SAN MARCOS — Families at Baypoint Preparatory Academy in San Marcos are reeling after learning the small charter school laid off seven of its teachers last week, raising questions about the school’s future and the administration’s treatment of staff.
Frank Ogwaro, founder and CEO of the K-8 school of around 200 students, confirmed that the school had issued layoff notices to seven teachers earlier this month and that one other teacher was choosing not to return, with four of the school’s previous teachers being retained.
However, the number of staff no longer working at the school is a topic of contention. The school’s website lists 10 teachers and five academic coaches, and community members have stated that one other individual was laid off and others have since quit. The Coast News has reached out to the school for clarification.
Ogwaro said teachers were not laid off because of their performance but to ensure that the school’s direction was aligned with “what we promised the community in our charter petition.”
“Unfortunately, it’s a very difficult decision to have even one teacher change because there’s a strong bond amongst the community and the students. However, we have to assess the academic achievements of these students and whether their academic needs are being met,” Ogwaro said.
Teachers at the K-8 school reportedly received layoff notices during the first weekend in June. A group of these teachers provided a joint statement to The Coast News about the dismissal, asking to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation from Baypoint as they search for other employment.
The teachers said they are worried about how the mass layoffs will impact morale among students, families and other staff. They believe the firings occurred because some of them were pushing back against the “looping model” of teaching planned to begin next fall, which involves a teacher staying with the same group of students for more than one grade level.
“To say we were shocked is an understatement,” the statement said. “We knew there had been some tensions rising … However, we now know this had been planned for a very long time. They were not forthcoming with us regarding our letters of reasonable assurance (which we wanted early), which we now know is because they planned to let most of us go.”
Parents and teachers also said things started to become more difficult with the dismissal of the school’s longtime site administrator last fall. After that, teachers said they began to take on much more work and feel burned out.
“Everyone was maxing themselves out and expressing concerns that were not taken seriously. This has always been a pattern with upper administration that the previous site administrator seemingly shielded everyone from, and when they were gone, the dark side of Baypoint, the unsupportive side, came to light,” teachers’ statement said.
Several Baypoint parents, who also asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation, said they were devastated by the layoffs.
“These teachers are wonderful, and a lot of them took on new job duties over the course of the last year because they were told to, and they still got fired,” one mother said.
Panic about the layoffs proliferated online among community members, with some claiming that all the teachers had been laid off or that the school might be closing. The school sent an email to families on June 12 correcting this information.
Ogwaro rejected the suggestion that there could be retaliation and said he is supporting many of the dismissed teachers by writing letters of recommendation. He also stated that much of the criticism comes from a “vocal minority” of parents and teachers. (The Coast News has learned a private Baypoint chat group containing concerned parents currently has 52 members, representing a significant portion of families connected to the school.)
Ogwaro encouraged families with questions about the situation to contact him, although he clarified that the school could not comment on why particular teachers were laid off.
As of mid-June, the school had already filled some of the vacant teaching positions for next year.
“Of course, we have to deal with the challenges of the substantial change, but we do have a plan for the fall, and we do have highly qualified teacher candidates already hired,” Ogwaro said. “We’re excited for the staff that will be joining.”
Some families, however, have decided to leave. One parent highlighted a recent incident in which a student raised concerns about a substitute teacher in a sixth-grade class making her feel uncomfortable by being too close to her. According to the parent, the school did little to respond.
“I am transferring my children to another school as the administration and board have proven they cannot be trusted, and no one is providing any oversight,” one parent, who heard about the incident, said.
Ogwaro said the school responded immediately after hearing about the incident and that an investigation that involved reviewing camera footage in the classroom found the complaint unfounded.
Baypoint Prep has been operating in San Marcos since 2018 and was accredited by the WASC Accrediting Commission for schools in 2022. It was opened by many of the same individuals involved in Bayshore Preparatory Charter, a K-12 independent study school that also operated in San Marcos before closing to support the in-person Baypoint school.
Before opening the San Marcos Baypoint location, Ogwaro was also part of the leadership of another Baypoint Prep school active in Riverside County from 2015 to 2020. That school was ultimately closed to focus on the San Marcos location, he said.
Teachers are concerned about how students will fare next year with such a massive change.
“It shows their true character if they let so many seasoned teachers go like this without warning. Students thrive when they feel as though they are in a safe learning environment with teachers and staff who truly care about them. Teachers can create this environment when they also feel safe and cared for by the administration. Unfortunately, this seems to not be the case here,” teachers said.
2 comments
Please make sure your facts are correct, and you interview the broader population at the school. As mentioned in your article, you are probably getting you information from the vocal minority and possibly a staff member that was released. The student referred that had an issue with a 6th grade teacher is returning, and your statement is absolutely false. This is why no one trust news organizations, please don’t be one of them.
As addressed on Facebook, the story does not state that the student involved in the incident is leaving. The parent who was quoted as saying they are pulling their child from the school is someone who heard about the incident and was concerned with how it was handled. They are not the parent of the child involved.