After their petition to establish a Mandarin immersion school was turned down by the Menlo Park City School District, a group of parents has turned to the county to make their dream come true.
According to the San Mateo County Office of Education’s website, the parents’ proposed Menlo Mandarin Immersion Charter School is scheduled to be discussed at a public hearing Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. The education board then could approve or deny the charter at its Feb. 4 meeting.
The group’s 688-page appeal states, “District board and staff members made it clear to us … that they were not interested in working with us, regardless of the merits of our petition, and were even subtly encouraging community opposition.”
If the education board refuses to issue a charter, the parents’ group next could ask the State Board of Education to do so.
On Sept. 12, the group submitted a petition to the Menlo Park City School District to create a K-8 charter school where Mandarin would serve as the primary language of instruction.
But the school board last month rejected the petition, basing its decision on a 56-page report compiled by district administrators and consultants that identified a host of potential problems, including where the students would come from and high teacher turnover.
The parents must get charter approval from either the county or state by May 7 if they hope to use a $375,000 grant from the federal Public Charter Schools Grant Program for one-time start-up expenses.
If approved, the charter school would open next fall with two classes each of kindergartners and first graders. It ultimately could enroll as many as 450 students.
For more information, visit www.smcoe.org or www.menlomandarin.org.
Email Rhea Mahbubani at [email protected] or follow her at twitter.com/RMahbubani.
