Hopeful charter board meets with SVVSD board

Victoria A.F. Camron, Longmont Times-Call

LONGMONT — Which comes first, the charter or the charter school?

Organizers of the proposed St. Vrain Community Montessori School are juggling that question as they continue in the process of getting the St. Vrain Valley School District Board of Education’s approval to open a charter school next fall.

How can parents enroll their children before they know where the school will be located? How can the founding board choose a school site before the district has approved the charter?

“We’re starting to know what we don’t know,” said Katie Torres, president of the charter school’s interim board, explaining that her group plans to communicate with the school district through every step of the process.

But those founding board members were optimistic Wednesday night after meeting with members of the Board of Education.

“It seems everyone’s very engaged in the discussion,” Torres said after the work session discussion. The charter school’s organizers plan to open with about 60 students in preschool, kindergarten, first and second grades.

Charter schools are tuition-free public schools operated by parents, teachers or community members to offer a choice of educational opportunities. They receive public funding based on their enrollment, but the school district that issues the charter can charge for services it provides, such as collecting student data and human resources.

Four charter schools operate in the St. Vrain Valley School District: Flagstaff Academy and Twin Peaks Charter Academy in Longmont; Carbon Valley Academy in Frederick; and Imagine Charter School at Firestone, which opened in August.

On Wednesday, school district board members questioned the Montessori charter school organizers about how they will attract a student population that reflects the community.

Having the charter schools’ demographics mirror those of their communities has been a high priority for current district school board members.

As a district, about 26 percent of elementary students qualify for the federal free lunch program, which is based on household income.

But in the district’s charter schools, that percentage is much lower: 8.3 percent at Carbon Valley Academy and Flagstaff Academy, and 11.8 percent at Twin Peaks Charter Academy, according to the 2008 Colorado Student Achievement Program results from the Colorado Department of Education.

Diversity is important to the Montessori community, Torres said.

“The culture embraces diversity of all kinds, not just ethnic, but socio-economic as well,” Torres said. “From the beginning, diversity has been important to us.”

Unlike some charter schools, parents of students at the Montessori school will be encouraged but not required to volunteer at the school, Torres said. Board of Education member Rod Schmidt pointed out that volunteer requirements discourage low-income families from attending charter schools, because parents often are working more than one job.

Torres said the school also is looking for a central location that is accessible via public transportation and is planning to create a car-pool program to help low-income students get to the school.

The Board of Education are scheduled to meet again with the Montessori organizers on Oct. 10 during the regular board meeting. The charter school’s founders are expected to submit an updated budget before that meeting.

Victoria Camron can be reached at 303-684-5226 or vcamron@times-call.com.