Charter school closing for good at end of year

GREEN VALLEY -- Itzcalli Academy, a local charter high school attended by about 62 students, will close down for good at the end of the current school year.

Charter schools are funded in the same way as traditional public schools--based on their enrollment numbers.

And while Itzcalli needs at least 101 students to break even, school officials are expecting only about 40 to enroll for the next term, according to principal Nestor Davila.

"Our enrollment has decreased consistently over the last three years, and the school is not longer able to sustain itself," Davila said Monday.

In June of 2001, the charter for what was then called Pimeria Alta High School was transferred to Tucson-based Calli Ollin Academy, Inc., an affiliate of the nonprofit advocacy group Chicanos Por La Causa.

The school had been founded seven years earlier by the late Sandra Potter, who gave Calli Ollin her charter because chronic health problems prohibited her from operating the school.

At the time of the transfer, the school had about 167 students.

For the 2004-2005 school year, Itzcalli had just 62 students enrolled, and more than 20 of those are expected to graduate this year, Davila said.

'The enrollment has declined since Calli Ollin took over," he said.

"The first year we had about 120 students, the second year we had about 90 to 100, and this year we had about 60."

Help from sister schools

Davila added that over the years, Calli Ollin's two other charter schools in Tucson--Calli Ollin Academy on Stone and Toltecalli Academy on Valencia--have been helping Itzcalli financially.

"Our sister schools have been carrying us through, but they are no longer able to do that," Davila said.

"We are very sad, but our board felt that we had no other choice but to close down."

When Potter ran the school, the curriculum was largely computer-based and self-paced.

When Calli Ollin took over, it took a more traditional approach to the curriculum, Davila said, adding that this might account for at least some of the drop in enrollment.

Last week, Davila sent a letter out to students' parents informing them of the impending closure.

A meeting will be held with students and their parents next Monday, April 25, 5:30 p.m., at the academy for those parents and students who have any questions, Davila said.

For many Itzcalli students, the alternative high school is a kind of last straw.

The academy has catered to students who have had trouble in more traditional settings, and some parents feel that shutting down the school will result in the remaining students dropping out.

Davila said that students interested in continuing their education will be able to transfer to Calli Ollin's two other schools, or else to The Edge charter school in Sahuarita.

Some of the students could also transfer to the more traditional Sahuarita High School or Rio Rico High School, he said.

"I don't think the majority of our kids are going to drop out," Davila said. "I think they are going to continue their education--we are telling students not to see this as the end of the world."

Five teachers and one administrator will also have to deal with the closure.

Davila said that some of Itzcalli's teachers will likely transfer to other Calli Ollin schools.

Sahuarita resident Lupe Gutierrez, whose 15-year-old daughter attends Itzcalli, told the Green Valley News Friday that she hoped to start a fund- raising effort to try to save the school.

To do so, she said, she'll try to raise some $500,000 to keep the school going through next year.

Gutierrez said that Itzcalli is "the only school that has been able to fit (her child's) needs."

"The school has an excellent staff that cares for the kids, and the kids are really upset," Gutierrez said.

She said she plans to speak about the fund drive at next Monday's school meeting.

thull@gvnews.com | 547-9732