The BUSD oddly dumps “Options for Youth” as its only charter school. Why now?
If this were being done for some kind of ideological or anti-charter reason we could applaud it, but it’s not. The clearly remedial Options site is being penalized simply because it’s remedial:
Burbank school officials pointed to faults in the school’s academic and financial areas as reasons to deny its renewal.
In a data comparison, Burbank school officials compared Burbank Unified’s 93% graduation rate for the 2014-15 school year with Options for Youth’s 24% graduation rate for the same academic year.
That “93% graduation rate” btw is Burbank’s 12th-grade graduation rate. It’s based upon the number of seniors who finish the year. This distinction between the senior and overall graduation rate is often either forgotten or evaded.
We also have a difficult time believing that Options’ senior rate is as low as cited. Possibly — because the school is intended for kids with problems — but this would make its citation as a matter of culpability offensive. More likely what we’re getting here is an apples to oranges comparison.
And to what purpose? What’s going to happen to those Options kids anyway? Are they going to be imported into the regular Burbank system? Is this the real motive for the action?
Is Special Ed prepared for it? Or are many of these Options students outside kids who will now be thrown out of town?
Burbank, California 
Is that where the city manager went to school? he wants body cams when we have a fiscal deficit – explain that.
Body cams ? I wonder if this charter school connected the real dots here. The president wants school choice for parents. The school board members are part of the resist movement. End result is the kids suffer and they shut down the only real option in Burbank
I don’t think this is an anti-charter thing. Something else is going on. They’ve got a for- profit alternative in mind is my suspicion.
Are the kids getting body cams now as part of the technogy upgrades the bond is paying for ?
Is this being done because the OFY grad rate was skewing Matt Hill’s completely made up BS anyway statistic? wtf?
I’m wondering what the motive is here.
Another charter in mind? The BUSD wants those students?
I knew one kid that went there. She had a tough home life. She used to come to my office and I’d check her work and just talk. She had a very rough next few years after graduation but she’s now a sophomore at Columbia University in Semi’s favorite part of NYC.
It is about money and not students at Burbank Schools so don’t fool yourself. This is a money grab on their part.
Wow.
General Studies, I’m sure (jk). I love those success stories.
I wonder what the district’s motive is here.
Success stories usually come from alternatives to Burbank and a whole lot of struggle after the indoctrination in Burbank schools. Chad’s story is like others I hear all the time.
BUSDs numbers are high because of the following
1. Kids not projected to graduate on time are sent to options/Monterey HS/Adult School as early as ninth grade.
2. Kicked out of BUSD if they are on permit
3. Taken back from remedial schools (see #1) to beef up numbers
Kicking Options out was a way to keep money in house since BUSD over the last several years had added the same alternatives to traditional school Options did.