Re “No Surprise. No Support for ISPY Charter School on the Board.”
Describing last night’s turndown by the School Board as “a hiccup, nothing really,” Florina Rodov said she is “very confident” that when she and partner Jessica Jacobs petition the County to certify their proposed charter school, all blockage will be removed.
On “merit,” on the basis of “detailed, responsible” planning, Ms. Rodov said, they expect to win clearance for the virtual Innovatory School for Professional Youth to open in Culver City next September.
She was not surprised the School Board gave a cool reception to an online school for socio-economically disadvantaged students and for professional children.
“They feel threatened by us,” she said. “Considering some things we heard last night – their schools are losing students and therefore money – this may be why some people say the School District is okay but not stellar.
“This is what I have been saying in my articles (in this newspaper) the last couple of weeks.”
Ms. Jacobs and Ms. Rodov, both professional educators, said they are undeterred by their experience across the last eight months with the District and the School Board, where they did not find a single ally.
“We have a tremendous number of students from both populations who are interested in ISPY.”
Ms. Jacobs has worked extensively on sets, teaching child actors in the studio environment, and she hopes to channel them into the intended Culver City setting.
“Word-of-mouth has been working for months,” Ms. Rodov said. “Parents have been calling and emailing us (at ispycharter@gmail.com) with inquiries and interest.”
