A Charter to That Other Place

Live Oak Charter Academy is the latest elixir to arrive in the valley. Drought cycles, crop yields, and market forces have left a trail of previous solutions: an army base, a state mental hospital, a shipping warehouse for an online retailer, a prison. And though the school is smaller in scale than previous efforts, it inspires bigger dreams, with a more fragile margin of error.Live Oak Charter Academy is the latest elixir to arrive in the valley. Drought cycles, crop yields, and market forces have left a trail of previous solutions: an army base, a state mental hospital, a shipping warehouse for an online retailer, and a prison. But the charter is about the future, and not just that of the children. The wealthiest board member sees a chance to leave a legacy that his children’s private school won’t allow him to forge, the principal a chance to set up his grown autistic son with a more independent life, the dedicated volunteer a chance to provide her daughters with an education she imagines is usually reserved for the affluent. And while the students may see it as just another school, their actions (and how their parents respond) pull them all in directions that threaten the charter and every dream attached to it.