Conditions, such as those described above, make it difficult or impossible for these students to continue their formal education. Daycare, which would allow a young mother to stay in school full-time, is beyond the reach of most of these young women. The work hours of those who have dropped out of school for economic reasons are rarely synchronized with school hours. The state education code virtually forces schools to exclude those students who can not attend full-time. It requires a minimum of 240 minutes/day of attendance in order for schools to collect attendance apportionment for students. Independent study, in which students do a full week’s worth of work at home and come in for an hour each week to review these assignments with an instructor, demands a level of study skills and self-discipline which experience has shown many young people do not possess. Adult education is organized in a fashion which is far more in tune with the living situation of many of these students. As a society, we recognize that adults may or may not be able to attend school full time and that some adults will finish their education more quickly than others. Unfortunately, we have had to tell many out-of-school youth who find themselves in adult situations, that they must put their education ‘on-hold’ until they turn 18 and can be accommodated by adult education.

KW2000A is intended to recover and serve out-of-school youth and to provide a safety net for those who are at risk of dropping out of school. KW2000A shall not operate in such a way as to impair the functioning of existing Kern High School District programs and schools.

KW2000A classes will offer an educational program leading to a high school diploma. The program will allow young mothers to attend at times when they might be able to draw upon their families and friends for daycare. Extending this opportunity will challenge the families, the friends, and the communities of young out-of-school mothers to provide the childcare needed for these students to continue their education. Late afternoon and evening classes will be offered four days per week and some Saturdays. These classes will be offered along the lines of the current adult school model, a model with broad acceptance in the community. Each class will be a minimum of 180 minutes in length requiring students to enroll in two classes for a total of 360 minutes per day four days per week. While not every class will be open entry, the program will be run on an open entry basis with regular entry points and with the individual student’s enrollment date taken as the start of his or her attendance/apportionment year.

RESOURCE ALLOCATION

KW2000A student enrollment and average daily attendance (ADA) will be sufficient to pay its personnel costs (salary and benefits), instructional supplies, district administrative and oversight costs, contribute towards the upkeep of instructional materials, equipment, instructional technology and facilities which it uses. KW2000A and other Kern High School District programs shall operate in concert to best serve the District, community, and its youth. KW2000A and existing programs, including Bakersfield Adult School, will share resources to better serve the educational needs of youth and adults. Acquisition and placement of technology resources shall be done in such a way as to increase the ability of existing schools and programs to serve their constituencies as well as to provide facilities for enhancing and enriching the instruction available to students involved in KW2000A. KW2000A will pay fair share costs towards the use of Kern High School District facilities and services. In doing so, it will benefit all students in the District by allowing fixed costs to be amortized over a larger enrollment base.

PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING

KW2000A will use established methods of instructions currently in use by the district’s traditional high schools, continuation schools, and Bakersfield Adult School. The staff will also work on honing these approaches and infusing technology into them along the lines of the following principles:

Learning should be an active process that demands full student participation and pedagogically valid work. Students need to make choices, accept responsibility, and become self-directed.

Learning should be goal-oriented and connected to the real world, so that students understand the applications of what they learn in school to their outside lives and communities.

Learning should be measurable, diagnostic, and reflective; providing continuous feedback to students and parents. It should encourage students and train them in self-evaluation. Assessments should be used as a tool to develop better teaching and learning strategies.

More students than ever before need to be educated to higher levels so that they can compete successfully in the increasingly technological job market and participate in our democratic system. Schools must prepare students who know how to gather, organize, and analyze information and then apply it to solving a problem. Industry expects graduates who can work collaboratively with others in this arena.

PROGRAM EMPHASIS, ADMISSION, AND TARGET POPULATION

KW2000A will be a special program within the Kern High School District. It is not intended to be a comprehensive high school offering services to all students. Special Education services for KW2000A students will only be offered at the Ruggenberg Career Center. Traditional school-day retention programs such as those offered by opportunity, independent study, and continuation schools do not fall within the mission of KW2000A. Students who would benefit from or who desire those programs will be referred to appropriate district sites. KW2000A and other Kern High School District programs shall operate in concert to best serve the District community and its youth and will share resources to better serve the educational needs of youth and adults. KW2000A Governance Council and staff will prepare a yearly program prospectus detailing:

1. anticipated modes of program delivery
2. anticipated sites where instruction will take place
3. anticipated staffing profile
4. anticipated budget priorities and program initiatives
5. areas in which Kern Workforce 2000 Academy will contract for services with the Kern High School District.

All services will be contracted for from the Kern High School District on a fair-share basis derived by determining a per ADA cost for District services and multiplying this cost by the ADA served in KW2000A.

Student participation in inter-scholastic athletics, performing vocal or instrumental programs, or other like activities associated with the comprehensive high school will not be available to students in KW2000A. No student will be denied admission on the basis of physical handicap, gender, place of residence, or racial or ethnic origin. KW2000A will be non-sectarian and will not charge tuition. The primary criteria for admission will be made through the media, through contact with youth-oriented community agencies, and through the other programs of Kern High School District.

CURRICULUM, DIPLOMAS, AND CERTIFICATES OF COMPETENCY

Strong academic preparation is essential for preparing students for a future of lifelong learning, an economic future of “learn to earn.” All students will be required to complete a rigorous program equivalent to that offered at the comprehensive schools sites in core academic areas of English, math, science and social studies. Efforts to develop infused curriculum approaches incorporating academic disciplines in career-oriented, hands-on activities will be encouraged and funded through course development stipends. The involvement of certificated, subject-area credentialed teacher leaders will ensure that any such efforts be pursued with curricular integrity. All students will be responsible for meeting the KHSD graduation requirements. KW2000A will participate in the state standardized testing program. A total of 220 units will be required for graduation. With the concurrence of the principals of individual Kern High School District campuses, KW2000A will offer students the option of earning their diplomas from their original high school. This would allow students who have had to drop out of regular school programs the ability to see their work with the KW2000A as an organic continuation of what they had begun at their original high school and would be a significant motivation for students to continue to make progress towards their diplomas. Students without an original high school identity would earn a “Kern High School District” diploma.

ACHIEVEMENT & EVALUATION

Students enrolled in the program will make progress towards graduation in terms of earning credits in both required and elective courses. The KHSD graduation requirements will be the templates for KW2000A students. The KW2000A School Site Committee will work with Academy staff, business, industry, and community groups as well as with the school site instructional leadership of the District in reviewing assessment requirements. The instructional staff of the school through the KW2000A School Site Committee will determine means of assessing student mastery of the curriculum included in the State Standards for the various subject areas of English, math, science, social studies and other areas offered within the curriculum. KW2000A will participate in state assessment testing programs applicable to regular high school students. Other means of assessment may include portfolios of work and other measurements as the KW2000A School Site Committee deems appropriate. .

GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE

KW2000A, as a community effort to extend the range of educational opportunities and improve the effectiveness of overall education in the area, must have a governance structure which gives voice to all with a stake in this effort. The Kern High School District Board shall in all cases retain oversight and control over KW2000A. Subject to board review and approval, governance shall be the function of a Kern Workforce 2000 Academy Governance Council (KW2000AGC) reflecting not only the commitment of teachers, administrators, and parents involved in the KW2000A, but also the commitment of District administration and of the community of teaching professionals within the Kern High School District.

The day-to-day operation of KW2000A will be under the administrative direction of a director selected through standard Kern High School District administrative hiring procedures. The KW2000A director shall formulate program direction and budget plans with the agreement of the KW2000AGC consisting of the director and seven members with each member serving a one-year renewable term. Implementation of such program direction and budget plans is subject to the majority approval of the KW2000AGC. This council will consist of the following members each of whom shall be given one vote on the KW2000AGC:

The Director

Four teachers selected by the Kern High Faculty Association, from the Kern High School District staff with preference given to KW2000A teachers.

One parent representative nominated by the director and approved by the Kern High School District. Two community representatives nominated by the Director and approved by the Kern High School District.

The KW2000AGC will meet on a monthly basis to discuss and approve curriculum priorities and development projects, assessment procedures, budget priorities, marketing of and recruitment for the program, regulations regarding student control and behavior, community complaints, working conditions, utilization of instructional resources and avenues of liaison with the community and with various institutions of higher education. The KW2000A will provide substitute teachers for the purpose of attending KW2000AGC meetings as necessary. Special meetings of the KW2000AGC may be called by the director or a majority of the KW2000AGC. In addition to the program prospectus discussed previously, the Council will present an annual programmatic audit to the Kern High School District Board of Trustees. This shall include major program initiatives, budget reports and projections, and reports on the progress of students in the program as measured by various tests, by attendance and dropout rates, and by other means as deemed appropriate. The Kern High School District will hold harmless members of the KW2000AGC for actions taken while carrying out the duties of the KW2000AGC. In the case of deadlock on the KW2000AGC or if the Director feels that a KW2000AGC decision is contrary to the best interests of the constituencies served by KW2000A, the Director may take the issue to a panel composed of the superintendent or designee and the KW2000A president or designee who may break the deadlock or reverse the decision if the panel votes 2-0 to do so.

Kern Workforce 2000 Academy Governance Council Members will receive an annual $1000 stipend for serving on Kern Workforce 2000 Academy Governance Structure. Such stipends shall be adjusted annually commensurate with other Kern High School District stipends.

STAFFING: QUALIFICATIONS, EVALUATION, & COMPENSATION

All administrative and teaching staff will be required to hold the appropriate, valid California credential for their assigned positions. KW2000A shall contract with the Kern High School District Personnel Department for all services relating to hiring personnel. All KW2000A teachers will be hired through the Kern High School District Personnel Department according to all applicable laws and current practice in the Kern High School District. All instructors shall be hired on a part-time basis along the lines of current adult school practice. Preference in such employment will be given to Kern High School District teachers. Part-time instructors will be compensated at the Bakersfield Adult School hourly rate. Any teacher from within the district may apply for employment in KW2000A.

The issue of return from service in KW2000A to a regular position in Kern High School District is not relevant under this charter; all instructors in KW2000A will be concurrently teaching in Kern High School District regular programs or in other public school positions. Participation in evening or Saturday employment by certificated staff currently working at other school sites will not affect the job security of that staff member in the Kern High School District. The existing Bakersfield Adult School practice of evaluating the enrollment level of each class to determine whether that class should continue or be dropped will be followed in KW2000A.

KW2000A shall fund one full-time administrative position to be compensated according to placement on the Kern High School District administrative pay scale. Such compensation shall include all benefit packages currently available to other administrators in the District. Administrative sick leave and vacation will continue to accrue regardless of movement between the District and KW2000A. Part-time administrators may be hired to supervise evening and Saturday programs where necessary and will be compensated at a rate equivalent to current Bakersfield Adult School practice.

KW2000A will contract with existing Kern High School District programs for classified services.

The template for evaluation of KW2000A staff will be current practice in Kern High School District.

ENSURING HEALTH AND SAFETY

All KW2000A employees will be required to meet the normal Kern High School District requirements for hiring as they relate to issues of health and safety. Except as recommended by the KW2000AGC instruction and approved by the Kern High School District Board, all instruction will take place at sites which comply with Field Act requirements as set for school buildings or meet the waiver requirements of the State Allocation Board. All students will be required to agree to abide by the student discipline code of the Kern High School District as required of all other students. Additional behavior policies may be implemented as determined by the KW2000AGC and confirmed by the Kern High School District Board.

RACIAL/ETHNIC BALANCE

KW2000A will not restrict enrollment on a racial or ethnic basis and will make outreach efforts towards all significant racial and ethnic groups. Based on the overall racial and ethnic profile of student dropouts and of recovered students in the Kern High School District, the program as a whole should not exceed the 70% total minority enrollment guideline for determining racial isolation at Kern High School District sites. If the program does exceed these parameters, KW2000AGC will make a report to the Kern High School District Board on efforts which have been made towards outreach throughout the community to bring the benefits of this program to the full spectrum of students needing them.

FINANCIAL AND PROGRAM REVIEW AND OTHER SERVICES

KW2000A will contract with the Kern High School District for services including, but not limited to, budgeting, an annual financial audit, payroll services, maintenance and operations, and instructional resources that are provided for the regular schools in the district. KW2000A will also contract with Kern High School District for services to insure a safe, healthy, and secure working environment. The Kern High School District Office of Research and Development will assist, under contract, with necessary evaluations of programs as needed according to the charter or as determined essential by the KW2000AGC and Kern High School District Board of Trustees.

STUDENT CONTROL

KW2000A will provide appropriate security and supervision to insure that its classes are conducted in a safe and controlled setting. The Kern High School District’s policy on drugs, weapons, and other discipline issues will constitute the student control template for KW2000A. KW2000A will have a zero tolerance policy on drugs, weapons, and serious or ongoing disruption. Any violation of the current Kern High School District policy on drugs or weapons will be an expellable offense handled under the current District policy for comprehensive and continuation campuses (see addendum, Kern High School District expulsion policy). Serious or ongoing disruption shall be handled by referring the student to on-site supervisors for counseling and, if necessary, suspending attendance privileges for that student. The KW2000AGC will review discipline and control procedures for appropriate modification.

ATTENDANCE ALTERNATIVES

Students who find that they prefer not to remain enrolled in KW2000A once they are enrolled have various alternatives:

1. Returning to their regular school of attendance, if they are eligible to do so.
2. Attending Bakersfield Adult School if they are beyond the expected age of graduation as defined by their regular school of attendance or if they are beyond KW2000A stipulated age of attendance, 14 through 19. Students who were 19 at the start of their attendance year may finish out that year before transitioning to Bakersfield Adult School.
3. Attending Kern High School District independent study programs under referral from the regular school of attendance.

No student will be involuntarily transferred to KW2000A.

LIABILITY

Employees assigned to the charter school shall be covered by liability insurance pursuant to E.C. 35208.

TERM

This charter shall commence 7/1/05 and end 6/30/10. Upon the recommendations of the KW2000AGC this charter may be recommended to the KHSD Board of Trustees for successive two-year terms.

TERMINATION

This charter may be cancelled at any time by the Kern High School District Board of Trustees, or by a vote of 66% of the KW2000AGC. On request of the Kern High Faculty Association or upon recommendation of the Superintendent, the Board of Trustees will terminate the charter at the end of the second year of operation.

AMENDMENTS

Amendments to this charter for legal compliance shall be recommended by the Kern Workforce 2000 Academy Governance Council to the Kern High Faculty Association and KHSD Board of Trustees for approval. Any amendments which relate to pay or terms and conditions of employment shall be subject, in addition, to negotiations with the Kern High School Faculty Association.