Charter Schools

It is apparently the first of more the 80 Montessori charter schools in the United States to have its charter revoked.

Jefferson Administrator Arleen Standiford said the board's decision may be related to efforts by the school district to recapture the more than $1.8 million in state and federal aid that now goes to her 175-student school.

The Carlsbad School Board voted 5-0 to revoke the charter after receiving an audit that was ordered after the school reported a $27,000 budget overrun and sought emergency financial aid. The audit showed a small percentage of transaction had inadequate documentation but there were no accusations of fraud.

Auditor Ray Roberts of the Accounting and Consulting Group LLP reported that Jefferson's financial management policies were often not followed and suggested a few steps to improve processes. Standiford agreed that there were problems, but they were fewer in number and less serious than the board assumed.

Carlsbad School Board President Matt Carlsen is reported in the Carlsbad Current-Argus as stating,  Your goal is worthy, but your procedures are inadequate. There is an obvious lack of understanding of accounting procedures.

Several parents showed up at the meeting to defend the school. Parent Lucy Weston is quoted as saying her kindergarten daughter is multiplying and writing in cursive.  We're going to fight for the charter school, Weston said.  It's what's right for our kids.

The school has 30 days from notification to file an appeal and the state has 60 days to respond. Standiford said she hopes the process can be completed during the summer and that classes can resume in the fall.

Lakeland, FL, OK's 2-Classroom Charter

Lakeland, FL-Lakeland families will get there first Montessori school ever when the Lakeland Montessori Schoolhouse opens in August. Its contract approval this April marks the next step in the long process of making Josie Zinninger's vision of bringing affordable Montessori to Polk County a reality.

The new school will eventually serve children from pre-K through 5th grade. It will open with one 3-6 classroom and one 6-9 classroom this summer serving 66 children. Parents will pay for the Pre-K program. Plans are to add a grade level each year until the school reaches its maximum enrollment of 130 children.

Zinninger, the school's founder, and future principal/director, is a parent, a Montessori-trained teacher and psychologist.

"In our county there is absolutely no Montessori," Zinninger said. "There are not a lot of options and there are no Montessori options and this was a way to bring it to more people. Montessori should be more well known and implemented more and this is a way to do that. "

Savvy Parents Win Dixon, CA, Charter

Dixon, CA. May 6 the Dixon school board approved the Harvest Montessori School charter school. The new K-8 program is slated to open in July 2005 at Anderson Elementary School in Dixon CA.

Dixon, population 16,000, is located in Solano County southeast of Sacramento. This is the first charter brought before the Dixon School Board and the first elementary charter school approved in Solano County.

The effort was spearheaded by parents Scott Hill and Caitlin O'Halloran. "Had we not had the knowledge of charter school law that we did, this would have taken us another year or two, " said O'Halloran.

 We were in a unique situation because we were two parents in the district who had a lot of experience at the state level. Both of us knew the ins and outs of getting things done, said Hill.

Hill was state department of education chief deputy superintendent of public instruction for four years. O'Halloran, a graduate of the Dixon school system, worked for the Department of Education as a lobbyist.

Both parents have children currently enrolled in a private Montessori preschool, Parkside Children's House in Davis, CA, and worked closely with the school's director, Karrie Hernandez, to develop the proposal.

There will be a summer bridge program to help those who have never had Montessori. It will open as a K-3 and plans are in place to add an age level each year, depending on demand and enrollment. They set a goal of serving up to 200 students for K-8, but plan to open with an enrollment of 60.

"We are absolutely thrilled, we are thrilled with the comments of the board and we are thrilled that we have a facility," said O'Halloran. "This is a great opportunity for kids who have Montessori experience, but also for those kids who wouldn't have enough money to attend Montessori otherwise."

"It was a matter of being patient and working behind the scenes," said Hill. "In the end everyone thought that there was enough good will and give-and-take that it was worth doing. We think the process was valuable for the board and for the community. and we are glad that we do not have to go through the appeals process."

Appleton, WI, Groups Gets OK for Fundraising

Appleton, WI. April 26 the Appleton Board of Education gave a parent group permission to apply for the state administered, federally funded, charter school planning grants for a Montessori elementary charter school.

The group plans to apply for up to $50,000 in planning funds over the next two years.

The charter school effort is being led by a group of parents with help from Emily Forflin, director of the independent Montessori Adventure Preschool. That school has been operating for 25 years. In the 1980, Forflin tried unsuccessfully to start a private elementary school.

Organizers plan to open in the fall of 2005 with a 6-9 classroom and may go ahead with 9-12 or with additional 6-9 depending on parents interest. The program will share a building with Roosevelt Middle School, located in the center of town.

Elizabeth Treusdale-Witek is one of the parents leading the effort.

"There is not and has not been a Montessori elementary opportunity in the area," she said. "I know that we need to be prepared to spend a lot of evenings and weekends meeting but I know it is going to be worth it. I am very excited about the prospect of getting it going for my two children. "

Houston to Open More Arizona Sites

Sandy Houston, one of the pioneers in Montessori charters, has been given state approval to open her fourth and fifth sites.

Houston started her first two Montessori charters in Prescott Valley and Glendale in 1995 and added a third last year in Chandler. The new sites will be in Anthem and Gilbert.

Houston also co-founded the Arizona Charter Schools Assn. and founded the Arizona Montessori Charter School Consortium.