Watsonville approves new charter school in the mold of Pacific Collegiate

Ceiba’s principal and instructional leader Shad Coffey was picked out of approximately 75 applicants. Coffey initially applied for a teaching position at Ceiba, but was deemed more appropriately suited for the principal’s position. Previous to Ceiba, Coffey served as a teacher of humanities at E.A. Hall Middle School in Watsonville. Prior to that, he taught language arts and social studies at the Edna Brewer School in Oakland.  A native of Santa Cruz, Coffey received his B.A. in history at UC Santa Cruz. His primary job at Ceiba will be in the classroom, 60 to 70 percent of his time spent observing and helping teachers.

“I was very impressed with Coffey as a teacher at E. A. Hall,” says Doug Keegan, a board member for PVUSD. Keegan has been working on the approved charter for Ceiba since its application submission last year.  “[Ceiba] won’t be radically different from [other] public schools,” says Keegan. “I believe it will have a longer school day, and a heavier emphasis on attention to individual students and those with different learning curves.”

Other than being a free charter school complete with uniforms, Ceiba will have a focus on providing enrichment opportunities for students. Through discipline and rewards systems like policies for pencil sharpening, hand raising, and restroom requests, Ceiba is preparing students for college and providing a clear understanding of their expectations. “We’re providing a friction-less environment to cut out distractions and build the capacity of mind for students to succeed,” says J Zac Stein, Chief Operating Officer of Beacon Education Network, the operating organization for the school.

Beacon originated in the halls of Pacific Collegiate School (PCS), a charter under the Santa Cruz County Office of Education. Funded by seed money from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, Beacon aims to replicate the academic success of PCS—considered one of the top public high schools in the nation—while avoiding that school’s unintended lack of student body diversity. Beacon also has a charter application in for another preparatory academy in Santa Cruz, this time under the Santa Cruz City School District, called Alexandria Academy, slated to open in 2009.

Ceiba—pronounced “say bah” and named for a species of South American tree—has recruited 160 students for the fall semester, and there is currently a waiting list of 18 students. Once a more permanent building is secured for the future, Ceiba hopes to increase enrollment. This year Ceiba will serve sixth and seventh grade, aiming to increase by one additional grade per year until it becomes a grades 6 to 12 school.

Ceiba Prep will differ from traditional public schools in its sharper emphasis on academics. Ceiba students will attend class from 7:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. A typical day will include two blocks of math, one block of science, two blocks of English arts, and one block of social studies. Students will also be able to use the gym and outdoor facilities. Athletic schedules will depend of the availability of the Youth Center. Coffey has ambitions to include traditional athletics such as basketball along with alternative ones such as yoga and fencing. One block during the day will be off for all teachers in order for them to reflect on and discuss progress in the classroom. The extended year will include a nearly month-long winter break to allow for those students who visit Mexico to do so for holiday. A large majority of the school‘s population is Latino. Seventy-eight percent of students’ families speak Spanish at home, and 90 percent of the students are from the Pajaro Valley district.  

“I think emphasis on individual programs is good for children who might get lost in the 500 to 700 students range,” says Keegan. The charter for Ceiba Prep was approved one year ago after the community was surveyed for a new middle school interest, one with a more experimental approach to education. Eight BEN Corp college grad students from schools all over the country will serve at tutors and mentors to students. BEN Corp is a fellowship created by Beacon for recent grad students who commit one year to help at the school as Beacon employees. Personal learning plans will also be provided to students, and as Stein predicts, “Fourteen or 15 teachers for 160 kids means that teachers will know everyone’s name.”

Although there proves to be a lot of support for Ceiba in the Pajaro community, and what Keegan calls “a meritorious proposal,” some financial issues still remain. Keegan recalls that there is often hesitation about new charter schools. The district does not have control of funds to the school and will undoubtedly lose money because of having to stretch the education budget for Ceiba. The point behind Ceiba, says Keegan, “is to provide choice for parents and new techniques to education.”

Tom Brown, Beacon’s president and CEO who will serve as Ceiba’s school site chief of operations and was formerly the chief financial officer of PCS, built the budget planning for the worst upon the news of Schwarzenegger’s budget cuts. “[Ceiba] will be affected in the same exact way as traditional public schools,” says Stein. “It would be a lie to say it won’t hurt us.” Although Stein and Brown are very aware of the educational budget cuts and the difficulties they draw, both are focused on providing the school they set out to open regardless of financial issues. “The budget cuts are not an issue with the Pajaro community,” says Stein. “Most people just want a safe environment where students will receive more opportunity.”

A $600,000 charter grant was provided to Ceiba from the Charter Schools Division of California. Most is federal money siphoned through the California legislature. Ceiba does receive less money than other public schools because of its current building occupation, and the money that was previously unrestricted is becoming more restricted. “How you can spend the money is as or more important than how much you have,” says Stein. “You need to have the governing on how to spend.” A lot of charter school money is lost in overhead, and much is shared in intellectual capital. Kim Turley, also a PVUSD board member, is also positive about the alternative choice for parents. “Ceiba doesn’t have a lot of the electives other schools do, but it does have a more intense environment and smaller class sizes,” says Turley. The importance that PVUSD board members, Beacon employees and Pajaro parents are stressing, is an alternative choice for middle and high school education.

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