OXNARD : Iade Employees Plan Own Trade School

Former employees of the Oxnard campus of Iade American Schools--which closed its doors last week and filed for bankruptcy amid a federal probe into the chain’s finances--are planning to begin their own trade school.

The teachers say the Oxnard campus, which served about 800 students, provided vital education to the city’s low-income Latino population.

“This has been a big blow to Oxnard’s Latino community,” said Oscar Navia, a former computer instructor at Iade who is organizing plans for a new school. “Now we have no school of this kind serving us.”

The school planned for Oxnard, Superior Technical Institute, would have a similar curriculum to Iade--mostly computer, English and mechanics courses. The majority of Iade’s instructors are expected to take part in the new school.

Teachers are planning to meet with politicians and former students at 6 p.m. today in the parking lot of Oxnard’s old Iade campus.

Iade, one of the largest trade school chains in Southern California, shut its six campuses last week, leaving nearly 4,000 students from Santa Ana to Oxnard out of school. The decision came three days after the FBI raided Iade’s corporate offices, seizing financial records.

Former employees at Iade’s Oxnard campus--who had been working without pay for several weeks before the school shut down--say they want to ensure that the school’s former students have a place to learn.

“No school has the same standards that we had, especially for our students,” said Gladys Flores, a former financial aid counselor. “It would be a huge loss, especially for those about to graduate.”

Backers of the new school say they have met with Oxnard Mayor Manuel Lopez, Councilman Andres Herrera, and representatives of Assemblyman Nao Takasugi (R-Oxnard) and Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley).

They have also been discussing requirements for accreditation with state authorities.