Key Areas of Research & Insight
Neighborhood Schools Matter
Los Altos and Mountain View were built around neighborhood schools and many of our residents chose to live in the Los Altos School District because of those schools. Neighborhoods are a foundational part of many communities and need to be nurtured and protected. The value of belonging to a neighborhood, for example, can be seen in Stanford University’s new plan to design student housing around the concept of neighborhoods, where students will resident throughout their undergraduate years. One might ask whether disrupting LASD’s school-centered neighborhoods for a commuter school is the right choice for our community.
Test Scores
There seems to be a perception that Bullis Charter School (BCS) offers an elite academic education not available in LASD schools. However, public data indicates their test scores are comparable.
Ethnicity, Race and Enrollment Over Time
Enrollment at Bullis Charter School has grown rapidly from fewer than 350 students in 2003 to more than 1,100 students today. That growth, however, has not been reflective of the student population of the Los Altos School District. This research examines BCS enrollment growth and asks why the charter school has been so unsuccessful in meeting its stated commitment to a recruitment strategy that achieves a racial and ethnic balance reflecting the general district population.
Economically Disadvantaged Students
Public records demonstrate an imbalance between the district’s economically disadvantaged student population and the enrollment of Bullis Charter School.
English Learners
Records show that BCS enrollment does not reflect the percentage of school children in our district with special needs, including English Learners.
Special Education / Students With Disabilities
Serving the disabled student population is an important and costly requirement of public education. Our research indicates that Bullis Charter School currently has a disproportionately lower number of disabled students, particularly among higher-cost-to-serve disabled, compared with the total number served by our district.
LASD and BCS Teachers – Different Employment Practices
Bullis Charter School and Los Altos School District follow significantly different employment practices and philosophies with regard to teachers. Those differences have a number of implications for and impacts on teacher turnover, tenure, educational background and other factors. This article examines these differences and their impact on the teaching staff at LASD and BCS.
Transparency Builds Trust – the Virtuous Circle
Caring, transparency and responsibility matter to the public, particularly when related to public schools. Our community is fortunate that the educational programs of LASD and BCS are of a very high caliber. However, there is a remarkable difference in transparency and in the degree to which BCS serves the needs of the entire school district.
Influencing Local Elections
Newspaper articles, Santa Clara County disclosure filings and California disclosure filings indicate there have been considerable efforts by a variety of organizations to influence certain elections for the boards of the Santa Clara County Office of Education and the Los Altos School District.
Our community should understand the nature and extent of this outside pro-charter influence on our local and county school board elections. In 2012, two charter Political Action Committees (PACs) spent approximately $500,000 to influence the SCCOE board election. In 2020, pro-charter PACs spent ~$700,000 in the SCCOE board election.
Educational Foundations
There are four non-profit 501(c)(3) foundations that have been established to support LASD and BCS education in our community.
These are:
· Los Altos Educational Foundation (LAEF) - EIN: 94-2862793
· Bullis-Purissima Elementary School Foundation (BCS Foundation) - EIN: 48-1298690
· Bullis-Purissima Elementary School (BCS School) - EIN: 48-1298689
· Bullis Booster Club - EIN: 46-3439920
On average, a LASD family contributes ~$850 per student each year, several hundred more than the surrounding school districts. On average, a BCS family contributes ~$5,000 per student per year, thousands more than other charter schools in the area.
Commuter Based School
Today, BCS serves three times the number of students envisioned in either the original charter request, or the historical run-rate of Bullis-Purimmisa. The reopened Gardner Bullis neighborhood school serves a similar number of students as was historically served by Bullis-Purissima. Since the 2008 Charter Petition, BCS has been committed to serving all of LASD, an over 20 square mile area. Since the historical population served in Los Altos Hills is being served by a neighborhood school, then the vast majority of families BCS serves have opted for a commuter campus educational experience. The BCS Board has also chosen to recruit students from outside the LASD district. In 2008, 2011 and 2014 petitions, 1/3 of BCS applicants were from outside of the district and five years ago the out-of-district enrollment was 6%. Assuming 5% to 10% of the enrolled students are out-of-district, 45 to 90 BCS students are commuting from other communities.
Out-of-District Enrollment
BCS out-of-district enrollment is ~5%, costing the district about $235,000 that could otherwise be spent on educating in-district students. Recent out-of-district admissions are limited to 1-2 percent, while 30%-50%+ of registrations are out-of-district. Why does BCS recruit out-of-district applications when so few can be admitted?
School Facilities
Here are two articles exploring the history and issues surrounding school facilities in the Los Altos School District. One explores the history of district-owed facilities, from the buildout of numerous schools in the 40s and 50s, to the closures that occurred as the student population dwindled and financial resources tightened, to the reopening of schools as student numbers grew again. The other article looks at facilities costs and questions surrounding Bullis Charter School and the potential impact on neighborhood schools.
School Choices
The term “school choice” means many things, depending who you ask. Generally, school choice refers to the educational alternatives available to parents who do not wish to send their children to the local district public school to which they have been assigned. Our community has many school choices.
California Charter School Law
California recently made several changes to its charter school law. However, there are still shortcomings in the law that confuse oversight organizations and lead to unintended consequences.
Observations on School Size
How does the size of Bullis Charter School and other public and private schools in the Los Altos School District and area compare with each other and statewide norms? What are the consequences of the very large student enrollment at BCS?