|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Unchartered waters |
September 25, 2007
Times-News
Uncharted waters
Local Realtor proposes more Magic Valley charter schools
By Nate Poppino
Times-News writer
As Judy Holland watched Xavier Charter School come together, she noticed something else - how many parents couldn't get their children into the school.
Xavier, Twin Falls' first charter school, only had room for 273 students when it opened just more than a week ago. To Holland, the school was a wonderful idea, but it needed to handle more.
That's when the Realtor, who works for Canyonside Realty in Twin Falls, took matters into her own hands. After learning of a Utah company that manages charter schools from a co-worker, she and others organized an informational session this evening for Magic Valley residents who want to see more of the schools in the area.
The session - 6 p.m. at the Twin Falls Board of Realtors at 1162 Eastland Drive N., Suite 1 - will feature as speaker Jed Stevensen, head of Academica West. The company, based in Kaysville, Utah, manages the business affairs for 10 charter schools in that state. Stevensen said Monday that though he's visiting as an adviser, he's also eager to meet those who show up to the meeting and see what the odds are of a school starting up in the Magic Valley.
"Most of these people, they have a desire," he said. "They know what they want, but they have no idea how to get there."
In Holland's case, there are several desires. The grandmother said she'd like to see charter schools in Kimberly, Twin Falls, Jerome and the Burley/Rupert area. The schools, she said, would help relieve overcrowding in public school districts and would save taxpayers money otherwise spent through bond elections, such as a future one in Kimberly.
"They're bursting at the seams, trying to pass another bond," she said. "People want a choice, is what it amounts to anymore."
Any proposals from Holland's group would follow in the steps of Xavier and the Southern Idaho Learning Center Lab School. The latter would serve grades six through eight and offer remedial intervention and specialized curriculum to prepare students for college. It was referred to the Idaho Public Charter School Commission in May by the Twin Falls School District.
If Academica became involved in any future schools - which function as nonprofits and aren't formed by the company - it would allow the teachers and parents who often form them to focus on their jobs and leave administrative duties such as payroll management and human resources in more-experienced hands, Stevensen said. That can make for a better start for a fresh school - assuming Holland's group decides to make one.
"If they enter into it with lots of emotion and not a very good plan," Stevensen said, "sometimes it can take a few years for them to get off the ground."
Nate Poppino can be reached at 735-3237 or npoppino@magicvalley.com.
|
|
|
| Coalition of Idaho Charter School Families PO Box 6236 | Boise, ID 83707-6236 | 877-792-5900 |
|
|
|
|