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South Bay Prep
a free, public, charter school, open to all students;
a small school, with 20-25 students per class and about 100 students per grade with a positive, democratic school culture and involved parents;
all students are prepared for admission to college, with a curriculum based on California content standards and AP courses open to all;
innovative teaching methods are used, such as hands-on, interdisciplinary projects; performance-based assessment; and advancement through mastery;
and a strong advisory program teaching study skills, leadership and conflict resolution, college planning, and providing social, emotional, and academic support.
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May Community Meeting
Thursday, May 24th
6:30 to 7:30
Campbell Public Library
77 Harrision
downtown Campbell
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send all inquires to:
info@southbayprep.org |
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April is an exciting month for South Bay Prep. As we look forward to opening our school in fall of 2008, we continue our two-pronged effort to gain approval of our charter.
In the event our appeal is denied by the State Board of Education, we are modifying the original district petition for submission to the Santa Clara County Board of Education for consideration as a county-wide charter school opening in Fall of '08.
Because of the appeal hearing we won't be holding our monthly information meeting in April. Look for the next one Thursday, May 24th, 6:30 to 7:30 at the Campbell Public Library, 77 Harrison in downtown Campbell.
As always, thank you for supporting South Bay Prep!
Coleen Wagner
Felicia Gershberg
Vicky Gray-Clark
Chris Duckering
South Bay Prep Board of Directors
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Facilities Search
We need everyone to be on the lookout for a potential site. Desirable sites are in or near Campbell close to transportation (light rail or multiple freeways). Churches are the best place as they usually already have classrooms and don't need much tenant improvement. Office space is the next option but will require money to adapt. Ideally we'd like to find a space we won't have to move from as we grow at least for the first couple of years. Here are minimum space requirements depending on how soon we want to move:
# of classrooms: 10 - 20 @ 800 sq ft each
restrooms: 800 sq ft
office space: 3 - 4 offices
library/open space: 1,000 - 2,000 sq ft
conference room (optional but nice): 1 - 2
We have a commercial real estate person looking for us as well but harnessing the power of our community will give us many more options.
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Educator Search
Do you know teachers or other professional educators who might be interested in supporting or working with South Bay Prep?
We are looking for teachers who will support us at our approval hearings and who could help with the creation of our curriculum and possibly join our faculty. We are also looking for an Executive Director who could work with us on a volunteer basis until we get approval and funding. If you know of anyone, please have them contact the South Bay Prep board at info@southbayprep.org. Thanks!
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What South Bay Prep Means To Me
by Felicia Gershberg
Director, South Bay Prep Board
I first heard about South Bay Prep from an email when my older son was in 3rd grade. My kids go to an alternative, public, parent participation elementary school (PACT, in Mountain View), and I had been starting to wonder what options we would have for middle and high school. The description of South Bay Prep sounded ideal, and I contacted Kelly Lambert to find out how I could get involved. I started going to meetings of the Education Committee, which was working on developing South Bay Prep's educational program, and I found a group of kindred spirits - people with an interest in creating a school that would take the best, proven methods from other schools; that would create a vibrant, respectful, caring community of kids, parents, and teachers; and that was founded on the principles of the Coalition of Essential Schools.
Not only is South Bay Prep the school that I want for my kids, it is the kind of school that I want to exist to show how great a secondary school can be. Working on South Bay Prep has reawakened my passion for great education that was first ignited when I was in college. At that time, I had the privilege of taking courses with Ted Sizer, the author of Horace's Compromise and the founder of the Coalition of Essential Schools. His vision of what secondary school could be inspired me to go on to get a teaching degree, and I got a job teaching high school, setting out on what I thought was my journey to remake and revolutionize secondary education in America. Well, my ideals were dashed when I faced the realities of being a new, inexperienced teacher in a mainstream, suburban high school. I moved on in a different direction, went to grad school, and eventually left paid work to become a mom.
Being part of South Bay Prep is exciting and fulfilling for me, and it all started with going to a couple of meetings. If you would like to get more involved, please feel free to come to a board meeting to get to know more about the inner workings and to see if there is a way that you can contribute. (The schedule is posted on our web site.)
If you would like to share what South Bay Prep means to you with the rest of our mailing list, please send us your story, and we will send it out in a future newsletter.
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