Support FCUSD Students: Design Tech Charter is a Bad Investment

Folsom Cordova Unified School Board

All Folsom-Cordova Unified School District students deserve high-quality neighborhood public schools, and when we invest in resources, supports, and opportunities for our students, they thrive. Unfortunately, a Bay Area tech company, Oracle, is behind an effort to bring a 580-student charter school called “Design Tech High School” to Rancho Cordova that will not help our students thrive. Oracle is trying to take advantage of some Rancho Cordova parents’ desires for more high school choices for their students but based on their track-record in the Bay Area, Design Tech’s promises won’t pan out, especially for our English learners, female, and low-income students.

Our analysis of Design Tech’s proposal found numerous reasons why the FCUSD school board should reject this school’s petition, including:

  • Unimpressive Academic Outcomes: Design Tech boasts about their academic outcomes, but when we dug into the numbers we found that low-income Design Tech students scored a distance from standard in both ELA and Math (-56.3, -97.5) that is significantly worse than the statewide average (-30.1, -63.7), San Mateo Union High School District (where they are located) (-11.9, -81.3), and FCUSD (-31, -62.3).  
  • Wasting Public Funds FCUSD Has Invested in IB and CTE: FCUSD has recently invested considerable resources and time building an International Baccalaureate (IB) program and expanding our existing Career Technical Education (CTE) program to better serve all our students. Approving the Design Tech petition would waste taxpayer dollars the Board has wisely invested in our students by undermining internship opportunities for students in our CTE programs; replicating the Design Programs at Folsom High School, the Biomedical program and Project Lead the Way; and potentially undermining our budding IB program with a diploma that doesn’t hold the same value. Our Board talks a lot about “return on investment,” and approving this petition won’t accomplish that goal.
  • Poor Track Record of Enrolling English Learners, Low-Income, and Female Students:  Design Tech’s petition cites a study that found that “innovation in the US would quadruple if women, minorities, and children from low income families became inventors at the same rate as men from high income families.” However, Design Tech’s Bay Area School enrolls 10-20% fewer of each of these student groups than the district where they are located and FCUSD. In contrast, Design Tech enrolls 16% more white students than the district where they are located and 12% more white students than FCUSD. Design Tech doesn’t have a track record of serving all students, and that is unlikely to change in Folsom-Cordova.
  • Inadequate Supports for Vulnerable Students: Design Tech won’t provide adequate supports for students, and significantly fewer per student than Cordova High School. Design Tech’s petition allots zero Bilingual support staff (CHS has six, in three languages), fewer instructional assistants for students with mild/moderate disabilities, zero instructional assistants for students with moderate/severe disabilities, zero transitional assistants, and zero transportation services. Having fewer supports is not what our students deserve.
  • Negative Community and Fiscal Impacts for FCUSD Students: If approved, Design Tech could result in a loss of up to 30% of Cordova High School’s student body. Even if fewer students went to Design Tech, approval of the petition could mean significant cuts to the International Baccalaureate (“IB”) program, Career Technical Education (“CTE”) programs, and other supports and services that our students depend on throughout the District.

Please sign our petition to let the Folsom-Cordova School Board know that you oppose this charter school petition and instead want them to focus on ensuring Folsom-Cordova’s high schools are strong for all our students.

To: Folsom Cordova Unified School Board
From: [Your Name]

As members of the Folsom-Cordova community, we know that when we invest in resources, supports, and opportunities for our students, they thrive. This is why we're asking you to deny the Design Tech High School charter petition. We are concerned that Design Tech’s promises won’t pan out for our English learners, female, and low-income students, and that important investments the Board has made in CTE and the International Baccalaureate (IB) program will be wasted.

• Design Tech has unimpressive academic outcomes for low-income students at their Bay Area school: The numbers show that low-income Design Tech students scored a distance from standard in both ELA and Math (-56.3, -97.5) that is significantly worse than the statewide average (-30.1, -63.7), San Mateo Union High School District (-11.9, -81.3), and FCUSD (-31, -62.3). Why would we approve a school that only benefits privileged students?

• The Board’s smart investments in IB and CTE will be wasted: The FCUSD board often talks about “return on investment,” but approving this petition will harm your investments. Approving the Design Tech petition would waste taxpayer dollars the Board has wisely invested in our students by undermining internship opportunities for students in our CTE programs; replicating the Design Programs at Folsom High School, the Biomedical program and Project Lead the Way; and potentially undermining our budding IB program with a diploma that doesn’t hold the same value.

• Design Tech has a poor track record of enrolling English learners, low-income, and female students: The petition cites a study that found that “innovation in the US would quadruple if women, minorities, and children from low income families became inventors at the same rate as men from high income families.” However, Design Tech’s Bay Area School enrolls 10-20% fewer of each of these student groups than their local district and FCUSD. In contrast, Design Tech enrolls 16% more white students than the district where they are located and 12% more white students than FCUSD. Design Tech doesn’t have a track record of serving all students, and that is unlikely to change in Folsom-Cordova. We shouldn’t approve a charter that won’t serve all our students.

• Inadequate Supports for Vulnerable Students: Design Tech won’t provide adequate supports for students, and significantly fewer per student than Cordova High School. Design Tech’s petition allots zero bilingual support staff (CHS has six, in three languages), fewer instructional assistants for students with mild/moderate disabilities, zero instructional assistants for students with moderate/severe disabilities, zero transitional assistants, zero transportation services, and only one meal per day (CHS provides two). Having fewer supports is not a model for a successful school, and not what our students deserve.

For these reasons and more, we respectfully ask you to please deny the petition from Design Tech. FCUSD is making important investments in our students, let’s keep building the kind of district that all our students deserve.