Current mood:	energetic
Current music:	One Man Army - Our Lady Peace
Entry tags:	life, politics, sociology

Books everywhere!
The East Palo Alto Charter School was formed nearly a decade ago with the intent of ensuring that kids in the educational backwater of EPA would have a chance at being accepted to and graduating from college. Their library has held the same old books for a long time but a few months ago they were able to procure a ton of new books through a fundraiser. Today afternoon my Teamworks crew wrapped these books up in protective transparent plastic covers and labelled them by reading-level with colour-coded stickers. When we were done the principal talked to us about the successes the school has enjoyed as well as the challenges it faces.

Until now it has been a K-8 but last year the school applied to be a K-12 so that it could finally realize its dream of seeing kids graduate and go on to college. So far they have demonstrated significant success with testing scores about a third higher than the district average, thanks largely in part to an approach of consistently measuring and analysing the results of their techniques in order to improve them. A passionate and driven staff unhampered by union restrictions hasn't hurt them either. But sometimes too much success sparks an unhealthy reaction. The district school board denied their application to expand into a high-school on a technicality last year, although EPA currently lacks so much as a single high-school. Apparently there were certain misunderstandings that lead some board members to believe that expanding EPACS would deprive the other K-8s of funding.

But they have not given up on the dream and are determined to convince the board next month that making EPA home to a local high-school will be a win-win move.