We are parents, teachers, and community members of Mt Gleason. Our students deserve to have full-time access to programs and resources that enrich their education. Our students deserve to continue to use their school building to learn and grow. Co-location is not fair for our students. 

We, the undersigned, demand that North Valley Military Institute (NVMI) cease all interest in not only the Mt. Gleason campus, but in all schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).  We, the undersigned, also demand that the LAUSD school board and Superintendent Carvalho stop this co-location from impacting the community and social-emotional well-being of our students.

Mt. Gleason is the only public middle school in the Sunland-Tujunga community.  It has a long history of serving students between the ages of 11 and 13, supporting them in some of their most vulnerable years.  Co-location by NVMI would put the following classrooms in jeopardy: the parent center, STEAM training classrooms, the classroom designated for student leadership and government, computer labs, and a classroom designed for student empowerment and restorative justice.  Additionally, many of our students and families receive mental health services from Hathaway Sycamores and the space that is used for this much needed resource will be impacted.

The Mt. Gleason community prides itself in being able to embrace all students, giving children the option to enroll in a magnet program, a gifted program, or their residential school program.  Moreover, Mt. Gleason is set to begin an Armenian Dual-Language Program next school year.  These diverse programs are designed to reach all learners, and the parent center, computer labs, and restorative justice room have all been created to give students a supportive and well-rounded education. 

Co-Location by North Valley Military Institute charter, a charter that was rejected by the Los Angeles School Board by a vote of 7-0, would not only encroach on classrooms and make it more difficult to meet student needs, it would create difficulties in coordinating between the different schools.  This charter school will reap the benefits of public funding without the costs associated with using them.

We, the community of Mt. Gleason and the signatories, firmly reject any attempts to co-locate on the Mt. Gleason campus by North Valley Military Institute, and instead support equitably funded public schools, with a vision of meeting diverse needs of all children, so that they can be happy, well-rounded, and confident students, and eventually happy, well-rounded and confident adults.