Charter schools celebrate strengths

Patti Ponciroli passed by a sign one day that piqued her interest. Months later, after looking into the sign that read Center City School, her son's failing grades turned into passing grades, and school started to become a positive experience for him.

"Some kids don't fit into the traditional education mold," Ponciroli said. "And when it's not working, alternatives need to be found." For her, the answer was a local charter school.

Center City School, along with over two dozen other charter schools statewide, will be celebrating National Charter School Week this week.

Utah charter schools serve around 3,300, and with their growing success and new legislation greasing the wheel for gaining charter approval, the numbers are likely to continue to grow.

Charter schools offer parents a choice in public education and some flexibility in teaching but still follow the state core curriculum and testing laws. But relationships with districts have been adversarial in some areas, which has often caused difficulty in gaining charter approval.

In the past, charters that have been denied by the districts could then apply to the State Board of Education — a sometimes lengthy process.

But under the new legislation the governor will appoint a seven-member State Charter School Board as a sort of liaison to the state school board. The new board would have two business and three charter school representatives, plus two members nominated by the state school board.

Current charters that have been chartered by the state will be dissolved this month and then will be able to transition to a new board.

Gov. Olene Walker's office is reviewing potential candidates for the new charter school board and will announce them sometime this month.

It will be taking out an extra step, said Patricia Bradley, state charter school planning coordinator.

Bradley said that with the new board in place Utah may see a leap in the number of charters schools; however, the numbers have been steadily growing. Starting this fall 26 schools will be in operation — seven of them new.

"Success breeds success," said Bradley. Last year all Utah charter schools made adequate yearly progress under federal No Child Left Behind testing regulations, and as the word gets out about what charters are and more models are established for other charter schools to follow, Bradley sees them picking up momentum.

For Ponciroli, learning about the alternatives that charters provide helped stop her son Brian from spiraling downward academically.

Brian, who has attention deficit disorder, started failing classes after his transition from grade school to junior high. He didn't need special attention, but he did need attention — something that he was hard-pressed to find in the traditional setting, said Ponciroli.

The big plus for her at Center City is smaller classes that allow for individualized learning and more attention.

However, no two charters are exactly alike. Utah offers schools that specialize in things like bilingual education, technology, early college and the arts.

This week, to celebrate Charter School Week, the many schools will be opening their doors to the public so Utahns can learn more about their mission. For more information visit www.usoe.k12.ut.us/charterschools.

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E-mail: terickson@desnews.com

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