California Collegiate

I’m writing to share news that some, perhaps many, of you already know: California Collegiate Charter School permanently closed on June 30 of this year, after our charter renewal was denied by LAUSD and the Los Angeles County Board of Education.

Our school’s closure after five years was heartbreaking for many reasons, but perhaps most of all because we were doing some of the best work we’d ever done. We weren’t only achieving tremendous academic growth, outperforming our neighborhood schools and being ranked in the top 20% of similar schools across the state. We were engaged in the deep work of building a truly excellent school. In California Collegiate’s last two years in particular, our team worked relentlessly to better shape our school to our students’ needs, and to build a wholehearted community that could support students and teachers in building meaningful relationships, provide students with rigorous and relevant curriculum, and embed a responsive and restorative approach to harm and conflict throughout the school.

The work was by no means done, and we spent much of our time from May 2020 on reckoning with some of our past choices and working toward becoming a truly antiracist institution that could offer our students the comprehensively excellent education they deserve. Much of my work and reflection these days includes gratitude and apologies--gratitude for those who pushed us early (even when I wasn’t a very receptive audience) and apologies to all those impacted by detentions and demerits and my, at times, dangerously narrow view of education. I will be forever grateful to our students and our staff for their vulnerability and initiative in driving this growth forward. Sadly, our work was cut short.

Why? The answer is both complicated and simple. Was it charter-district politics? Yes. Was it the COVID-19 pandemic? Yes. Was it because of the design of AB1505, which took effect last July? Yes. Was it because we moved campuses twice in two years? Yes. Was it because we made mistakes, especially in our early years? Yes.

Ultimately, it was the combination of all of these forces: the global pandemic, a new state law, two campus moves in as many years, charter-district politics, and the typical challenges of start-ups together made our path to renewal far more difficult than we had hoped.

Our story is a story of perseverance and failure and growth and redemption. We worked every day to make California Collegiate a better school than it was the day before. We were blessed to work in South LA, one of the most amazing communities in Los Angeles, and to have incredible students and families who came to us as they were, hoping for something better and ready to work with us to get there. I cherished every moment that we spent together, whether it was moving a dumpster across a parking lot to clear space for dodgeball, watching our 6th graders write persuasive essays on whether Confederate monuments should be removed, running down the street to break up a fight after students texted me for help, singing “To the left, to the left” with our 7th graders as we navigated a number line, walking for hours with a student in crisis and helping them get back to baseline, listening to students lecture each other about sustainability and overfishing, learning more than I ever wanted to about Zoom bombings and cyber security, watching 8th graders confidently follow Winston Duke at our Black History Month celebration to deliver their extraordinary poems, and seeing the excited faces every time a new requested book came into our school library.

And so, to all of you who helped make our school a reality in one way or another--thank you. My hope is that you can hold two truths simultaneously: our school’s closure is devastating and unfair--and we did tremendous work in the past five years that cannot be undone. From where I sit, it was worth it.

- Sue Andres-Brown, Founding Head of School

Attention 8th graders!!

Mark your calendars. We cannot wait to celebrate you during your last week as an 8th grader.
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¡Atención estudiantes de 8vo grado!

Marquen sus calendarios. Estamos ansiosos por celebrarlos durante su última semana como estudiante de octavo grado.

Don’t forget! Cafecito is tomorrow at 10am! As usual, all grade level families are welcome and we will provide lots of opportunities to ask questions.

See you tomorrow!
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No se le olvidé! Mañana a las 10am es nuestro cafecito con la directora. Como de costumbre, las familias de todos los niveles de grado son bienvenidas y brindaremos muchas oportunidades para hacer preguntas.

Nos vemos mañana!

With less than 2 months left in this school year it is extremely important that you know where your child will attend next school year. If you missed out during last week's presentation or need more support we are here to help.

Join us tomorrow April 13th at 4pm to get help with applying or get a list of recommended schools. Use Zoom ID: 834 8242 8635
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Con menos de 2 meses restantes en este año escolar, es extremadamente importante que sepa dónde asistirá su hijo el próximo año escolar. Si se perdió la presentaciónes de la semana pasada o necesita más apoyo, estamos aquí para ayudarlo.

Únase a nosotros mañana 13 de abril a las 4 pm para obtener ayuda con la solicitud u obtener una lista de las escuelas recomendadas. Usar ID de zoom: 834 8242 8635

We are partnering with different schools in the area to make sure our students have a school for next year. Please DO NOT WAIT! Attend one of these sessions and get information on how to enroll your student.

If you need individual help please do not hesitate to reach out to the office 323.450.7290, Ms. Gomez-Ramirez 323.975.0950 or Mrs. Andres-Brown 422.332.8530.
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Nos estamos asociando con diferentes escuelas en el área para asegurarnos de que nuestros estudiantes tengan una escuela para el próximo año. ¡NO ESPERE! Asista a una de estas sesiones y obtenga información sobre cómo inscribir a su estudiante.

Si necesita ayuda individual, no dude en comunicarse con la oficina 323.450.7290, la Sra. Gomez-Ramirez 323.975.0950 o la Sra. Andres-Brown 424.332.8530.

Worried about where to enroll your student next school year?

We are working hard to make sure all of our families have a school to enroll in. Please join us at any one of these meetings to get more information and help about local charter schools accepting California Collegiate Charter students.

If you are unable to attend or need one on on assistance please call the office at 323-450-7290 or call Ms. Gomez at 323-975-0950.

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¿Le preocupa dónde inscribir a su estudiante el próximo año escolar?

Estamos trabajando arduamente para asegurarnos de que todas nuestras familias tengan una escuela en que inscribirse. Únase a nosotros en cualquiera de estas reuniones para obtener más información y ayuda sobre las escuelas autónomas locales que aceptan estudiantes de California Collegiate Charter.

Si no puede asistir o necesita asistencia, llame a la oficina al 323-450-7290 o llame a la Sra. Gómez al 323-975-0950.