School district may have a chink in its armor

The papers say that enrollment in Conejo Valley Unified School District is down because of changing demographics due to high home prices. There's no discussion that part of the cause of declining enrollment is an increasing number of families opting for private schools, charter schools, alternative schools or home schooling because their needs aren't being met by CVUSD.

These students must literally number in the thousands. CVUSD is losing millions of dollars because they won't or can't meet these families' needs.

One teacher with a CVUSD program was so desired that each year parents lined up on the first day of open enrollment to ensure a spot for the following year. Last summer, that teacher left the district due to intolerable politics.

This year, 40 percent of the parents in that program transferred their children into a neighboring district after the beginning of the school year so their children could be with this unique and gifted teacher.

Several new charter and alternative schools have opened in the area in the last few years. Just this year Las Virgenes Community Learning Center and Camarillo Academy of Progressive Education (CAPE) opened. These schools and many local private schools exist because there's a demand for alternative education in the area.

Home schooling is a growing national trend, with more top universities and colleges admitting these students every year. There are hundreds of home schooling families in the Conejo Valley.

Las Virgenes and Somis are working with many of these families to meet their needs. When CVUSD launched its own home school program, they disregarded the solicited input of other districts and home schooling families. The CVUSD home schooling program failed.

Educational needs are changing. Concerned parents will find a way to give their children the education they desire for them. CVUSD must evolve to stay competitive. Closing schools is a reaction to the perceived problem, not a solution.

Now is the time to work on a plan for our schools. The old paradigms are no longer good enough for these rapidly changing times. Aimee Freeman Newbury Park