AUSD Board approves Chipman charter

Photo Credit: The Island

The Alameda Unified School District Board of Education unanimously approved The Academy of Alameda Middle School charter proposal at its Tuesday night meeting.

The Academy, expects to open at the current site of Chipman Middle School next fall.

The Island reports, "It was not clear Wednesday where students in the Chipman attendance zone would go to school if they opted not to sign up for the charter. District officials did not return a call seeking comment."

The charter proposal was developed in response to Chipman failing to satisfy No Child Left Behind, the Bush initiated federal law that requires schools to meet targeted testing goals consequetively for four years, or be forced to close, go charter or replace teachers.

The school has an independent board that includes former State Assembly Member Wilma, former AUSD Superintendent Ardella Daily, former AUSD Trustee William Schaff, Alameda resident and blogger Lauren Do and current Chipman Middle School Principal Judy Goodwin.

If Chipman is replaced, it would be the second school on the West End to be replaced by a charter in the last five years. Longfellow Elementary School was closed in 2006 -- along with Woodstock and Miller Elementary Schools -- and a charter school, NEA, opened on its site this fall. The Bay Area School of Enterprise (BASE) also currently operates on the former site of Woodstock.

For more information about The Academy of Alameda, visit their website.