The Oakland Military Institute, the charter school opened by Mayor Jerry Brown last August, is having a tough first year. The seventh-grade curriculum chosen by the school has turned out to be too difficult for the students; nearly one-third of them scored D averages and wound up on academic probation. Despite the strict discipline provided by the National Guard, a small group of students routinely disrupts class. And the school day was cut back from 7:30 a.m.- 6 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and from six to five days a week due to burnout among staff sergeants who act as classroom mentors all day. But the leaders of the school are rolling with the punches, according to an article by reporter Meredith May. Classes in basic skills have been added. Students on academic probation attend Saturday school, evening tutoring sessions four times a week, and classes during holiday breaks. Students with behavior problems are separated into a separate platoon until their attitude improves. While many students are struggling, only a small number have quit or been kicked out. Daily attendance, which includes lining up in formation at 7:45 a.m. with shoes tied, is 96 percent, and parents and students seem willing to do what it takes to catch up. For more see "After 6 months, Oakland military charter school finds students must do double time to catch up," by Meredith May, San Francisco Chronicle, February 10, 2002.
