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District staff review charter-school visits; trustees press for credentialing plans
Summary
Franklin-McKinley staff presented annual reports on five charter schools, highlighting strengths (curriculum and supports) and concerns (teacher credential percentages, leadership turnover and corrected attendance data), and trustees asked for explicit plans from each charter to raise the share of clear-credentialed teachers.
Dr. Trujillo, presenting the district's annual charter-school visits, summarized findings from reviews of ACE Esperanza, KIPP Heritage, Rocketship Mosaic and Spark, and Voices College-Ready. "We visit them annually," he said, describing a four-step review that includes class observations, interviews, IEP reviews and debriefs. He told the board that the district compares charter dashboard data to Franklin-McKinley metrics and highlights areas where demographics and credentialing differ.
Trustees focused much of their questioning on credentialing and demographic alignment. Superintendent Cruz told the board that charter schools "operate as their own LEA and independent of us," but the district requests improvement plans when charter performance or credential percentages fall short. ACE CEO Kennedy Vallejo said ACE is small and that losing a few cleared teachers can sharply reduce its percentage: "We have 10 teachers," she said, describing how preliminary permits and special permits keep classrooms staffed while teachers complete credentialing requirements. Rocketship representatives described teacher-resident and credential-support partnerships intended to strengthen the pipeline.
The presentation noted distinct strengths: KIPP's outreach to students with IEPs and recent curriculum adoption, Rocketship Mosaic's quick correction of a reported attendance error with the state, and Voices' work on leadership stability and curriculum sequencing despite multiyear declines that contributed to a low-performance classification. Trustees asked that the district return with explicit, school-by-school plans showing how each charter will raise the share of clear-credential teachers to align more closely with district goals. The board moved to accept the charter report and approved the motion by voice vote.
