New Charter School Proposed for Watsonville

There may soon be a new charter school in Watsonville, the Escuela Xochitl Tonatiuh. The school, proposed by Teresa Robinson of Los Gatos, is planned for 85 students and would be intended to help middle-school students avoid getting involved in drugs and gang violence.

But Robinson’s school still has a bumpy road ahead of it before it is approved by the Santa Cruz Board of Education. The county is hesitant about endorsing charter schools, and the single charter school, Pacific Collegiate, was only established by the county after the city of Santa Cruz rejected the proposal.

They are also skeptical of Robinson herself, and claim that she should have gone through the Pajaro Valley Unified School District first. Then there is the question of Pathfinder High, a charter school in San Jose that Robinson helped found in 2005. The school was dissolved exactly two years later because of a severe lack of funding. Board of Education officials are asking for further information about whether Robinson played a role in the financial collapse of that school. Trustees of the former school support Robinson’s claims that she left Pathfinder in 2006 over disagreements with other school officials.

Robinson, who has an M.Ed. in Educational Counseling, says that the proposed new school’s objective is to help young people at risk, who nevertheless show potential. She says she has the support of many other teachers and counselors in Watsonville, who recognize the need for such a school. One of these is Antonio Rivas, an educational counselor in Watsonville and a member of City Council. He will have to help convince Dana Sales, President of the Board of Education, who has gone on record as being “less than enthusiastic” about the new school’s prospects. Read more at the Mercury News.