"we feel that the school's current demographics reflect the community we serve and our commitment to inclusion:"
-- - Ivy Bound's 2017 charter petitionThe Ivy Bound Academy of Math, Science, and Technology Charter Middle School sits in the shadow of the connector road between the 101 and 405 freeways. Its 86 students attend school in a brick industrial building breathing in the fumes from thousands of passing vehicles as they transition from the Valley's primary eastbound artery to the busiest route north. Netting protects cars from balls straying from the playground, but they would do nothing to stop an errant big rig from inflicting unimaginable tragedy.
When the school opened in 2007, it had 130 students. Three years later, the student body had increased to 227 students. In 2017, when the school last applied to renew its charter, 231 students enrolled. The approved charter document predicted a consistent enrollment of 240 students through the five-year term of the renewal.
Following long-predicted demographic shifts, the number of school-age children in Los Angeles has decreased, affecting public and charter schools. Ivy Bound has outpaced these losses and is currently enrolled at 36% of the student body size specified in its charter. With fewer students covering fixed costs, the LAUSD School Board needs to pay close attention to the finances of the charter school to ensure that it will not strand families if there is an unexpected closure. The organization had already closed a second campus in Northridge before the charter term had been completed.
Ivy Bound updated its predicted enrollment to 180 students in its charter renewal request that is now being considered by the LAUSD School Board. Even with this reduction of 60 students, the charter school will be operating at 48% of capacity.
While under state law, charter schools must accept every student, Ivy Bound's website invites parents to "Apply", implying that there is a selection process. The LAUSD's Charter School Division is aware that multiple charter schools are using this inaccurate language, but they refuse to take any action that would force these publicly funded private schools to make it clear that all students are served regardless of race, income level, level of English proficiency or need for Special Education services.
The "exclusive" nature of the school is emphasized in its marketing materials. In a promotional video, the school's Principal states that "the special thing about our school is that you have to apply and go through the lottery system." Under the terms of the charter, lottery systems are only required if the school becomes over-enrolled. With the school currently operating at 36% of capacity, every student should be automatically enrolled.
One of the reasons charters hold an advantage in the competition with public schools is that the population is self-selecting. As the Principal states, having every parent "put [the] effort in and attend a lottery and just be a part of our school to come here" ensures that only "motivated" parents will enroll their children. This language overcomplicates the lottery process as the charter does not specify that parents are required to be at the physical location of the lottery.
While the LAUSD has required that the school take steps to ensure its enrollment process does not discriminate against poor families who may not have access to a home computer, these elements of the charter do not seem to be enforced. For example, the specification in the charter that "the website" notify families that they may come to the school to complete the electronic application". There is also no notification on the website "that all students are admitted unless there are more applicants than spots". The website also specifies contradictory deadline dates for the application, specifying January 31, 2025, in one spot and January 24, 2025, in another.
This apparent manipulation of the enrollment processes appears to have had real benefits to Ivy Bound. Of the ten charter schools that are currently being considered for renewal, it is the only one that trails the LAUSD in enrollment of all four at-risk groups. The most glaring is the percentage of Students of Color, which is almost half what the LAUSD enrolls:
According to the SARC reports filed with the State of California's Department of Education, the comparisons to the closest LAUSD school are even worse in three of the four categories. Despite Van Nuys Middle School being the assigned school for children in the neighborhood where Ivy Bound is located and only being 1.6 miles from its campus, the two schools serve vastly different populations:
By screening out students from at-risk communities Ivy Bound can avoid paying the costs for extra services that members of these groups are more likely to require. Having these children enrolled would help solve its lack of enrollment, but the school only seems to want to add students who are cheaper to educate.
The difference is exacerbated for children with disabilities as federal funding is not provided according to the number of students receiving special education services but by the total school population. This means Ivy Bound is receiving funds for services it is not delivering.
When considering the charter renewal for Ivy Bound, the LAUSD School Board needs to insist on receiving explanations for why the charter school is allowed to flaunt the rules designed to give all students equal access to its programs. If the charter is renewed, strict benchmarks must be established to ensure that the school's student body represents the demographics of the neighborhood it serves. If the school fails to meet the demographics, it must reimburse the District for the extra costs it incurs.
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