Creative Minds - pros and cons?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Re: above ^^ MV and CM and who will expand into whose side... I said this in another thread, from going to both of their open houses, I strongly got the impression that while MV may want to move and CM may want to expand to MV's side, each school has the other plan as "Plan B", i.e. if MV doesn't move, they'll want to expand to CM's side, and if CM can't expand, they'll want to move.

That may not be very helpful, but it is important to be clear that until MV has a definite plan to move, CM's interest in expanding doesn't happen. And so far MV doesn't have a definite plan to move.

Well how long is the lease?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Re: above ^^ MV and CM and who will expand into whose side... I said this in another thread, from going to both of their open houses, I strongly got the impression that while MV may want to move and CM may want to expand to MV's side, each school has the other plan as "Plan B", i.e. if MV doesn't move, they'll want to expand to CM's side, and if CM can't expand, they'll want to move.

That may not be very helpful, but it is important to be clear that until MV has a definite plan to move, CM's interest in expanding doesn't happen. And so far MV doesn't have a definite plan to move.

Well how long is the lease?

I believe CM said their lease is up next year. Not sure on MV, did they sign leases that expire at the same time? And the thing is, if neither has found a place to move to, what happens when it's time to renew leases?

[Anonymous]

It's my understanding that MV has a growth strategy/plan that calls for more space more quickly than CM. CM is aiming for 2 classes of 15 students in each grade, which means that it will ultimate be a smaller school than MV. I believe MV actually bid on another space this year (which it didn't receive), so it's already operating under the assumption that it's trying to move. Of course, if CM for some reason decided to move, I assume MV might very well be interested in taking over that space.

I guess a game of chicken could happen, but I don't believe that's what either school anticipates...and they're operating in a very cooperative/collaborative manner at this point.

But this all still brings us back to the reality that they're both very new charters and all of our guesses about what will happen in the future are just that -- guesses. I know the uncertainty sucks (heck, I'm a parent of a child at CM, so obviously I have a vested interest in this issue), but it's the reality for many if not most charters in the city.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like it could get ugly - and real estate is going up weekly again. I hope they are collaborating on what they may do!

[Anonymous]

MV said today at their open house that their lease was up next year, so planned expansion/more classes would be for 2014-15 school year. They said that staying in the same space was possible but not what they wanted.

[Anonymous]

The peripatetic potential of these schools is their biggest drawback. We live near CM but decided against it knowing that they will move, fearing it will be inconvenient.

[Anonymous]

What kind of potential openings are there in the city? I am clueless as to where these schools would consider locating.

[Anonymous]

The trend seems to be for established schools in this area to move further North and East. Bummer if you live in the inner NW and commute downtown.

[Anonymous]

The trend seems to be for established schools in this area to move further North and East. Bummer if you live in the inner NW and commute downtown.

So true. We live in inner NW and commute downtown and I fear my school will move further North and East as others have done because although I am so happy with my school I don't think we're willing to commute any farther that we already do and at that point we'd probably move out of the city b/c my IB school isn't good.

[Anonymous]

Begs the question: why did they sell the old Stevens ES site instead of offering it to a charter?

[Anonymous]

MV is waiting to hear about Jf cook - if they get it, they will move there in 2014. If they don't, they will either open a second campus, or move to a bigger building that will accommodate their growth. They are committed to staying in Ward 1 - if they can afford it. If not, possibly Ward 4 with an eye towards being near WR campus.

[Anonymous]

JF cook is in Ward 5.

[Anonymous]

But about as close as you can find a decent size school near the NW right now - it would still be a huge commute for all of the families who are there right now IMO if they got it - way to far and busy to bike too (considering the verde part).

[Anonymous]

With charters and real estate, you get what you get.

[Anonymous]

In case that's where they end up, consider applying to Bancroft. Much higher % of native Spanish speakers, so your kid will pick up the language faster.