Celebrated, controversial Sacramento teacher proposed a charter school. Why it was denied
More than 100 people turned out to the Sacramento County Office of Education board meeting Thursday night to rally on behalf of a charismatic educator and his petition to start a new charter school for high school dropouts.
Charter petitioner Khadir Rajagopal is a polarizing figure in Sacramento education — the teacher once named Sacramento and state Teacher of the Year now runs private school Miracle University, which claims a 100% graduation rate for students who would have otherwise completely dropped out. Now, he wants to start a charter school with a similar program.
More than 60 current and former students and parents delivered glowing public comments about Rajagopal, also affectionately known as “Dr. Raja” by his supporters. Several young speakers spoke of how their lives were turned around with the help of Rajagopal’s influence and educational programs.
Student Francisco Freeman talked to the board about having limited options and wanting to drop out after his arrest. He said that meeting Rajagopal changed his mind about his education.
“I was always a failed student, but ever since I was at Miracle, I have been getting all my grades up, getting straight As,” he said. “It changed my idea of how my life was going to go.”
Another former student, Matthias Jones, spoke about how Rajagopal gave his life purpose with the help of diverse mentors.
“I gave up on myself — I lost everything,” he said. “But with the mentor program, he gave us people who understood us, who looked like us, who were there for us, and that sparked hope again, that sparked purpose.”
But after more than two hours of public comment, Rajagopal’s petition was rejected by the SCOE board with a 6-1 vote, ultimately agreeing with SCOE staff findings that the petition for Miracle University Charter High School did not present a legally, financially or educationally sound program.
In an analysis of the charter petition, SCOE staff found several major issues with Miracle University Charter High School’s charter petition, including that the petitioner was illegally seeking to transition an existing private school into a charter, that the budget was not viable, that he did not present an adequate plan for serving students in special education and that his loss of a teaching credential was cause for concern.
Who is ‘Dr. Raja’?
Previously, Rajagopal was removed as principal at Oakdale Elementary in North Highlands and his teaching credentials were later revoked by California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
His removal from the school caused community uproar — petitions and student walkouts followed. Former employer Twin Rivers Unified School District cited his participation in the backlash against the school as one of the reasons they ultimately moved to dismiss him. Twin Rivers Unified claims that Rajagopal used private student information to help coordinate the campaign in his support.
Rajagopal went on to establish Miracle University, a tuition-free private school located in midtown Sacramento which takes would-be high school drop outs from across the county. The school follows a formula which emphasizes close mentorship and personalized learning for these students who would otherwise be at risk of falling into incarceration, homelessness or human trafficking.
Some of his touted supporters include State Treasurer Fiona Ma, Sacramento State President Luke Wood, attorney Ann Phuong (who donated $100,000 to Miracle University earlier this year) and Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty, who submitted a letter on behalf of Rajagopal and his petition. A spokesperson for Wood was not able to confirm Wood’s past or current support of Rajagopal and his school due to the university president being on vacation this week.
SCOE cited his actions that resulted in the revocation of his teaching credentials as among the reasons they recommend the board deny Rajagopal’s charter petition. They also cited problems with the petition itself — including a budget based on unrealistic attendance expectations, too few teachers and mentors to fulfill the needs of the student body and a special ed plan that would make the county itself responsible for special education staffing services and liabilities in its first year.
In a presentation to the SCOE board, Rajagopal attempted to refute these points, saying that he was working on appealing the CTC to get his credential back and that they predict budget surpluses.
Prior to presenting SCOE’s findings about the charter petition, Deputy Superintendent Nancy Herota asked all of the staff members who worked to review the petition to stand up. Around 12 people rose from their chairs and Herota identified them as “as professionals known throughout the state as leading experts in their respective fields.”
In her presentation, Herota went into detail about the shortcomings of the petition — how it constituted an illegal transition from private to a charter school given that the board and nonprofit running the private and charter school was the same, saying that Rajagopal told her staff on a site visit that the student population of the private school would eventually move to the charter. There was also significant confusion about the school’s budget and its plan to serve special education students. Without being a part of a Special Education Local Plan Area, SCOE would be responsible for staffing and programming responsibilities and liabilities for the school.
Drop-out rates in Sacramento County
During their ensuing discussion, trustees weighed the overwhelming testimony from Rajagopal’s students and families with the troubling aspects of the petition.
“What I can see, Dr. Raja, is on one side of the ledger is you and culture and graduation and an incredible group of people that follow you,” trustee and charter school founder Paul Keefer said. “And when I look on the other side, as a charter operator for 24 years — I’ll just read them off so you can see kind of what’s going to come at you in the role that you’re desiring…”
Keefer rattled off a long list of considerations he and his staff take when starting a school, including fundraising, individualized education plans, federal compliance, safety plans, nutrition, professional development, counseling, human resources and more. He said he wanted to hear from someone who was doing this work on behalf of the school.
“I really want to hear that person speak, the person who actually does that work, because that’s what I’m looking at to make sure you’re successful,” Keefer said.
Other trustees also expressed concern about Rajagopal’s incomplete plan as well as admiration for his work and the awareness he has brought to the high school dropout rate in Sacramento County.
“I am forever grateful to you for bringing the dropout issue to this board,” trustee Bina Lefkowitz said. “You have opened the eyes of this board to this terrible problem we have in this community, and I’m embarrassed to say I wasn’t even really aware of the depth of it until you came in front of us.”
This story was originally published June 25, 2025 at 3:16 PM.
