SAN MARCOS — The California State Board of Education has agreed to renew Baypoint Preparatory Academy’s charter petition for a period of seven years, ensuring the school’s continued operation after the San Marcos Unified School District denied the same request last fall.
Baypoint has been operating in San Marcos under a charter granted by the State Board of Education since 2018, with 188 students currently enrolled in grades TK-8 at its campus on East Carmel Street.
With the school’s current charter set to expire in July, the school began seeking renewal from local educational agencies this past year. State code required Baypoint to start by asking the local school district, San Marcos Unified.
In September, the San Marcos Unified Board of Trustees voted unanimously to deny Baypoint’s charter petition, citing substantial fiscal and governance concerns. The school then appealed the decision to the state.
At a March 11 meeting, the State Board of Education (SBE) reached a starkly different conclusion from the school district, opting to renew Baypoint’s charter for seven years rather than the recommended five-year period, citing its exceptional academic performance.
“There are very few times when a school can be approved for more than five years, and this is one of them,” said SBE Board Member Sharon Olken.
Baypoint leaders, along with several parents and students, spoke at the SBE meeting in support of the school and urged the board to renew its charter. After the meeting, they said they were thrilled by the decision.
“Our students’ hard work and commitment, the dedication of our great teachers, and the support of our families all contributed to this achievement,” the school said in a press release.
SBE members said the decision was based on Baypoint’s high academic performance and the fact that the school has been in good standing with the state for the past seven years.
Of the 1,300 charter schools in the state, only 135, or 10%, have been classified as high-performing for three consecutive years, and Baypoint is one of them.
Baypoint qualifies as a high-performing charter school because student scores for math and English language arts exceeded the state average for the past two years. The California School Dashboard also shows accelerated growth in math and English language arts among students.
While state code allows presumptive renewal of Baypoint’s petition just based on its academic performance, California Department of Education (CDE) officials said they also carefully reviewed the school’s enrollment projections and its financial history and projections.
Baypoint projects a large increase in enrollment over the coming years after a major decline in the last two school years. Enrollment dropped from 237 students in 2023/24 to 162 students in 2024/25.
Baypoint is projecting enrollment of 238 students in the next school year, followed by 274 in 2027-28 and 316 in 2028-29.
These projections sparked concerns for San Marcos Unified, which said Baypoint had overestimated its attendance to inflate anticipated revenue. The district also shared doubts that the school would be able to pay off the debt financing it is seeking for its expansion if the enrollment increases don’t materialize.
However, SBE did not appear to share these worries. The board concluded that the school is fiscally sustainable, noting that Baypoint has reported reserves of $1.7 million this year, equal to about 56% of its expenditures.
“The growth they are projecting is large, but also we’ve been working with this school for seven years as their oversight entity, seen enrollment fluctuations in the past, and they do have adequate reserves should these projections not pan out,” said Ric Reyes, director of the California Department of Education’s Charter School Division.
Baypoint CEO and co-founder Frank Ogwaro said the drop in students after the 2023/24 school year was due to programmatic changes that were unpopular at the time, but have ultimately “served students academically at a much higher rate.”
A major change was the implementation of a looping model for grades one through five, in which teachers follow the same group of students over multiple years. Teachers and staff were also charged with implementing various before- and after-school programs, including tutoring and the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP) enrichment programs.
Other changes included: having students in grades 6 to 8 rotate classes by core subject; driving instruction based on data from iReady, an online reading and math assessment program; pivoting to internal rather than push-in science instruction; and facilitating various interim assessments.
“Baypoint’s success is further strengthened because of the dedicated and extensive experience of our teaching and student support teams,” Ogwaro said.
In 2024, around the time of some of these changes, the school also laid off half of its teaching staff, sparking criticism and backlash from some families. However, this was not mentioned during the SBE meeting.
Ogwaro also addressed a concern shared by San Marcos Unified leaders last fall, about Baypoint’s board of directors allegedly holding a meeting without a proper quorum. He said the issue was not a lack of quorum but a different interpretation of the teleconferencing requirements, and that the board reconvened to address it after being made aware of it.
Baypoint parent Suzanna Mondragon said the charter renewal means the school can help more students who have struggled in the public school system. She said her son, now a third-grader, was labeled a “problem” in public school and felt he didn’t belong.
Since coming to Baypoint, she said he is supported academically, emotionally, and socially, and is now “confident, engaged, and genuinely happy.”
“Knowing Baypoint has been approved to continue for the next seven years is incredibly meaningful. It means more families like ours will have a place to turn when they feel like there are no options left,” Mondragon said.
Nelly Hernandez, who has two children at Baypoint, said they chose the charter school over other schools closer to their home because of the caring teachers, staff, and leadership.
“The care, guidance, and support they provide to students and families is something special. The staff is dedicated, and it shows the way they support our children both academically and personally. Our family is grateful for everything Baypoint Academy has done for our boys,” Hernandez said.
A handful of students also spoke at the meeting, highlighting Baypoint’s positive environment and programs they love, such as theater and archery.
“I love Baypoint, because it encourages students to try new things and believe in themselves,” said seventh grader Caliya Pendergrass.
SBE designated the San Diego County Office of Education as the chartering authority for Baypoint.
