Plans for a Charter

Some people have dreams. The development team behind Compass Academy, a newly proposed charter school, has a vision.

In spring 2008, CrossRoads Fellowship senior pastor, Griffin Jones, was touring a set of charter schools in Dallas, when he was struck by an idea. Namely, he wanted that kind of school in Odessa.

Jones decided to do something about it. He started talking to local community leaders and educators, looking into what it would take to get a charter school here.

He found out then that getting a charter school can be difficult.

"It’s very complicated because, until you’ve been granted a charter, you really can’t begin to plan the school — but you have to do a lot of work to even get the charter," Jones said.

Now, two years later, Jones and his fellow charter school supporters are ready to apply for a charter.

Compass Academy will be a school focused on strong academics while emphasizing character development in its students. The school will also feature a program where parents are highly involved in the student’s education. Officials will even have the parents and the students sign an agreement when they enter the school.

"This school is just something different from public schools that will offer families in the community a different approach and more direct involvement," committee member Linda Subia said.

Subia is a kindergarten teacher at Gonzales Elementary School. She said one of the benefits of the school would be its smaller size and emphasis on teacher-parent-student relationship that just is not possible in ECISD’s public schools.

The school will also emphasize academic achievements and projects that can be applied to the real world. This school, like other charter schools, would be state funded but will not fall under the jurisdiction of any local school district. Thus, the school’s founders can create their own type of school.

The charter school being planned, Compass Academy, is designed to serve students from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade. The target date for opening is Fall 2011.

The school’s system will feature a longer school day — 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.— Monday through Thursday, with students getting out of school at 3 p.m. on Friday. Texas schools are required to have 180 instructional days, but the charter school proposes to offer students 185 instructional days.

UTPB educational leadership professor Amy Burkman has been a longtime supporter of the charter school movement and gladly joined the development committee when she was asked last year.

Burkman was in the public education system when charter schools first became a viable alternative in 1991.

"When you first hear about charter schools you feel hesitant, supposing that this is something that could take away from your programs, but charter schools benefit the whole community," Burkman said.

Control of charter schools is local and direct, which makes them a better place to try out new educational ideas, Burkman said. If they don’t work, the program is not nationally or federally mandated and is easy to get out of. If they do work, the local school district can use their findings and ideas.

Unlike public schools that must work under specifics of what is taught and how it is taught, the charter school environment provides room to think outside the box, allowing change.

"You can standardize too much. We’re back to the thought that children need to grow as much as possible but work at their own pace," Burkman said.

Another benefit, Burkman said, is that the school will focus on the students that have not been successful in the regular public school system.

Anita Absher, a former ECISD principal currently employed as a professor at UTPB said research shows the best schools have longer school days.

Absher said that the students would receive an academic education tied to the world around them and practical applications. The courses the development team plans to offer intensive with lots of required projects.

The Texas Education Agency will be granting two charters this year. There are 23 applicants from across the state.

The application is completed and must be submitted by Feb. 25, Absher said. The Texas Education Agency has five readers who will go over each application and score it. The highest possible score is 300, and applicants must score 225 or higher to advance to the next phase of the application process.

The school plans to serve 276 students from kindergarten to second grade, adding 100 children in the second year.

"It’s a balance because they say you’ve got to start small to build a culture of excellence but our funding also comes from our numbers. That’s how we’ll grow, so we’re trying to find the right balance," Absher said.

CHARTER SCHOOLS

>> Texas charter schools must include curriculum required by the Texas Education Code.

>> The charter school movement has roots in a number of other educational reform ideas including magnet schools, public school choice, privatization and community-based parental empowerment.

>> Minnesota passed the first charter school law in 1991.

>> The state funds charter schools but does not provide facilities for them.

>> President Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton have all been strong supporters of the charter school movement.