Charter schools find a haven

With two ways to gain approval for a charter school, Colorado Springs School District 11 might be the district of choice for charter schools.

Four new schools -- Colorado Springs Early Colleges, Transition 2 Success and two elementary schools affiliated with the Cesar Chavez School Network in Pueblo -- have filed letters of intent with the state's Charter School Institute, according to Executive Director Randy DeHoff.

D-11 is the only area district without exclusive chartering authority, meaning schools can apply to -- and be approved by -- D- 11, the Charter School Institute or both.

Charter school applications are due Oct. 2 to either the Charter School Institute or local school districts.

Charter schools are public schools run by parents, teachers or community members under a contract with a school board or the Charter School Institute.

District spokeswoman Elaine Naleski said schools might be encouraged to apply in D-11 because it's perceived to be charter- friendly.

Some proposed charter schools are already encouraging students to enroll, before the school's application is turned in or approved.

Part of the application process is showing the proposed charter school has community support and students who want to enroll, DeHoff said.

That shouldn't be a problem, said Lawrence Hernandez, chief executive officer of Cesar Chavez School Network. Colorado Springs community groups encouraged the expansion from Pueblo, he said.

The network includes two schools in Pueblo -- Cesar Chavez Academy and Delores Huerta Preparatory High.

"I think they would like to see us in the district," Hernandez said.

The elementary schools would be similar to Cesar Chavez Academy, Hernandez said, which has powerful reading and writing programs, a longer school day and year than other schools, and staff members who develop strong relationships with families.

"We only hire teachers who are willing to work long hours," he said.

Also planning to open a charter school in D-11, Colorado Springs Early Colleges hopes to be "an opportunity to help kids who would ordinarily think they could not go to college," said Glenn Englund, one of the school's planning board members, along with Rep. Keith King and Harrison School District 2 board member Deborah Hendrix.

The school plans to bring students up to grade level and to get them ready for college by 11th grade, and then allow students to take college classes at the school or at local colleges.

"Once they are ready, we are able to move them literally into college curriculum," Englund said.

The fourth school likely to apply to become a charter school is Transition 2 Success Academy. The school was turned down by D-11 last school year.

The application to the Charter School Institute this year is similar, said Ray Wallander, executive director of Project Start, a mentoring program. One major change is including students in grades nine through 12. Originally the school was for ninth- and 10th- graders only.

The school will still emphasize workplace skills as well as academics, Wallander said. Classes will still revolve around a theme, such as food service and horticulture.

If a charter school provides something new and different to D- 11's students, Naleski said, charter schools are welcomed.

"If it's something we feel we are already offering ... we would question the need for one," she said.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0394 or shari.griffin@gazette.com

WHERE TO CALL

To learn more about the proposed charter schools:

Call Ray Wallander at 590-7118 for information about Transition 2 Success.

Call Lawrence Hernandez at Cesar Chavez School at 295-1623 for information about the two proposed elementary schools.

Visit www.csec914.org for more information about Colorado Springs Early Colleges.

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