THE YEAR TO ADDRESS FUNDING EQUITY
Election day is Tuesday, November 7th. Which candidates will
support school funding equity? Which candidates will assure
public charter school students are part of the discussion of
equitable funding? Click here for the list of Republican and
Democratic candidates for Senate and House. Charter schools
now involve families from nearly 100 different communities
in New Hampshire.
Charter school funding now flows directly from the state to
the charter school. Direct payment legislation passed last session.
This prevents district schools losing any of their annual allocation
of state dollars. It just takes a minute to call and ask a candidate’s
position on equitable funding. Phone numbers for contacting Senate
candidates are provided.
SURRY VILLAGE CHARTER SCHOOL--OPENED 9/2006
The Saga of the Surry Village School ended when Surry (pop. 700)
bought a doublewide and the village property owners gave the
school space. Surry Village Charter School creates a small,
high-standards village school committed to community and tried
and true local values. Students will learn maple sugaring and
many crafts taught by local citizens. Congratulations to Matora
Fiorey and the Surry Village Charter School founders. Students
are attending from 10 towns and there is already a waiting
list for next year. Read the SAGA of how Surry lost its school.
To read the charter, go to the Surry Village Charter School
website.
THE NEW HAMPSHIRE EQUESTRIAN SCHOOL-- OPENED 9/2006
Tons of grass roots support exists for this unique school for
scholar-athletes, many of whom aspire to careers with horses,
including veterinarian. To read the charter or view the website,
click here. The school’s first dinner and auction fundraiser
had tremendous statewide support. Donations included artwork,
signed books, jewelry, antiques—funds will help support the
horses’ care and boarding. The school has 25 students grades
9-12 this year and more students requesting admission. Academics
are high standards with integrated science (physics, chemistry,
biology each year) and computer-based math that allows for
acceleration. Students seem to be thriving. Current goal: Space
and facilities for next year and the future. Join their mail
list. Advertise on their website. Got an indoor arena to donate?
Contact susan@nhequestrianacademy.org
ACADEMY FOR SCIENCE AND DESIGN MOVES FORWARD
This ambitious research-based grade 7-12 school seeks a building
or space for opening September 2007 with 60 students. The school
will grow to 120 during the first 2 years. Concord, Manchester,
or Nashua—on the I-93 corridor—will be home to the initial
and future school locations. Space suggestions welcome. If
you’d like to be connected to this project, contact us. A start-up
coordinator position is available (position description). This
charter school will give New Hampshire its first public school
for science, math, engineering, and technology. And advisory
committee will meet in November to discuss outreach to younger
students statewide and facility options.
THREE SUPERINTENDENTS BACK NEWEST CHARTER SCHOOL
Crossroads Learning Academy charter school was the 12th independent
public charter school authorized in New Hampshire (complete
listing). Brought forward with support from three superintendents—Bow,
Hopkinton, and Kearsarge Regional—the school has a unique proposal
for at risk students “who have a hard time doing school as
we have it.” The model includes individualized assessment following
by individualized programs designed for each student. Intended
for 7-12, the new charter school, according to Superintendent
Tom Brennan, intends to open in January 2006. Listen to a complete
discussion about this school broadcast on WKXL1450 School Talk:
listen. This school will be financially supported by local
districts.
INDENPENDENT SCHOOLS—LISTEN IN
Interested in private and public independent schools? New Hampshire
Center for School reform posts live interviews with dozens
of New Hampshire’s independent schools. Interviews discuss
unique features, students served, and the entrepreneurs who
started the schools. Be inspired. Listen in: Pine Hill Waldorf
School, The Community School (Tamworth), Cardigan Mountain
(Canaan), Crossroads Academy (Lyme), White Mountain School,
Pathfinder Academy, Hampstead Academy, Crotched Mountain, and
many more. For other shows, click on Our Radio Shows http://www.nhschoolreform.org/School%20Talk.htm
and listen through your computer.
FEDERAL DECISION TO ALLOW SAME SEX SCHOOLS
Newly revised federal guidelines allow for single-sex schools
for the first time in decades. Recently reported in the New
York Times and in papers across the country, http://www.nhschoolreform.org/Regional%20Project%20Pages/Lakes%20Region%20Projects.htm,
the decision to allow schools just for males or females is
apt to spark a plethora of new choice schools. Research shows
that many students do better in a single sex school. Often
considered too risky for districts to try, many educators predict
that charter schools will be the vehicle for bringing back
male and female high schools. The rules say “single sex is
okay…if the students attend by choice.”