Blazing a trail

Charter schools face challenges

February 10, 2006

JOEL DAVIDSON\Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - After 15 years, America's experiment with public charter schools continues to gain momentum, despite misconceptions about the unorthodox schools and often confusing guidelines on how to provide them with basic buildings and facilities.

The first charter schools in the nation opened in Minnesota in 1991 as part of an effort to reform lackluster public schooling and raise the level of student performance. By 2005, 40 states had passed charter school laws, behind the basic idea that schools will improve if innovative parents and teachers are allowed to experiment with different educational approaches by entering renewable short-term contracts with local school districts.

Alaska currently contains 23 charter schools, with three in the Mat-Su School District, where 570 of the Valley's 15,500 public school students attend classes. At least 250 additional Mat-Su students are waiting to get into charter schools.

According to a 2005 report from the Charter School Leadership Council, an estimated 1 million students now attend 3,400 charter schools across the country. Usually much smaller than traditional institutions, these schools differ widely in educational philosophy and curriculum content. From career training or science-centered curriculum to arts- and project-based learning, the

academic approaches are boundless.

The success in allowing thousands of smaller public schools to try unusual approaches to education is not fully known. A number of states have few or no charter schools and many unsuccessful ones are often shut down after a few years. These factors make it difficult to track the success of the charter movement as a whole.

The national education watchdog, Center for Education Reform, however, monitors the charter movement across the country. According to reports from its Web site, charter schools can and, many times, do, enhance public education.

The key to success, CER reports, is keeping the schools accountable to local governing bodies and tracking their progress. The two oldest charter schools in the Mat-Su, Academy Charter and Midnight Sun Charter, are now in their ninth years and have performed well on state and federal standardized tests despite operating in less-than-ideal school facilities.

Limited facilities hamper charter expansion

Valley charter schools are not alone when it comes to making do with less than their traditional public school counterparts.

According to the CSLC report, many cash-strapped charter schools throughout the country struggle to pay for capital expenses out of their already limited operational budgets.

The Mat-Su School District has historically supported local charter schools in helping parents and teachers form the schools. The Mat-Su School Board has also worked with the schools to enter renewable short-term contracts that provide oversight and accountability. If schools don't perform well, the school board can revoke the charters and close them down.

Despite the assistance, area charter schools still struggle to operate with scaled-down budgets.

Each charter is allowed to keep its per-pupil state funding allotments, along with a portion of local funding from the Mat-Su Borough. But in terms of funding for building construction or renovation costs, charter schools typically receive little to no state assistance.

Twindly Bridge Charter School opened its doors in 2005 and currently makes do by renting space in a Wasilla strip mall, while Academy Charter School in Palmer operates out of eight school district portable classrooms and three small former public works buildings.

In nine years, Midnight Sun Charter School has moved from a church to a strip mall to its current school site, which was built by a private contractor and then leased to the school.

&#8220Charter schools' biggest challenge is funding for facilities,” said Midnight Sun teacher Jeanne Troshynski, who shares principal duties with three other teachers so they can cut down on school administration costs.

Charter schools still a mystery to many

Public support for charter schools has run into challenges, both locally and nationwide. Charter school officials attribute much of that to misinformation.

According to the CSLC report, only 45 percent of Americans know that charter schools are actually public institutions, open for all students.

This confusion surrounding charter schools might have contributed to the outcome of the 2003 Mat-Su Borough elections, when area residents soundly voted down a $16.2-million bond to construct charter school facilities. Academy Principal Barbara Gerard said she thought the failed bonds were a classic example of people misunderstanding charter schools.

&#8220A lot of people didn't know that we are a public school,” she said last month. &#8220They thought the bond was for a private school. People just don't know much about our school.”

Alternative funding sparks debate

The failed 2003 school bonds inspired Midnight Sun and Academy Charter schools to look elsewhere for monetary solutions.

Last year, Academy Charter successfully lobbied the state Legislature to approve $2.5 million to construct a community gym, which should be completed in September. The new building will allow Academy students to take better advantage of sports opportunities and physical education classes.

The next step for Academy is to try and move out of its portable classrooms. Its officials plan to ask the school board to approve a $4.5-million bond proposal to build classes around the new gym. If the school board and borough refuse to issue bonds, then Principal Gerard said the school might look again to the state Legislature.

&#8220Our goal is to make a real school and get our kids out of the portables,” she said. &#8220It's 15 below and our kids are walking in and out of portables for the last nine years.”

Chief School Administrator Bob Doyle and several school board members are leery at the prospect of charter schools seeking direct state funding appropriations, especially if the charter school projects hamper the district's own capital projects.

The district's number-one capital improvement project is to lobby for state funds to replace a faulty roof at Su Valley Jr./Sr. High School. If Academy Charter also lobbies the state for money to build classrooms, Doyle is concerned that other charter schools might follow suit and divert state money away from the district's top priorities.

&#8220I believe a charter school is a public school and they need funding, but they should still follow the CIP process,” he said. &#8220There is only so much money that the state is going to give away.”

As state and local budget cycles move into high gear over the next weeks, Midnight Sun teacher Troshynski is hoping to gain the ear of state legislators for a proposed plan to secure statewide funding for Alaska's 23 charter schools, by providing money for facility construction projects.

&#8220We've been talking to local legislators and we are asking that a bill be proposed for charter schools statewide,” Troshynski said. &#8220We would love it if other people, who wanted, could also create more charter schools.”

Contact Joel Davidson at

352-2266 or joel.davidson@

frontiersman.com.