TO: State Board of Education
TO: State Board of Education
RE: Ridgecrest Charter School
We are writing this letter in support of the continued accreditation of Ridgecrest Charter School. As the parents of eight children and as an educator, we have been very happy with the education our children are receiving at RCS. The teachers have consistently worked hard to provide a solid educational environment where standards are taught and supported and academic outcomes are rigorously pursued while staying mindful of the best interest of each individual child. The administration maintains open communication with parents and students, and it appears that the faculty is well supported in their efforts to teach our children.
We are aware that we live in an educational environment driven by standardized testing as the major measure of academic progress. However, we are also very aware of the failings of such comprehensive testing measures to accurately and effectively indicate the individual learning that takes place or to describe the learning environment that is created to facilitate such progress. Standardized testing does not take into account a whole host of factors that affect learning outside the classroom walls. It would be remiss to close the doors of a school based on data that is not entirely current and is questionably accurate.
As a college professor, the students I see that come from the homeschool and charter communities in this area consistently have a higher level of academic skills, including the ability to engage in self-motivated and self-directed learning. Their ability to problem solve and think creatively are skills that are often sadly lacking in their traditional school counterparts.
Education does not have a one-size fits all solution. School choice is essential to the well-being of an educational system and revoking this charter would limit that choice in this area. We would like to urge the Board to continue to support the Ridgecrest Charter School. Please feel free to contact us for a more detailed discussion of our experiences with this school. We would be happy to discuss our experiences further.
Sincerely,
Deborah Kilburn
Professor, Computer Science
Cerro Coso Community College
dkilburn@cerrocoso.edu
Dr. R. Steven Kurti
Research Physicist
China Lake NAWS
steven.kurti@navy.mil
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