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Hearing is Tuesday on Charter School appeal |
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Written by Publisher
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Monday, 15 June 2009 |
The fate of a plan to create a state-approved Charter School in Mt. Jewett will be determined following a hearing on Tuesday by the state Charter Appeals Board (CAB).
By Ted Lutz
Republican Staff
The fate of a plan to create a state-approved Charter School in Mt. Jewett will be determined following a hearing on Tuesday by the state Charter Appeals Board (CAB).
The CAB has up to 60 days following the hearing to either approve the Charter School application or reject it.
The Mt. Jewett Charter School Coalition has been planning to open a Charter School since the Kane School Board decided to close the Mt. Jewett Elementary School at the end of classes two years ago.
The school board has twice denied the Charter School application. The Coalition last year decided to prepare a revised application rather than take its case to the CAB. The late date for the 2008 appeal also would have given the Coalition little time to prepare for classes for the 2008-09 school year.
The Coalition is hoping to open a Charter School for the 2009-10 school year. The school is planned for a section of the St. Matthews Lutheran Church on East Main Street. The school would offer classes for pre-kindergarten (4-year-olds) through fifth grade.
According to the state Department of Education, charter schools have been authorized since 1997.
”Charter Schools offer alternatives in education using strategies that may save money and improve student performance,” the state agency said in a report. More than 115 charter schools now operate in the state. Tidioutte in Warren County operates a charter school.
Tom Brown of Youngsville is the proposed chief executive officer (CEO) of the Mt. Jewett Charter School.
Skye Ognen is president of the Coalition, which has received the support of many in the Mt. Jewett community as well as the endorsement of the Mt. Jewett Borough Council.
Without a school in Mt. Jewett, kindergarten through fifth grade students in Mt. Jewett now attend the Chestnut Street Elementary School in Kane. This school will be closed after the 2009-10 school year because a new district elementary school is under construction as an addition to the Kane Middle School on West Hemlock Avenue.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 30 July 2009 )
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