THOUSAND OAKS : Board to Consider Alternative Classes

After rejecting a similar proposal last year, Conejo Valley school board members are again considering whether to open alternative classrooms where elementary school students can learn at their own pace.

District staff members are recommending a study to determine how many parents are interested. The program could begin next fall at Conejo Elementary School in Thousand Oaks. Board members will vote on the recommendations at a Nov. 12 meeting.

The plan calls for starting with kindergarten, first- and second-grade students, and expanding in subsequent years to include kindergarten through sixth-grade pupils.

“We will find ways to make it work,” board President William H. Henry Jr. said at Thursday night’s school board meeting.

Parents suggested in the fall of 1990 that the district establish open alternative classrooms like those offered in Ventura, Santa Paula and Camarillo. But members voted against the plan, citing the cost and lack of classroom availability. Now, officials say space is available at Conejo Elementary School.

“I hope this isn’t just the politically correct thing to do, but a new step for choice for students,” said Berta Hurley, who was active with the parents group that first proposed the idea.

Many of the parents at the meeting said they are now teaching their children at home or have placed them in classes led by “open-minded” teachers.

A group of parents called the Conejo Open Alternative School Task Force (COAST) is planning to meet at the Newbury Park Library at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 2 to discuss related issues.