New charter school in planning stages
The Kona Pacific Public Charter School is one of five proposed charter applicants who have thus far submitted detailed implementation plans to the Charter Schools Administrative Office, said Chris Hecht, Kona Pacific Public Charter School planning director.
The proposed school, which would be located on 40 acres mauka of Kona Community Hospital, has waited several months for word of an application deadline. Now, just months from the start of the fall semester, the state Charter Schools Review Panel is winding down its application process.
|
advertisement
|
Under the charter school law, the BOE may authorize an additional start-up charter school beginning in July for each existing start-up charter school that has a three-year or greater accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Three start-up charters are now accredited.
"Plans for the charter are moving ahead. Yet, at the same time, here we are in the middle of April and it's getting really nerve-racking because we have a school that voted to make way for a charter," said Hecht.
While he said the proposed school's board does not know whether it will obtain a charter, it is preparing for a fall opening. "If we hear that we get a charter in May or June and we wait to put things in place, we will not be prepared to open in the fall," said Hecht. "We are doing all this knowing it may be for naught."
Some members of the community have created a charter plan, but the members of the private school board feel that their responsibility to the children requires them to have other plans ready, said Hecht.
"It's hard to know at this late of a date, how likely it is that we'll get the faculty we need," said Hecht. The proposed school's hiring panel is struggling to find quality teachers.
"We would really love to hear from more local DOE teachers who are looking for something new and different," said Hecht. "The school board believes in people rooted in the community and we have funding to send teachers to Waldorf training."
The proposed public charter school board was selected in late 2006 to receive a federal $140,000 grant to plan and design programs for the school. It was one of three selected from 13 Hawaii applicants. The grant does not guarantee issuance of a charter to the school. To obtain a charter, schools must develop a detailed implementation plan and apply for approval from the BOE.
If approved, the school has the potential to initially serve about 108 students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade and eventually grow to 600 students when grades nine through 12 are added.
The proposed public charter school will use a curriculum tailored from Waldorf Schools, interwoven with Hawaiian studies and including farming and gardening element, said Hecht. At the heart of Waldorf philosophy is the belief that "education is an artistic process, one that joins the head (intellect), the heart (spiritual and emotional) and the hands (physical) to form a whole human being," he said.
For more information about teaching at the proposed charter school, call 895-3030 or e-mail hiring@kppcs.org.
What is a charter school?
- A public charter school is a publicly funded school that has been granted a charter exempting it from selected state or local rules and regulations. A charter school may be newly created, or it may previously have been a public or private school; it is typically governed by a group or organization (e.g., a group of educators, a corporation, or a university) under a contract or charter with the state. In return for funding and autonomy, the charter school must meet accountability standards. A school's charter is reviewed (typically every three to five years) and can be revoked if guidelines on curriculum and management are not followed or the standards are not met.
Source: U.S. Department of Education
|
|
