PVUSD proposal to relocate Renaissance high school to make room for Ceiba Prep draws opposition from teachers, staff, students

Many teachers, students and staff are expressing their opposition to a district proposal to relocate Renaissance High Continuation School to Pajaro Valley High School, a move that would allow Ceiba College Preparatory to move from its long-controversial Watsonville location to the Renaissance site in La Selva Beach. 

In interviews with Lookout, and during the public comment portions of Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s governing board meeting Wednesday night, students, teachers and staff spoke out against the proposal. They said the proposal puts the students at both Pajaro Valley High, located in Watsonville, and Renaissance High in danger of conflict with each other and could have a particularly negative impact on Renaissance students. 

“You’re setting up the Renaissance students to fail,” said one speaker. 

Renaissance English teacher Erin Reintjes and academic counselor Monica Nowlin told Lookout that they and their coworkers were “shocked” to hear the news on Thursday. 

They also both emphasized the importance of the somewhat isolated location of Renaissance compared to other school sites in the district. Renaissance is an alternative high school located at 11 Spring Valley Rd. in La Selva Beach. 

Reintjes and Nowlin said they regularly hear from students, who come from challenging backgrounds, that they feel relaxed and safe being separated from the other school sites – where they often experienced bullying or were kicked out of. The school serves about 120 students.

“It’s a place where students get to go and become new, and they take advantage of it, too,” said Nowlin. “They really dig in and they really develop the skills for conflict resolution [at Renaissance].” 

Nowlin, who also spoke out against the relocation during the board meeting, told Lookout she thinks the move is a “disservice” to the students at both Renaissance and Pajaro Valley High. 

Reintjes expressed similar concerns. 

“Students thrive here because it is a location that allows them to reset,” said Reintjes. “They’re not around things that were influences that were harming them or distracting them, or in some cases traumatizing them. They get to reset.”

Ceiba College Preparatory Academy is a PVUSD charter school serving about 500 students in a renovated former DHL shipping facility at 215 Locust St. in Watsonville. In 2023, the city council voted to rezone the property to allow the school to stay in the location, but a lawsuit against that rezoning could prevent the school from staying there, Ceiba principal Josh Ripp told Lookout. 

Because of that litigation and the chance that it might have to leave the site, the school submitted a Proposition 39 facilities request in November to the school district. The proposition requires that the school district provide facilities to public charter schools that serve students living in the district. 

“We look forward to collaborating with Pajaro Valley Unified School District as they assess facility options should the litigation prevent us from staying at 215 Locust St.,” Ripp told Lookout. “Ideally, Ceiba hopes to continue serving our 500 students in grades 6 through 12 at our current location.” 

Ripp told Lookout that he hasn’t yet received a formal offer from the district for the Renaissance location, and district spokesperson Alicia Jimenez said the offer would be formally made before a March 3 deadline. 

Jimenez said the district selected the Renaissance building as the option because it is the only site that meets the criteria submitted by Ceiba. She said if Ceiba doesn’t accept the offer of the Renaissance location, the district could continue searching for another location for the school. However, Jimenez said the district doesn’t have other locations that meet the criteria. If Ceiba rejects this offer, she said the school could then submit another request in the fall.  

The principals of both Renaissance and Pajaro Valley High schools informed their school communities last week of the potential moves, which could happen as early as the upcoming school year.

Renaissance Principal Joseph Smith and Pajaro Valley High Principal Todd Wilson, in identical letters, wrote that there will be continued communication about the potential transition in school website FAQs, email updates and community listening sessions. 

“We want to ensure that RHS and PVHS voices are heard throughout this process,” the principals wrote. “This is the beginning of an ongoing dialogue, providing ample time for us to engage in a thoughtful process. We will be working closely with Renaissance and Pajaro leadership, teachers, students and families to tailor a potential transition in a way that strengthens and enhances each school’s unique identity and mission. Transparency and open communication will be key as we move forward.”

“While we are still in the very initial stages of exploring this option, we await final word from Ceiba,” they wrote. “In the meantime … we will be scheduling listening sessions. We will share those dates and times with our school community in the coming days.”

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