Board Unanimously Renews Two KIPP Charters After Staff Reviews and Public Testimony
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
After staff reviews found no disqualifying issues and community testimony in support, the board unanimously renewed KIPP Navigate College Prep and KIPP San Jose Collegiate for five‑year terms, while noting areas for continued monitoring (EL progress, suspensions, credentialing).
The East Side Union High School District board unanimously approved five‑year renewals for two charter high schools run by KIPP Public Schools Northern California on Thursday following staff presentations and public testimony.
District staff told the board both KIPP Navigate College Prep and KIPP San Jose Collegiate are "middle performing" under the state dashboard and that neither school triggered findings that would require a notice to cure or a recommendation of nonrenewal. Staff highlighted strengths including strong post‑secondary outcomes, program alignment to A–G requirements, and improving credentialing percentages. They also identified monitoring needs: English‑learner progress, suspension and reclassification rates, admissions procedures and clarity on closure/asset plans.
KIPP Navigate principal Julia Gonzalez Luna described improvements at the school, noting an average graduation rate of 90.13% and a reduction in suspensions from about 10% (post‑COVID rebound) to roughly 2.8% over two years. "We are proud of our LP increase," Luna said, and described coaching and support to move teachers to clear credentials; she said 50% of teachers have clear credentials, 35% preliminary and 15% are on permits.
KIPP San Jose Collegiate’s school leader (introduced in the record as "Kim or Hung") and teachers and parents spoke about AP offerings, special education inclusion and campus supports. Student and parent testimony at both hearings emphasized academic supports, extracurricular opportunities and a sense of community.
Board action: After closing public testimony, trustees adopted renewal approvals for both schools by unanimous vote. District staff said teams will work with each school to resolve technical petition edits and to monitor the areas identified in the staff reports during the next oversight cycle.
What’s next: Staff will finalize technical petition language for consent items and return with any material revisions. Trustees asked for continued quarterly monitoring on EL progress and suspension indicators.