BUSD amends Pathways charter

The Bonsall Unified School District (BUSD) sponsors Pathways Academy Charter School (PACS) and is thus responsible for the oversight of the charter.

Any changes to the charter prior to its renewal must be approved by the school district. A 4-0 BUSD board vote July 14, with Lou Riddle absent, approved changes to the PACS charter.

"What we're doing is making sure that the whole charter situation is becoming tighter," said BUSD superintendent Justin Cunningham.

"There's a lot of scrutiny that is coming into charters," Cunningham said. "We have to make sure that all of our legalities are paid close attention to."

In May 2015 the BUSD board voted 4-1, with Riddle apposed, to approve the petition to authorize PACS along with the PACS five-year budget and a memorandum between the Bonsall school district and PACS on the provision and funding of special education services. The five-year charter covers the period from July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2020, with potential renewal contingent upon Pathways submitting a renewal petition to the district between September 2019 and January 2020.

The Pathways model is a hybrid approach which allows students to take college requirement courses on-line with qualified teachers while focusing on the students' individual pursuits and passions. Students work at their own pace and have the option to accelerate their academic progress. Rather than using textbook-driven curricula with technology serving a supplementary role, technology-based curricula and educational on-line tools are fully integrated into the Pathways learning model. Standards-based curricula are enriched with electives and 21st-century skills electronic learning classes, and career technical education pathways are available for students interested in a trade.

Each student has a personal learning pathway with personalized learning time comprised of core instruction, weekly planning sessions, collaborative learning, and exploratory learning time. The courses have flexible hours and meeting days, which allows for additional learning time without additional cost. The Pathways program has an operational capacity of 3,000 students, and if space is available, traveling students may attend any learning center or participate in a lottery for available space.

The charter reflects the specific locations of the learning centers and thus needed to be amended due to changes. "We had to address which schools were actually part of Pathways Charter," said Cunningham.

The amendments also reflect the presence of a board for PACS. "We revised it so they were included," Cunningham said.