Above: Educators from Holmes Middle School and Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences (VAAS) picketing alongside students and parents outside Magnolia Charter’s April 18 open house to protest the charter company’s proposed co-location of their campuses.

Educators, parents, and students at Holmes Middle School and Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences (VAAS) have scored a decisive victory and stopped Magnolia Charter Schools from co-locating on their campuses. 

Once Holmes and VAAS educators learned they were under threat of being co-located, they teamed up for a passionate fight that reflected their love for their school communities. 

Every action they organized — from circulating petitions to parents calling Magnolia board members personally — highlighted the negative impact co-location would have on their students and called on Magnolia to rescind their application to co-locate. They took the fight wherever their voices needed to be heard — from in-person Magnolia Board meetings to online Zoom meetings, where more than 150 Holmes and VAAS supporters swamped the online space. 

In April, with Magnolia leaders indicating they might rescind their application, more than 100 people rallied outside Magnolia’s open house to call for a written commitment that they would not be co-locating at Holmes or VAAS. 

“We came together at the open house to ensure that the principal and prospective Magnolia families heard our voices loud and clear,” VAAS Chapter Chair Maribel Palafox says. “We made it clear we would not stop until we received a formal written letter confirming that Magnolia will not be placed on our campuses. Even as Magnolia’s leadership tried to shield prospective families from our protest, our community held the line. We were on the megaphones, chanting, speaking out, and refusing to be silenced.” 

VAAS parent Ashley Yeager, who came to the protest with her children, took the opportunity to talk to Magnolia’s principal. As Yeager’s baby started crying, she told him that if Magnolia comes onto the VAAS campus, disrupting schedules and restricting access for students, especially those with special needs, the entire school day will feel just like that — chaotic and stressful for students from both schools. 

“Her words captured exactly what is at stake for our families,” Palafox says. 
 
The letter they called for came soon after, making it official that the schools would not be co-located next year. 
 
“This outcome did not happen by chance,” Palafox says. “It happened because parents, families, staff, students, community members, and supporters came together with strength, purpose, and unity and made their voices heard. This moment is a reminder of what is possible when we are informed, organized, and united.”