Just in time to perhaps soften the thud caused two weeks ago by LAUSD’s new and drastic permit restriction policy, comes first-year Palms/Culver City Magnolia Science Academy6 for middle school-aged students.
A public charter school just north of Venice Boulevard on the edge of Downtown, part of a Southern California franchise of public charter schools, the founding president of Magnolia’s parent group is so infectiously enthusiastic about his discovery, he felt obliged to declare a disclaimer.
“I am not an employee of the Magnolia Science Academy, and I have no affiliation with them aside from my son attending,” says young Zig Gauthier, a television executive with strong Culver City ties. “Our school largely services the Culver City community. I am a Carlson Park homeowner, and it’s just a three- or four-block walk everyday for my son.”
Settling into a comfy chair in his brightly illumined, busily buzzing Santa Monica office, Mr. Gauthier (GO-tee-ay) shortly sounds like a one-person recruiting machine. A visitor can unlax. The immensely prepared, precise, disciplined father brings a volcano of vigor and pertinent data in his mental briefcase.
“The school is in the process of being licensed for grades 6 through 12,” he says. “They launched in September with grades 6 and 7. The plan next year is to increase to 6-7-8, rolling out one new grade each year. Eventually, there will be two campuses so that the middle school and the high school will maintain a level of separation.”
Q. What attracted Mr. Gauthier to the new school?
“My son was in the sixth grade in Culver City Middle School last year, and he did very, very well. I am a big fan of Culver City Middle School as well. But there is something to be said for smaller schools and smaller class sizes. They did make the guarantee that the class size would not increase higher than 25. All of the students wear uniforms. The teachers are excited to be there.
“More importantly, it is a structured academic learning environment. Knowing it is a little more structured than what larger schools can offer, is important for me in terms of my son’s experience there.”
Q. What does structure mean to you? Curriculum, principally, or something else?
“A few different elements. Uniforms are an element of structure. They take away a lot of peer pressure and negativities that traditionally are associated with going through that age. The core curriculum at Magnolia is more academically focused than a lot of schools. Their goal is to not necessarily to expand arts and humanities programs, but rather to focus on more traditional academic core classes.
“There is a theme with the school that is a combination of leadership, character and college. Even at the sixth, seventh and eighth grades, they are getting exposed to academics with a long-term goal in mind.
“They have after-school programs five days a week. The curriculum, tone and structure of those programs is more academic than at most other public schools in the area. For me, those things together create a more desirable learning environment.”
(In an aside, Mr. Gauthier said he hoped “I am not overdoing it because I really, really love the school.”)
Q. Is there an accent on studying science at the Magnolia Science Academy?
“It is too new for me to judge how much the focus is on science. What I clearly have observed is the overall focus on academics. It is less about science and more about core academics, with science, math, English language arts being part of it.
“There are two sixth grades and two seventh grades, for a total of between 75 and 100 students.
“Remember, it is a charter school not a vocational school. With that in mind, they have done well in managing and incorporating computers and technology. The fact is that in addition to traditional solids, they have a standing daily computer class for every single student. That is really important today to academic achievement, and to lay a foundation for down the line.”
Q. When you decided to leave Culver City Middle School, were you more seeking to leave a concept or environment, or were you more attracted to what Magnolia offered?
“Both. Culver City Middle School does a good job. My son had a very good experience. He got good grades. He really liked it. But, it has 1500 students. When you have that many, and you have to manage the entire school and manage the economics, and take all these factors into consideration for such a large group of students, it is difficult. Change is slow. Evolution is slow. Improvements are a little bit slow. There are so many battles to fight, so many complexities to deal with on a day-to-day basis. All of that was a concern for me.
“Couple that with the fact I went to a small school in Northern California with 100 students. My K-through-8 had 60 students. My Dad always taught me small schools can provide a much better personal experience. Going from a school with 1500 students to one with maybe 100, that made it worth the risk for me.”
(To be continued)
Magnolia Science Academy6, 3754 Dunn Dr., a half-block north of Venice Boulevard, between Clarington and Hughes avenues. See http://palms.magnoliascience.org.
Mr. Gauthier may be contacted at zig_gauthier@yahoo.com
