Board renews Escuela Popular charter for two years, citing low performance but approving a performance-improvement plan

The East Side Union High School District board on May 8 voted unanimously to renew the charter for Escuela Popular Accelerated Family Learning Center (EPAFLC) for two years starting July 1, 2025, after staff presented oversight findings that classified the school as low performing under state renewal rules.

Kirsten King, director of assessment, accountability and charter school oversight, presented the staff findings and said the district judged the charter "demonstrably likely to successfully implement the program set forth in the petition" but identified several nonmaterial operational concerns and an academic-performance designation that limits the length of any renewal. "The charter contains a reasonably comprehensive description of all the 15 elements," King said. "We have found that the charter school is demonstrably likely to successfully implement the program set forth in the petition and that the charter school meets the applicable legal standards and criteria for renewal."

Under changes enacted by the state (AB 1505 and related Education Code provisions), charter schools classified as low performing may be renewed only for a maximum of two years and must either show "meaningful steps" to address underlying causes of low performance and adopt a written plan or provide clear and convincing evidence of one year's growth for each year in the school. Staff told trustees EPAFLC had been designated "low performing" by the California Department of Education and that CDE's published tiering was accurate.

Philip Gideon, coordinator of charter-school oversight, summarized staff's concerns: a large share of teachers with missing credentials or authorizations; governance issues including a partially filled governing board; and weak academic outcomes for high-school students. King said staff found 13 of 28 teachers (46 percent) serving the TK'12 campus lacked full credential documentation or authorizations in the district data used for oversight; EPAFLC responded that it is actively working to have a fully credentialed staff for 2025'6 and that the district would continue monitoring.

Academic results were a major focus. Staff reported the charter's four-year cohort graduation rate at 8.3 percent and that UC A-G completion for students was effectively zero during the charter term. The school provided NWEA MAP data as "verifiable data" showing some growth: staff reported that over half of students showed growth in math and fewer than half showed growth in reading across the available years. EPAFLC submitted a performance improvement plan that commits to three core strategies: small-group and tiered interventions for targeted grades, using NWEA MAP as verified-growth data to inform instruction, and trimester progress monitoring and on-site checks.

Escuela Popular principal Olivia Cortez and board member Pablo Reguerin presented for the charter. Cortez said the school's mission is to serve newly arrived immigrant students with a dual-language TK'12 program and a newcomer high-school model that provides wraparound services. "We acknowledge that EPAFLC falls within the low performing tier, and we take this designation seriously," Cortez said. She described steps the school has taken to monitor and clear credentials, recruit additional board members and revise graduation pathways and supports.

Public testimony included students, former students and higher-education partners. San Jose State University interim associate dean Ellen Mittal told trustees she has collaborated with Escuela Popular and "witnessed quite a few strengths" in the program; multiple current and former students described the school as a critical community resource.

Legal counsel and staff confirmed the district had not found substantial governance or fiscal factors that would require denial under the AB 1505 expansion of renewal grounds. The board then considered staff's recommendation to renew for two years with conditions: EPAFLC must make specified changes to the petition by May 23, 2025, and enter a standard MOU with the authorizer by June 1, 2025. Trustee Herrera moved to adopt staff findings of fact and approve the two-year renewal; Trustee Chavez seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Ending: The board renewed EPAFLC for a two-year term (07/01/2025'06/30/2027) and required the school to implement its performance-improvement plan, complete petition updates requested by the district, and participate in continued oversight on credentialing, board governance and academic progress.