Update: Future Home of MSA Santa Clara

Update for all the wonderful Magnolians who worked hard to prevent a high performing school and above all, their community, MSASC, from closing for a year. You know who you are!

Thank you for all your hard work and unflinching support of the students and the school, from standing in rallies to attending late night SCCOE and SCUSD meetings. You ROCK!!!

Message from the school:

“Dear MSA Santa Clara Parents and Students,

We have great news to share with you; we have found a permanent school site and our board will vote on the new facility on Sunday, May 17th.

The address of the facility is 1161 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Sunnyvale.

Site Attributes

•30,000 SF of space available for MSA SC

•Easy access to highways 101 and 237.

•Adjacent to VTA Tasman Light Rail station and bus stations

•Large parking lot which can be partly used as an outdoor play area

•Secure campus with onsite drop off and pickup

•Onsite gymnasium

•Zoned Appropriately

•Adjacent to residential and commercial areas

•ADA Compliant, Sprinklered Building

We are currently working on signing a 10+ year lease and getting Magnolia board approval and are in contact with the city of Sunnyvale for planning and city approvals. The time line for the facility is:

•Sign Lease May 21, 2015

•Planning and Design June 27, 2015

•Receive City Approvals July 5, 2015

•Begin Construction July 5, 2015

•Complete Construction August 21, 2015

•Final Inspection and COO August 22, 2015

•Occupy the Space August 24, 2015

It is a tight timeline and therefore we have revised our school calendar to start on August 24th. Please find attached our new calendar:  MSASC School Calendar: 2015-16 “

Update: Apr 23, SCUSD meeting || Thank you for YOUR support || Photos

Thank you to all the parents and students who came to the SCUSD Meeting last week! You DID make a difference!

Some photos on the MSA-SC PTO Facebook page: Click HERE . And if you haven’t done so already, please  ‘LIKE’  the Facebook page while you’re there.

The principal, Mr. Ak’s update on the SCUSD Board Meeting and its decision:

“Dear MSA Santa Clara Parents and Students,

Last night the Santa Clara Unified School District Board of Trustees voted to not extend our lease at our current campus for the upcoming school year. While we are disappointed in the board’s decision, I would like to assure you that we are committed to remaining open, and we are actively exploring alternative campuses that meet our educational needs for next year.
The district’s board approved a motion that directs the district’s superintendent and staff to work with us to find an alternate site on a district campus. We plan on meeting with the district as soon as possible to explore this option.
Additionally, we are currently engaging in negotiations for a temporary campus that is not on district grounds, and which would serve us in the upcoming school year. As we explore both of these options, we plan to dedicate our time and resources to make sure that we choose a campus that best serves our community, as we continue to provide a rigorous, STEM-focused education to our students.
We will keep you posted on our efforts to secure a campus, and I am confident our high-quality program will continue uninterrupted in the coming years.
I would like to personally thank our parents, students, teachers and staff for their ongoing support and efforts to secure a campus for next year. I am so proud to call MSA Santa Clara my home and look forward to graduating our very first class next year.
Warmest regards,
Yilmaz Ak
Principal”

V. IMP: Come to SCUSD Meeting TONIGHT || Protests, Petitions, Politics || Put children FIRST!

TONIGHT is the night! After a long, frustrating, hard fought struggle- in the course of which we Magnolians learned a lot: support, solidarity, tears, ‘together we can’, protests, petitions, politics and the unfortunate fact that often the children are not placed FIRST but LAST; it comes down to this, we need to show up for the SCUSD board meeting TONIGHT. It could be the ‘Make or Break’ moment!! Let’s remind the SCUSD that our ‘Kids Count‘, too!

The last couple of board meetings, the Magnolia students and parents have asked the SCUSD board to put the Magnolia school lease extension on the agenda, and at the last meeting President Gonzalez said that MSA-SC would be on the Agenda for tonight. Click for Agenda

So, show up tonight, stand together tonight, speak up tonight! Let us make our presence count, let us show our support.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.
– Margaret Mead

WHAT: SCUSD Board Meeting

WHEN: Thursday, April 23, 2015. Meeting runs from 5 pm onward. Please come by 6:15 pm at the latest. You’re welcome to come earlier.

WHERE: Board Room, Santa Clara Unified School District Office (Google Maps), 1889 Lawrence Road, Santa Clara 95051

WHAT TO DO/ BRING: Please come prepared with a 1 minute speech. (If you do not want to talk, show up for support! ) Have a good snack before to make sure you have the energy to speak and to stay till the end 🙂 Bring another small snack, some water, a book or something to do as we may have to wait till the end of the meeting. Bring your positive attitude 🙂 Wear your UNIFORM! 

SEE YOU TONIGHT!

Kids count!

IMP: MSA-SC is on the SCUSD meeting agenda this Thursday, April 23! We need YOU to be present to show your support

Hello Magnolians,

MSA-SC is finally officially on the agenda this Thursday, April 23rd at 6:30 pm.

We, the Magnolian community, current and future students, need YOU to be there to show your support for the requested one year school lease extension at the current facility.

In the end, it’s as simple as that- just SHOW UP!

Thank you!

SOS_Save Our School

MSASC students and parents unitedly wait at a board meeting

SCUSD needs to show, as the BOTTOM LINE of their existence, they care about CHILDREN!! Board Meeting TONIGHT!

Never Give Up! The new/ old motto for Magnolians fighting to keep MSA-SC up and running next academic year- to keep a high quality educational choice open for their kids, and other kids, now and down the road…. children who would not get the chance to attend a school which lets them stretch their boundaries, STEM or otherwise.

The children look forward to YOUR support TONIGHT! We will be there at every SCUSD meeting till they put the MSA-SC lease extension on the agenda AND then extend the lease- it’s NOT about SCUSD POLITICS, it’s NOT about POWER BLOCS, it’s NOT about Various LOBBYISTS, it’s about the LIVES of OUR CHILDREN!!

SCUSD needs to show that they care about EDUCATION, they care about parents; eventually, as the BOTTOM LINE of their existence, that they care about the CHILDREN!!

Thank you to the speakers who spoke at the SCUSD March 5th meeting

MSA-SC community speaking at SCUSD meeting, March 5, 2015

WHAT: SCUSD Board Meeting

WHEN: Thursday, April 9, 2015. Meeting runs from 5 pm onward. Please come by 6:15 pm at the latest. You’re welcome to come earlier.

WHERE: Board Room, Santa Clara Unified School District Office (Google Maps), 1889 Lawrence Road, Santa Clara 95051

WHAT TO DO/ BRING: Please come prepared with a 1 minute speech. (If you do not want to talk, show up for support! ) Have a good snack before to make sure you have the energy to speak and to stay till the end 🙂 Bring another small snack, some water, a book or something to do as we may have to wait till the end of the meeting. Bring your positive attitude 🙂 Wear your UNIFORM! 

SEE YOU TONIGHT!

Kids count!

Mercury News article talks about MSA-SC’s Fight for Facilities

Read the Mercury News article on how charters including MSA-SC are being squeezed out of  San Francisco Bay Area facilities: Click here

Excerpt from the article:

Santa Clara Unified spokeswoman Jennifer Dericco , “….. We need to take care of Santa Clara Unified students first,” she said.

But charter parents point out that they, too, are district parents — who simply have chosen an alternative permitted under state law.

Please take a moment to share this article (http://bit.ly/charterSF) by Sharon Noguchi of the Mercury News with your mailing lists (friends, families, other people interested in education), corporate distribution lists and social networks (Facebook, Twitter etc) and also ask them to sign and then share our PETITION:  http://bit.ly/extendMSASCpetition

Let’s work together to make this happen!!

Students from the Magnolia Science Academy rally outside the Santa Clara Unified School District Board Meeting, March 5, 2015. Magnolia hopes to get an extension for its lease so that they can find a permanent facility. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

REMINDER: SCUSD Board Meeting TONIGHT| The students & the school need YOU!

Time to wade out into the breach again. MSA-SC community members, thank you for your support in trying to keep the school and the community intact, alive and existing. Your support has and will make a difference. Many of you have asked what else you can do or when you should show up again at SCUSD  (Santa Clara Unified School District) meetings.

Well, the time is here again! We invite you to come stand with all of us, together, to show our solidarity. Again, every person, parent, student, teacher who shows up does make a difference!

“One person can make a difference, and every person should try.”
― Thomas E. Cronin

WHAT: SCUSD Board Meeting

WHEN: Thursday, March 26, 2015. Meeting runs from 5 pm onward. Please come by 6:15 pm at the latest. You’re welcome to come earlier.

WHERE: Board Room, Santa Clara Unified School District Office (Google Maps), 1889 Lawrence Road, Santa Clara 95051

WHAT TO DO/ BRING: Please come prepared with a 1 minute speech. (If you do not want to talk, show up for support! ) Have a good snack before to make sure you have the energy to speak and to stay till the end 🙂 Bring another small snack, some water, a book or something to do as we may have to wait till the end of the meeting. Bring your positive attitude 🙂 Wear your UNIFORM! 

SEE YOU TONIGHT!