A Press Conference was held in West Sacramento Gurdwara at 5 PM on August 6, 2011 to brief people regarding the opening of a charter school in their neighborhood. Sacramento Valley Charter School Board of Directors answered an array of questions about school’s programs, which would prepare students to compete and excel on a global level. In addition to English, Science, Math and American history, students will have the opportunity to learn Punjabi as a Foreign Language. Board members said that learning a foreign language helps in developing cognitive and critical skills which are necessary for a strong foundation in other subjects as well.
A Punjabi Non-profit group strongly supported by West Sacramento Gurdwara had initiated the proposal for a charter school. Chairman of SVCS Board of Directors Dr. Narinder Singh Dhaliwal stated that Principal of SVCS Dr. Michael Ettner is a very experienced and dynamic team leader. He is supported by highly motivated and experienced teachers. Board of Directors is committed to provide an excellent infrastructure to ensure smooth operation of the school. New building is a million dollar project which will soon be completed. School management board, however, will not interfere in academic matters. Principal will work independently for the success of the students. Dr. Dhaliwal said School will provide free transportation from Elk Grove, Antelope and Natomas areas.
The press conference was convened by Gurdwara’s Public Relation Bureau chief, S. Darshan Singh Mundy. Husan Laroya of Ajit Jalandhar, Jasjit Singh and Daljit Sra of Amrtisar Times, Gurjatinder S. Randhawa of Punjab Mail, Jagdev Singh of Panj Daria, Bhajan Singh Bhinder of Sikh Information Center attended the briefing.
First, Dr. Narinder Singh Dhaliwal, chairman of the board of directors illustrated how difficult the entire process was, and how community rallied the full support in fundraising, to meet the minimum requirement of $350,000. He mentioned the tremendous support of Gurdwara Management Committee. Dr. Dhaliwal appreciated the role of the President of the Gurdwara, Balbir S. Dhillon for his forward-looking approach. Principal Harjinder Mattu of Twin Rivers Unified School District was the main force in finalizing the proposal. He said he got maximum cooperation from Gurdwara Management Committee as well as from the board members. Director of Development, Surjit Singh, and Tirathpal Singh Sandhu, worked on building- projects. Prabhjot Singh Sethi provided support in Website development. Dr. Nazar Singh Chohan volunteered to assist in school admission and other matters. The important members of the Board of Directors, who couldn’t attend due to their preoccupation, were Attorney Amar Singh Shergill and Iqbal Singh Badwalz. Among others who attended were, Dr, Jasbir S. Gill , Dr. Mrs. Gill, Balwant Singh, Dhanna S.Khalsa, Jasbir S. Hoti, Bhai Harpreet Singh Jee, Baljit S. Hoti, and Kirpal Singh.
The admission is open for K- 6th grade. The school will start from August 15, 2011. Parents residing in West Sacramento, Downtown Sacramento, Antelope, Natomas, and Elk Grove Area are encouraged to enroll their children in Sacramento Valley Charter School.
Charter schools have been rapidly growing since Minnesota passed the first charter school law in 1991. California followed the suit in 1992. Currently, 1.8 million students are enrolled in 5000 charter schools nationwide. The popularity of the charter school programs is based on high expectations, academic excellence, and rapid success rate. A charter school assures access to quality education for all, accountability for results, innovative methods, professional development of teachers and community’s involvement in education. Once the charter is granted, the school has no choice other than to produce results. The charter is renewable only if students have academic achievements. According to California Charter School Association, California added 115 charter schools in 2010-11. “This is the largest one-year growth in charter school history in California and the nation”
President Clinton had set the target of opening 3000 schools by the year 2002. Subsequently, President Bush assured $200 million support to run the charter schools. President Barack Obama has gone one step further in proposing to partially replace public education with charter schools to achieve academic excellence at par with International standards. As reported by Huffington Post, President Obama asserted "The future belongs to the nation that best educates its citizens. We have everything we need to be that nation ... and yet, despite resources that are unmatched anywhere in the world, we have let our grades slip, our schools crumble, our teacher quality fall short and other nations outpace us."
A charter school provides free education to all like any other public school. The only difference between a public and charter school is that the latter has more accountability to the community. A charter school has to carve its niche by adopting result-oriented approach.
Comments