Denali Transition Information

We continue to update this information on a regular basis 

Status notification

On January 11th, 2023, we shared all the information we have about the status of Summit Denali. Denali has operated at a deficit since it opened, and while we have worked diligently to close the fiscal gap, there is not a sustainable financial path for Denali to continue operation after the 22-23 school year. The Summit Public Schools Board is the only body that can make a decision to close the school. We anticipate that the Board will have to close Denali at the end of the year, so we are trying to responsibly prepare for that outcome given there is not enough money to operate Denali next year, and we have not been able to identify a pathway to securing enough money to do so next year or in the future years


The Summit Public Schools Board of Directors will meet in a Special Meeting on March 2nd, 2023 to consider the closure of Summit Denali at the end of the 2022-23 school year.  Board meeting information is available on the Summit website.

General Information

How to Apply to Transfer to Another Summit School

Students entering  grades 10, 11 or 12 next year may choose to transfer to another Summit school. As we have shared, every Summit school has its own charter and so there is no internal transfer process available. However, we are working to make it as smooth as possible and help any student for whom continuing at another Summit school is reasonable to do so. We also know that having some certainty about the future is important so we have been able to accelerate the transfer grade process at Summit Tahoma, Summit Prep and Summit Everest. 

Summit Transfer Application Dates:

Parents of those interested in applying should go to summitps.org/enroll and click on the appropriate link to complete an Intent to enroll application. You can apply to one or more Summit schools at the same time by selecting all of the schools that you are interested in. Once you have submitted your application you will receive a confirmation email and you can expect more specific information from the individual school(s) to follow. We ask you to respond promptly to any follow-up questions from our enrollment teams so they are aware of your intent to transfer to another Summit school.

Contact Information for those interested in other Summit schools:

Summit Tahoma Contact:  Community Engagement Manager -Janne Nguyen  jannguyen@summitps.org

Summit Prep Contact: Community Engagement Manager - Jacqueline Garcia  jgarcia@summitps.org

Summit Everest Contact:  Community Engagement Manager: -Laura Sanchez lsanchez@summitps.org


List of Other Schools to Consider

Taking into consideration our students and their education needs, we have compiled a list of educational options that you may consider outside of your traditional district schools. This is a living document so refer to it often. We will also be posting school open house and enrollment information on Konstella as we receive it. December through February traditionally is open enrollment time for many of the schools in our area.

Middle School Information

Middle School Transcript & Report Card Request

Reach out to Cata Fuenzalida, the Middle School Director of Operations at cfuenzalida@summitps.org, for any progress report, report card, or transcript request you may have. 


Middle School IEP & 504 Request 

If you require a current copy of your child’s 504 or IEP, reach out to both our Executive Director Dr. Bowman at -cbowman@summitps.org and copy our Diverse Learner Specialist Jean Miller at - jmiller@summitps.org.  An electronic copy/pdf will be sent as soon as possible. 


Middle School Recommendation Requests

Families can request recommendations from teachers and admin directly via email. Typically, it takes us 5 business days to respond to requests. If you have more urgent requests, please connect directly with Carisa Bowman cbowman@summitps.org.


Students who plan to transfer to a non-Summit school may find this transfer letter helpful. It provides information about Summit Denali’s model, the classes students take as well as context about how our credits are granted. Once you have specific information about what the school you’ll be transferring to needs, our team at Denali and partners in the home office will support you in whatever ways we can. 


High School Information

High School Transcript & Report Card Request

Reach out to Alvaro Loza, the high school director of operations at - aloza@summitps.org  for any progress report, report card, or transcript request you may have. Please be aware that this process can take us between 1-5 days internally depending on demand.


High School IEP & 504 Request

If you require a current copy of your child’s 504, reach out to Karla Guerrero, dean of Culture at - kguerrero@summitps.org. An electronic copy/pdf will be sent as soon as possible. 


If you’re looking for information regarding your child’s IEP, please reach out to your child’s case manager: Deanna Mesa (dmesa@summitps.org), Maxine Cheney (mcheney@summitps.org), or James Rozman (jrozman@summitps.org) 


High School Recommendations Request (for new high school applications)

Families can request high school recommendations from teachers and admin directly via email. Typically, it takes us 5 business days to complete these requests. If you have a more urgent request, please reach out directly to Laura Zado - Lzado@summitps.org. 


Students who plan to transfer to a non-Summit school may find this transfer letter helpful. It provides information about Summit Denali’s model, the classes students take as well as context about how our credits are granted. Once you have specific information about what the school you’ll be transferring to needs, our team at Denali and partners in the home office will support you in whatever ways we can. 



If your student is a current 11th grader and interested in securing letters of recommendation for college applications, we will coordinate that process with all 11th graders later this Spring. If you have specific questions about college letters of recommendation, please reach out to Karla Guerrero, kguerrero@summitps.org


Contact Information for those interested in other Summit schools:

(See also General Information section)

Summit Tahoma Contact:  Community Engagement Manager -Janne Nguyen  jannguyen@summitps.org

Summit Prep Contact: Community Engagement Manager - Jacqueline Garcia  jgarcia@summitps.org

Summit Everest Contact:  Community Engagement Manager: -Laura Sanchez lsanchez@summitps.org

FAQs

Updated 3/1/23

Understanding Denali and Summit Financials

Through our many conversations over the past seven weeks we have learned that there continue to be misunderstandings about the state of Summit Denali’s finances. These misunderstanding are contributing to additional confusion, misguided expectations and harm for Denali and other schools in the Summit network. 

This financial walkthrough was designed to specifically respond to many of the questions that we have been asked and help our community understand the actual need for Denali to remain open and why our Home Office is unable to meet that need. 

Q:  Who makes this decision? Is this a final decision?

A:  The Summit Public Schools Board is the only body that can make a decision to close the school. We anticipate that the Board will have to close Denali at the end of the year, so we are trying to responsibly prepare for that outcome given there is not enough money to operate Denali next year, and we have not been able to identify a pathway to securing enough money to do so next year or in the future years.


Q:  What are the options for our children? What are you going to do to support us?

A:  One potential option for some of you is to join another Summit school community. Tahoma High School is in San Jose and Summit Prep and Everest are in Redwood City. All would welcome your students. If those schools don’t work due to location, or grade level, our team will do all it can to help you be aware of and facilitate the process of moving to a new school. 


Summit Middle School options are unfortunately located in the East Bay, however; 

there are some outstanding public charter and private school options in our area. Please refer to the list of educational options. 


Q:  How do I apply to another Summit school for next year?

A:  To apply to another Summit school for next fall, Parents/guardians should go to summitps.org/enroll and click on the appropriate link to complete an Intent to Enroll application.  You can apply to one or more Summit schools at the same time by selecting the schools that you are interested in. Once you have submitted your application you will receive a confirmation email and you can expect more specific information from the individual school(s) to follow.  We also encourage you to stay in close communication with your Denali staff so they are aware of your intent to transfer to another Summit school.


Q:  What are you doing to support students on the Denali campuses?

A:  Each school site has been engaging in additional support efforts to support our students and families during this difficult time. We wanted to emphasize that the Denali teachers and administration are very available and willing to chat with, process with, and support our community – both over email, in person, and over the phone. We are in this together. Please know we’re just a phone call or email away. See below for some of what we’ve done to support our students: 



If there is more we could be doing generally, or perhaps for your student specifically, please don’t hesitate to reach out. While we imagine that this news has impacted trust, we hope that families believe us when we say that we have never been more committed to finishing this school year as strongly as we possibly can. Please continue to partner with us. 


Q:  Are Denali employees losing their jobs?

A:  Denali is fully funded through the end of the school year, and will continue to operate, so no one is losing their job right now. It is highly likely that Denali will not be in operation next year, and so we would like to find new Summit homes and roles for current Denali employees. The best way to do this is by transferring to another school/team. Site Executive Directors and home office team leaders are working to identify open positions and post vacancies asap, so that anyone interested in transferring for SY23-24 is able to do so quickly.


We can anticipate that Summit employees who do not transfer by April 15, will likely be notified at that time that they are being laid off for next year in accordance with the CBA.


Q:  How can students/families/teachers talk with the Board?

A:  Any communication our community wishes to send to the Board is welcome.  Communications can be sent to every board member by emailing -  CABoardofDirectors@summitps.org


Q:  Why are we just learning about this now in January?  

A:  Denali has faced financial challenges for the entire decade it has been open. Most of those challenges have been related to the facilities and under enrollment as a result of facility instability. In the past year, three substantial, structural financial challenges have emerged that are making Denali unsustainable. Specifically, in June we budgeted a $1.7 million grant from the Home Office to Denali. While we had hoped to not have to provide a grant to Denali this year, we looked at that grant as among the last because by fully enrolling the school, as well as making some other basic changes, the school would be sustainable. However, by the time of the October budget revision (an annual process), the Home Office had to increase the grant to $3.8 million. The changes reflect significant changes to SB740 funding, LCFF funding rates due to demographic changes, and increases in underfunded/unfunded student services.


Q:  What can we do to keep Denali open? For example, can we raise money to fill the gap?

A:  We don’t want to close Denali, but we do not see a viable path forward. We are very open to possibilities that you have access to and we don’t, and will engage with you in any way that makes sense to explore. In our team’s experience, one of the challenges with philanthropy is that generally people are not able to give money in perpetuity when there is no pathway to sustainability as is the case for Denali. 


Q:  Are any other Summit schools in the same position as Denali and in danger of   

closing?

A:  No. A series of unfortunate systemic, financial issues contributed to Denali’s financial 

challenges leading to closure discussion.


Q:  Is there a way to leverage the building?

A:  We did purchase the building, however, it is partially bond-funded, and because we have to pay back the government bond, we don’t anticipate there to be cash left over after the sale. We also considered a lease back but it wouldn’t solve the issue. 


Q:  Could we look for a different facility? 

A:  It is unlikely that we will find another viable school facility in the area. Finding the campuses we have now took over eight years. Seeking facility space from the local District is done through a process referred to as a “Prop 39 request”. We believe that a Prop. 39 request from the local district is not an option for several reasons, many of which date back to the reasons we had to seek private facilities in the first place for Denali - there is simply a lack of appropriate space. Districts are rarely (if ever) inclined to offer facility space to charter schools.


Q:  Have you spoken to the County?

A:  Yes. Denali is authorized by the County of Santa Clara and we have shared this same information with the SCCOE team. The Summit team will be meeting regularly with the authorizers to keep them informed. 


The County Office of Education (SCCOE) does not provide funding to Summit Denali. Denali, like all charter public schools, receives funding through a combination of state and federal funds.  

Links to previous communications