By Brian Park
After issuing a statement in December publicly exonerating Oxford Preparatory Academy of allegations that teachers at the charter school helped students cheat on state standardized tests, the Capistrano Unified School District Board of Trustees did so again at their meeting Monday.
“I think it’s important as a district we apologize to Oxford,” Superintendent Joseph Farley said. “This is a strong instructional program with a very high API score that it earned.”
In its inaugural year, OPA, the south Orange County branch of the Chino-based charter school, achieved a 993 out of 1,000 Academic Performance Index score—the highest mark in the district and the second highest in the county.
Both the district and the school conducted their own investigations and found no credibility to the allegations.
OPA’s Chairman of the Board Bob Kuhnert asked trustees to provide the school a copy of the final investigation conducted by T. Davis and Associates.
“Just as OPA released results of their investigation to CUSD and the public in good faith, we ask the board to reciprocate in good faith,” Kuhnert said.
The trustees agreed to agendize the item for their next meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, January 23.
