Board to consider charter school proposal next week

One more tool to reach students in the Mat-Su Borough School District or an unnecessary redundancy?

This is the question the Mat-Su Borough School Board will face at a special meeting July 17 when it decides whether or not to allow Horizon Charter School to open this fall.

The group of parents and teachers applying to open the district's third charter school say their program will be designed to assist families who are homeschooling their students but want the guidance of certified teachers to ensure the students are moving forward academically and able to excel at state exams.

"With home school programs, the attempt is made to explore options, to individualize the learning program," explained Yolanda Paez, who is heading up the Horizon Charter School

application.

But the principal of the district's Mat-Su Correspondence Study school says this is exactly what his program is already doing.

"And we've been doing it for 27 years," principal Steve Levine said. The correspondence school includes 14 certified teachers and around 1,600 students.

Levine said "correspondence" is really a misnomer. While the program for high school students is a more traditional correspondence approach, in which homework and tests are mailed in on a certain schedule, he said the program for elementary and middle school students has in recent years been revamped to provide the one-on-one approach families have sought out.

Levine described the program as tailored to the individual interests and learning styles of the students, one that offers flexibility and yet accountability.

Levine contends that if he had the opportunity to sit down with each of the 150 to 200 families interested in the Horizon Charter School, many of them would find his program would meet their needs.

"I think it's redundant," the principal said of the charter school proposal.

Paez, however, doesn't see Horizon Charter School as a competitor to existing district programs but instead a collaborative addition.

"It's an option, just like there are many other options," Paez said. "We're not out there to say 'We want your students.' There will be no recruiting campaign."

She points out that around 1,700 Valley youngsters are not enrolled in the Ma-Su district but instead use private schools or the distance-learning programs of other districts in the state. Horizon Charter School already has between 150 and 200 families who are interested in its program, and the majority of them, Paez says, are long-time Mat-Su residents who are already familiar with other offerings in the Mat-Su district.

By providing what these families want but haven't been able to find right here in the Valley, Paez contends, the district will only strengthen its ability to help a wide variety of students. If this means assisting families in transitioning their children back into regular public schools, that will be the staff's goal, she said.

Paez pointed out that many of the same families who are interested in the charter school have other children enrolled in regular district programs. Horizon Charter School, she says, isn't designed to be better than what is already out there, but instead an alternative means.

Whatever the pros and cons of the charter school proposal, the decision will ultimately be left to the Mat-Su school board. District policy requires charter school applications to be turned in before October in order to open the following year. Horizon applicants, however, are asking for a waiver so that they can open this coming school year

"I would only hope that the school board in its wisdom will be thoughtful and follow the process," Levine said. "I'm not the only person with an opinion on this." He said summer vacation is a difficult time to get word to school employees but given enough time others may want to learn more about the proposal and share their views.

When asked if he would recommend the board to not approve the application, however, Levine said it was not his place to say.

The school district administration, however, is expected to have a say. Interim Superintendent Bob Doyle said most likely he will recommend the board approve the application, but not because of any fault in the correspondence study program.

"I think they offer some good services," Doyle said. "But obviously there are 1,700 resident students who are going to other programs."

Doyle said the district has been working closely with Horizon Charter School to ensure issues such as instruction guidelines and collective bargaining units are addressed.

"We've raised a lot of questions, and they've responded," Doyle said. "The bottom line is whether it is good for children." He described the charter school as yet another choice for parents who aren't finding what they already want or need in the Mat-Su district.

If the board approves the proposal, Paez said Horizon Charter School will begin accepting applications immediately.