Published in the Sept. 16-29, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
Paige Cisewski
It’s hard to believe Charter School of Morgan Hill is entering its 15th year of operation. It seems like yesterday that a group of parents and educators joined together to write the first charter. This original group had a dream of opening a school that focused on project-based learning, parent involvement and community interaction. They also believed in the importance of educating the whole child.
In the past 15 years, the school has grown from 167 students to 620. We have gone from begging people to take a chance on the school during the first year to maintaining a waiting list of students. Charter School of Morgan Hill moved from its original home in the Thrifty store (now the Dollar Tree) to the Encinal campus a few miles north of Morgan Hill.
Throughout all the growth and change, however, the school has remained true to the original mission and vision of the founders.
Project-based learning is a hands-on learning approach that gives students an opportunity to take learned skills and apply them to meaningful projects. It provides students an opportunity to create knowledge for themselves based on their own experiences.
Students are encouraged to explore, experiment, discover, reflect upon and share their knowledge with others. Students are able to develop and demonstrate critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, social and communication skills, and cooperative learning which will prepare them for the 21st century.
In addition to traditional core classes (English language arts, math, science and history/social studies), CSMH students in grades kindergarten to eighth participate in classes such as Spanish, physical education, music, art, leadership, nutrition and agriculture science. These classes are taught by teachers with a specialty and love for their particular area.
Charter School of Morgan Hill is a public school. As a charter school, we must submit a renewal petition every five years.
In August of this year, CSMH submitted to the Morgan Hill Unified School District its renewal petition. On Sept. 1, the MHUSD Board of Trustees held a public hearing. The CSMH community overflowed the Live Oak High School theater and wrote hundreds of e-mails to the trustees to show their support for the school. On Sept. 29, the board will hold a special meeting to vote on the renewal petition.
During the public hearing, current and past students, parents and community members highlighted various aspects of CSMH’s program.
Common themes in all of their speeches were the school’s successful academic and enrichment programs, high quality staff, and strong sense of community. In addition, parents from special education also spoke about how CSMH serves all students and works as a team to meet their individual needs. Another parent spoke about the diversity at CSMH and the growth in Latino and English learners on campus.
A staff member highlighted the fact CSMH has always valued the whole child and there has never been a “teach to the state test” mentality. Two of our graduates described how the skills students learn at CSMH help them thrive at our local high schools.
As one of the school’s founders, I am still amazed every day by CSMH’s accomplishments. Yet, there is always room for improvement, and we continually seek better ways to teach all students. As a school community, we are always progressing, developing and learning. I admire our staff’s willingness to grow as professionals, to implement new instructional practices and how they genuinely care for every student.
I am so lucky to be able to watch students thrive daily. As I walk around campus, I witness their excitement while they discover something new. The children share their harvest from the garden with me or the applesauce they made from the school’s apple trees.
I get to observe from my office window the kindergartners playing hockey or attempting to jump rope.
Visiting classrooms, I witness students persevering through math problems and working cooperatively in teams. I have the privilege of crying with students when they tell me about a family member’s illness and celebrating with them when they share their latest accomplishments.
Once again, I am reminded of how fortunate I am to work in a place where we value each other’s uniqueness and treat one another like family. Morgan Hill at large, too, is part of this family and I believe that by teaching so many of its children with love and innovation, we are a positive force within the community.
Paige Cisewski is the executive director of Charter School of Morgan Hill. She wrote this column for Morgan Hill Life.
