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The thumbs-up came after Einstein Academy leaders changed their petition so students can choose to learn Hebrew, Arabic or Spanish for at least four years. Students will also have the option to study Greek or Latin as a secondary language.
The school is expected to open with grades seven through nine in the fall with 225 students. The academy, designed as a public college preparatory school, will grow to become a K-12 school.
Rabbi Mark Blazer of Temple Beth Ami, one of the academy’s founding members, stepped down from the Einstein Academy’s board, said Vicki Engbrecht, assistant superintendent of educational services for the William S. Hart Union High School District.
Blazer was not required to step down, but did so to show that the school is secular. Robert and Sandra Hershenson were made the new petitioners in Blazer’s place.
Wednesday’s approval of the two-year charter came with no opposition and marked the third time the charter school’s petition came before board members. The Hart district will also consider appointing someone from the Hart district onto the Einstein Academy’s board.
Following the vote, the Hershensons celebrated the school’s approval by giving Hart board members hats bearing the logo of the Albert Einstein Academy for Letters, Arts and Sciences.
Previous critics had questioned how the Einstein Academy, a public charter school, would avoid teaching religion and the relevance of teaching Hebrew to a student’s education.
A public hearing in February left board members deadlocked over the charter. Board member Gloria Mercado-Fortine recused herself from voting at all three Einstein Academy hearings because she provided advice to the charter school a year ago. Mercado-Fortine was not paid for her consulting work with the Einstein Academy, she said.
