NHCSR Newsletter Update #1

Welcome To the First

New Hampshire Center for School Reform

Newsletter Update

Our first newsletter arrives during National Charter School Week.
We are pleased to bring attention to New Hampshire's progress.

Please direct inquiries to Susan Hollins, Ph.D. (susan@nhschoolreform.org).

NHCSR HOLDS FIRST LEGISLATOR APPRECIATION BUFFET

The legislature was invited to lunch this week in honor of National Charter School Week. Approximately 100 legislators and charter school founders were thanked for their efforts. Revisions to charter school law, effective this past July 1st, have made charter schools serving multiple towns possible. It's no wonder that growth communities are looking at chartered public schools as a way to meet growth and also offer a choice program.

For more information, click here.

NEW CHARTER SCHOOL PROPOSALS

THREE NEW new charter school applications will be reviewed by the State Board of Education this month.

From Dover area, the Cocheco Arts and Technology Academy proposes a charter high school sponsored by the Bell Center for Music. This group has been meeting weekly for months and has a facility, students, and arts organization support. They plan to open September 2004 with their first incoming 9th grade of 40 students. Contact Design Team Coordinator: s.dascoulias@verizon.net

The Northeast Deaf and Hard of Hearing Association is sponsoring a Concord grade 1-12 charter school—a high standards, bilingual (ASL-English) academy as a choice for deaf and hard of hearing students, parents, and school districts statewide. Sign language is used throughout the day in addition to English. This academy will open with grades 1-8. The Laurent Clerc Academy (named after the first teacher of the deaf in the United States) will eventually serve preschool through high school and offer a residential component for students from far distances. Contact: swolf-downes@nhdeaf-hh.org

From Epping, the Three Governors' Academy proposes a 6-level program serving K-12 students. This school compresses curriculum so that students who complete the program obtain a college degree prior to their 12th-grade graduation. Contact: Pandit Ramsomooj in Epping.

LEGISLATION WATCH

SB 421, a charter school bill, passed the House last week and now needs endorsement by the Senate Education Committee. SB 421 adds additional charter school application requirements-- budget, curriculum, and accountability. SB 421 also asks the public charter school to register with the Secretary of State as a private enterprise (SOS registers voluntary private corporations and businesses). The SOS provision aside, truly onerous provisions of the initial SB 421 have been replaced with alternatives that keep the spirit intended—mission-driven, results-oriented choice public schools.

FRANKLIN CAREER ACADEMY HOSTS OPENING

Franklin Career Academy’s first major public outreach event boasted 100 people—parents, businesses, students, state officials. Scheduled to open this fall, FCA will provide a business-affiliated charter school with high academic expectations for its students.