scclc.net

Thanks for all your efforts today!

We are now just a few days away from the start of school and today was the annual “CLC Campus Clean Up Day”—it was a HUGE success!!

First, a quick shout out to all of the alumni who came on campus to both visit and help out around the community. Summer, Claire, Analisa, and Ethan were just a few of the many alumni who came today. And, we were also fortunate to have Dominik Komareck show up to reprise his role as our “Technology Associate” for the day. Ben Sibrek, our new 5/6 Educator, commented on how extremely helpful Dominik was in setting up his computers and printer. Both Inga and Carol were excited to see some of last year’s 8th graders as well. They all contributed to the excitement that was abound all throughout the day.

To all of the parents who came on campus and helped all of our educators, a warm, “Thank you” for all that you did today. The courtyard looks sparkling, the garden is spruced, the classrooms are fabulous, and office is totally reorganized. And, the parents that helped out in the classrooms did a fantastic job. As I walked from classroom to classroom, the tables and chairs were all washed, the blinds were cleaned, and the whiteboard sparkling. Your efforts made a HUGE Difference today!

And, finally, to our educators who worked so hard and toiled alongside our parents to help get the rooms ready, your efforts and hard work on behalf of the kids in our community is truly exemplary. You make it so easy to do my job and I am so thankful that I have such a top-flight team of educators heading up each classroom. Educators are the single most important investment we can make in our school community. And, I think I can say with confidence that we are certainly getting a phenomenal rate of return on that investment!

I hope all of you get the chance to relax and enjoy that last couple of days of summer. Though your kids may not want to return to school, I am looking forward to seeing each one of them on Tuesday morning. Just as in previous years, I will be on the “curb” greeting those families who parade through the drop-off area on Tuesday morning. It is a pleasure to welcome all of you back to San Carlos Charter Learning Center as we enter our sixteenth year of operation.

Christopher Mahoney
Director, San Carlos Charter Learning Center

PS: Here's how I spent my summer vacation:

Dear San Carlos Charter Learning Center Community,

It is with much excitement  that we can announce that over the weekend, CLC reached its fundraising goal of $250,000!

On behalf of the CLC Community, I wanted to thank each and every one of you for the truly amazing effort you all put in to help make this happen and for our community to reach our goal!   As we finish preparations for this afternoon's ceremony to send off one of our largest graduating classes in the history of San Carlos Charter Learning Center,  I cannot help but stop and wonder at the amazement of this community and how it has pulled together over the last few years to help our school and our kids.  The money raised will go to help us continue to support all the great things that CLC has to offer. 

It truly is a time for celebration as well as a time to take stock of where we are as a community and to think about what the future of CLC holds for our children.  To me, this community is about generosity, deep respect, and a belief that a community can pull together in a time of real crisis. I am humbled by all that you have done this year to help us realize our goal.  The future of CLC has never looked brighter! 

Though we have thanked so many people for their efforts, I feel the need to give one last nod to both Michelle MacKenzie and Danielle Debrier who together helped to lead us on this effort throughout the Spring.  Their energy and dedication was truly inspiring and contagious!!   Again, to each of you who gave their time, pledged money,  gave of their energies and of their effort to run in the relay, I cannot say again how truly honored I am to be a part of this community. 

Congratulations to all of you for an AMAZING ACCOMPLISHMENT!!  It is time to celebrate!! 

--Chris

Christopher Mahoney
Director, San Carlos Charter Learning Center

750 Dartmouth Ave.
San Carlos, CA 94070
Tel: (650) 508-7343
Fax: (650) 508-7341
www.scclc.net

Chris Mahoney, Director of Charter Learning Center, and Michelle MacKenzie, a parent at CLC, were guests on Sam Van Zandt's "South Bay Sunday" Program this past Sunday morning at 6 AM.  Both Chris and Michelle talked about the upcoming "Spend 1 Day" campaign to encourage lawmakers to visit a local public school in their local district.  They also discussed the Charter School Reform Movement and CLC's role as the leader in California's Charter School Education Reform Movement.  Many education topics were discussed.

The interview is attached below.   Thanks for listening!

Attachments:

File	Description	File size	Last Modified
Spend-One-Day.mp3	Download and listen to the MP3 file here	6723 Kb	03/05/10 09:33

April 29, 2010

This letter was written by two veteran educators.  They wrote their letter to the parents of the learners in their classroom in support of equal funding for our school and in support of sending the message to State Representatives in California to, "Spend One Day" in a California public school.  We want California Congressmen to spend at least one day in a public school in their local school district so they can witness first hand hpow the budget cuts have devestated California's public education system.  CLC is the Oldest Charter School in California and is committed to ensuring equitable funding for all public schools in the state.  We will Run to Sacramento May 15-17 in support of this effort.  We want you to will join us on May 17 at 12 Noon on the steps of the State House in Sacramento and rally in support of public education for the children of California.

Dear Everyone -

Once again our school is proactively responding to the short-sightedness of the California educational budget. It is clear that many representatives in California do not understand the real cost of providing an education to the learners in California, but we do. We have an amazing program here! It is built on the concept of creating a rigorous and supportive educational community and believes in the importance of working collaboratively to face problems.

We truly value the SCCLC - We love being able to work here with the best teachers, teachers who seek out new and cutting edge ways to support learning and support a wide range of learners. We love being able to watch learners K-8 interact! The younger ones bring out the best in the older ones while the older ones inspire the younger ones.

Throughout our time at the SCCLC we have GROWN programs - we were one of the first schools in the district to hire a PE educator; we have grown a K-8 Spanish program, a library program, a seminar/FAB program, a parent volunteer program. We have actively sought out ways to continuously improve our curriculum and to support our educators in mastering their craft through professional development. 

It was heartbreaking to watch some of these programs shrink last year, and without our continuing efforts as a community, some programs are threatened to continue to shrink. But, if we work together, we can make anything happen!  We want the best possible educational experience for our kids!

Our school is an inspiring place and the learning program that we have been able to create has been fantastic despite receiving less federal and state money comapred to other schools in the area.   We have been able to do this because of our collective commitment and creativity, but also, ultimately, because people in the community are willing to give their financial support. As a community we understand what it costs to provide a creative, project-based, rigorous education.

This is why we have committed to running/walking 5 miles towards Sacramento and why we are working to plan a day of activities for our learners on Monday, May 17. We are also contributing financially to our Run 4 Funds!

Please help us. Visit the web site: http://www.active.com/donate/runforfunds2010/runIDavis or http://www.active.com/donate/runforfunds2010/runCDrace1and consider a pledge in support of CLC!

Many thanks!

Inga & Carol

(Inga and Carol our Educators at Charter Learning Center and have both been with the CLC Community since the school was founded back in 1994)