As reported in the Az Star, the prestigious Charter School Basis Tucson is considering opening another school in our community near the Innovation Park area.
It is this area that presently houses Oro Valley's biggest and best Hi Tech Bio companies, such as Sanofi-Aventis & Roche, parent company of Ventana Medical Systems.
We know that the top management of these companies have concerns about the educational system in the state of Arizona, and in particular, Oro Valley.
Michael Block, co-founder of the school is reported to have said he is exploring partnerships with firms that conduct business in Oro Valley to make the school a reality.
Voilà! We already have a solution to this potential problem. A prestigious Charter School wants to be here. The executives in Europe from some of these major pharmaceutical companies want better education for their workers.
What more needs to be said?
Read the Star article here.
http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/304473
7 comments:
Who's Viola? Is she a teacher at the school? ;-)
IF, you have ever substitued at CDO or Ironwood Ridge.....you would understand the need.
Yes, Ferlin,
The AZ school system does not attract the highest and most qualified because they are not willing to pay for talent!
CDO and Ironwood Ridge have some superb classes and some not so superb. This is to be expected in a state where education is terribly underfunded.
I'm glad I did not spend my time and talents as an educator in such an unsupportive system!
After having read the comments of Mayor Loomis relative to the hows and wheres of a 'Basis' charter school if it were to be located in Oro Valley, I have to agree with most of his comments relative to certain expressed criteria by the founder(s) for which he appears to express caution.
While the 'Basis' schools are rated very high nationally, I question that companies like Ventana Systems and the Critical Path Institute seemingly think that this would be a school for 'them' or that the owner(s) of this school think that said school would be advantaged by being in the vicinity of Ventana Systems and/or other Innovation Park entities.
This school, like any charter school, has a curriculum which encompasses not just science but the arts, literature, history, and virtually all other facets that are required and offered in public schools. It is their approach to the teaching that PERHAPS excel. NOW, given that and, as well, the fact that the students are 'out of there' after completion of the 12th grade and that most probably the students will go on to Colleges and Universities scattered throughout elsewhere, what certainty is there that our OV 'science hub' will inevitably benefit from it?
Now, if a private companies like Ventana Systems, Sanofi Aventis, et al wish to give monies to assist with the realization of this school, so be it. BUT, AS FOR A PUBLICLY FUNDED NON-PROFITS LIKE THE CRITICAL PATH INSTITUTE (ONE OF THE RECEPTORS OF AN OV DONATION) GETTING INVOLVED, THIS BECOMES A SLIPPERY SLOPE BECAUSE THEN TAXPAYER MONEY BECOMES INVOLVED AND THAT COULD RAISE QUESTIONS RELATIVE TO CERTAIN LEGALITIES. I WOULD SURMISE THAT A TOWN'S GOVERNMENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN ANYTHING OTHER THAN 'MORAL' SUPPORT COULD LIKEWISE OPEN A LEGAL CAN OF WORMS.
I personally believe in a student having the option of attending a charter school; taxpayer money and
Town (taxpayer) assistance in the form of a 'physical' gratuity? NO! NO! NO!
More educational choices in OV are desirable, but as previously mentioned, having the Town help subsidize such endeavors is questionable.
While AZ lags in education spending, OV public schools statistically stand out, not just in the state, but nationwide.
CDO and IRHS have received some impressive accolades as of late. Some cursory research led me to these Wikipedia sites detailing some info that I recommend other readers peruse to understand the state of education in OV.
CDO: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canyon_del_Oro_High_School
IRHS: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironwood_Ridge_High_School
boobie-baby---- I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that "viola" "aint no more."
Glad to see you got the full value of the posting!
VOILÀ!!!
Hello Art,
I met you not to long ago out my front door handing out flyers.
I seen this post and cannot help but respond. My son is currently a student at Cross and was assaulted by another student. Assaulted so bad in fact he had to miss school for almost a week. The schools that are in this area are hard schools for our children to attend. The staff pays no mind to the character of their student or the safety. My sons injuries were ruled as an "accident" when I and most involved know that it was intentional, due to the fact this was not the first time this has happened to just my son! I think that a charter school in the Oro Valley area would be a fantastic addition to our community!
They have smaller class sizes and pay more attention to their student’s behaviors while providing feedback to the parents about progress or concerns!
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