 2008, I was called by Jackie Gichohi a few weeks before the first day of school. Mrs. Gichohi advised me that school would start in a few weeks and that we had temporarily moved to Sherman Oaks. She told me the school move would be a for one school-year and asked if I were willing and able to commit to teaching there this school year. Community Harvest had become family to me, so much more than a job, so I didn’t hesitate to say yes. A part-time job in the Valley would prove to be a hardship for my family, but I was committed to teaching Dance to my students.

The first year in Sherman Oaks was an example of a team trying their best to hold it together. We attempted to stay true to all that the school held in its vision- including activities and the growing of children into the next leaders in their communities. The children were tired and the teachers were looking forward to the fictitious move back to Los Angeles. Also, sadly, the active parental support began to fade. Where parents used to visit the campus to assist, volunteer and support the school vision; we began to only see parents for disciplinary conferences or if a child fell ill. Our culture was fading.

By the second year in Sherman Oaks it seemed for many faculty members that everything Community Harvest Charter School had built, was crumbling. Parents began transferring their children to other schools in startling numbers. It appeared the acceptance standards changed drastically, as many new students were disruptive, disrespectful and non-responsive to the order and culture outlined in the Community Harvest Charter School vision and mission statements.

My classroom had existed as a place of creativity and artistic education, but it later shifted into a holding tank for students. In 2009-2010, my average student count was 38 in a room large enough to properly educate 15 dance students. I was given students who were doing poorly in music, so they were shoved into dance class. Seniors were nudged to use my class as free time to complete their college prep-work, including college essay writing. The administration made it clear to me, dance education is not as important as keeping the children occupied.  This is not why I teach dance.

For almost three years in Sherman Oaks, I did my part to grow my students artistically. The school was no longer supportive of my dance class or program, made clear to me by the manner in which students were placed into my classroom. Dozens of students who elected dance were not given it as a class, leaving me to wonder what the definition of elective had become. For three years, I wanted better for Community Harvest, but I finally realized that the current administration had a new vision- a new mission.

This new vision is not a positive change for the school, for the students or for a well-rounded education. It was difficult to leave so many of the students I’d taught through the years, but very easy to leave the place clearly drowning from poor management. What has happened to Community Harvest Charter School is, simply put, a shame.

Ashanti Johnson
Community Harvest Dance Instructor
2005-2011

Erik Carrillo (Alumni) Letter to the board.

September 27, 2011

Community Harvest Charter School

Board of Directors:  Lourdes Castro Ramirez, Jaime Maldonado, Gipson Lyles,

I am not much of a writer, but the state in which my alma mater finds itself is disheartening and upsetting. I wasn’t one of the top students at Community Harvest and was close to not receiving my diploma because of missing credits. It was C-Harv’s original teachers who had faith in me to succeed and graduate. They gave me hope and motivation. I was determined to do my best with that extra push to not let my teachers, the school, my family and myself down. How can you allow the current administration to fire those teachers that showed dedication and love to their students? Ms. Klemmer and Mr. Vann, for example, worked with me to the end not to see me fail. Ms. Klemmer gave me extra assignments, met with me one on one to discuss my grade and see what I can do to pass her class. Mr. Vann allowed me to take independent studies with him to meet my Geometry requirement and stayed after school with me as another class period because there was no other time during school hours. This is the kind of commitment teachers had to the success of their students. Now, you and the current administration are working together to see my school and current students fail. You no longer have these passionate teachers and you don’t provide any tutoring services. I don’t see how you can allow the mismanagement and the downfall of this school that at one point was one of the best charter schools in the country. Your number one priority is student achievement, and you’re letting test scores decline and not questioning the two administrators? Now you have substitute teachers starting this academic school year, individuals that don’t know the students or anything about the culture of Community Harvest, and they won’t know because all they hear are lies from the administration. At the orientation, an administrator said that all academic teacher positions were filled, and now they have job postings on the internet looking for long-term substitute teachers. When will the lies stop?!?!!

I can say Community Harvest saved my life. My behavior changed—I started taking care of homework, asked for extra assignments and stayed after school for tutoring. C-Harv helped build my character, I began being productive and began having goals for life after C-Harv. Can this really happen now when the school’s current administration is downplaying the students and their dreams/future career goals? I am not only concerned as an alumni, but also as brother of a current student at Community Harvest. I need teachers that will truly care about the education of my sister and tutoring services to help her improve her scores. I need the culture, mission and vision that C-Harv once had so that she looks forward to going to school. I need a better lunch program so that my sister, along with every other student there, can have a good and healthy meal. I need a sanitary environment for this food to be served, clean tables for students to eat. You really think eating on the floor with all the dirt is healthy? My question is, do they still care about the student’s education or do they just see my sister and others as $$$$?? Nevermind, I know the answer. With test scores dropping, they no longer have quality education! With firings of passionate teachers, they no longer have quality education! With no tutoring programs, they no longer have quality education! You get money for my sister’s and every student’s attendance and funds are available for being a P.I. status school, and you decide to waste that on transportation, repairing an old motel, and increasing the salary of the two current administrators. You along with the current administration should be ashamed of yourselves! My sister is in high school, I need her to build relationships with C-Harv teachers, not substitutes who will never get to know her. I wish to see her go to college. Who will be writing Letters of Recommendation for her?

As a concerned family member, I need the school back in Los Angeles and new administrators and a new Board of Directors that will restore the vision of Community Harvest. I want my sister and the rest of the current student body to have the kind of education that I had, to have options for all the different electives we had, to have a safe and healthy environment, and to be part of that C-Harv family that was successful in having different support outlets and to be part of what was one of the best charter schools in the country. You’ve shown that you don’t care. I ask that you please take your hands off of our school so that qualified and caring administrators and teachers can take over and restore C-Harv’s mission! I know that the current two administrators are your friends/family members, but please do what’s best for the students and not what’s best for the administrators’ bank accounts. Thank You.

Erik Carrillo

Community Harvest

Class of 2008

Kendra Fountain (Former Teacher) Letter to the board.

Members of the Community Harvest Charter School board of directors:

 

I write this letter as a concerned former teacher at Community Harvest Charter School  (C-Harv) and as member of the community in which C-Harv once flourished.

 

I began my teaching career six years ago at Community Harvest Charter School. I was immediately wowed by the very different, warm and family like environment of the school. I was impressed that teacher’s ate lunch with students, everyone knew everyone and the students cared as much about education as their teachers did. It was an excellent introduction to the teaching profession. Although my time with Community Harvest was only two years, I carried with me fond memories of this very holistic environment in which students were actually flourishing. In addition to memories, I maintained rich relationships with many of the teachers and students from C-Harv. I even got the opportunity to direct and mentor some of my former C-Harv students in various areas of the performing arts.

 

Throughout the years I have heard a lot of rumblings about things going on at Community Harvest. I was shocked and disheartened that the school was moved out of  its birth place of South Los Angeles and that students would be bused to Sherman Oaks each day. I was saddened when I heard about Mr. Umoja being terminated and Ms. Johnson being left with no choice but to resign. I was absolutely mortified and left speechless when I heard that alumni, concerned students, parents and teachers were all but ignored at Community Harvest board meetings and simply written off as emotional.

 

In a state where the graduation rate is continuously plummeting, it is very hard to find students who care enough about school to show up each day, let alone find students who care enough to come back to a school after they’ve graduated to show and express their concern for its well-being. I submit that no one’s concerns about C-Harv should be written off as purely emotional. If students, parents, teachers and community members (former and current), are raising their voices to ask questions about the current status of the school, then their voices should be heard, their questions should be answered with clarity and their commitment to the school they love, the school they help build should be honored.

 

I have gone over plenty of the questions that have been asked about community Harvest and cannot find one that has an emotional root. They are valid questions that deserve answers. There is no emotion in asking: why is so much money being spent to bus students to Sherman Oaks? Why are there no original teachers teaching at Community Harvest? Why have test scores plummeted since moving to the Sherman Oaks campus? Why has so much money been poured into remodeling a rented building? Why was the student body, parents and staff told that the move to Sherman Oaks was a temporary one? Why doesn’t the CTC website show any credentials listed for the two administrators of Community Harvest? Why aren’t board meetings held in South Los Angeles so that C-Harv parents can easily attend? Why are there no parents or alumni on the board of directors?

 

If one had to assign any emotion to the questions currently being asked about C-Harv, I suppose that emotion would be “begging”, because these questions and so many others are just begging to be answered!

 

As members of the Board of Directors of Community Harvest Charter School, I am calling on you to at the very least, provide clarity to those concerned with this beloved institution and answer these questions.

 

                                                                                                                                                                   

Sincerely,

 

Kendra Fountain

Former Community Harvest Drama Teacher