Future of charter school in question

The future of the Sisters Charter Academy of Fine Arts is in question as the 3-year-old charter school has failed to meet minimum state enrollment requirements.

Staff of the school, however, hope to maintain the program through this year and into the future.

State law requires minimum enrollment of 25 "full-time equivalent" (FTE) students for a charter school. Sisters Charter Academy of Fine Arts (SCAFA) has never met that minimum, though it came close with 24 students last year. This year, enrollment has fallen to 12.

Principal Teresa Schneiderman attributes that drop in enrollment in part to economic hard times; some families have left the Sisters area. A change in program also appears to have had an impact.

"We went with a new program and I think some of the parents that were here last year didn't understand the program and how it would work," Schneiderman said.

She described that program as "more hands-on. It's more teaching to the students' strengths... allowing them to discover as they're learning." (See "New teachers join charter school," The Nugget, September 16, page 9 for more about SCAFA's current program).

The charter school obtained a state waiver last year to allow it to operate with less than the required enrollment, and the Sisters School Board agreed that it should have the chance to meet enrollment requirements this year. But with enrollment down to five kindergartners - which only count as 1/2 FTE - and seven other students in grades 1-7, the school board has doubts about the academy's viability.

Superintendent Elaine Drakulich said that SCAFA has sought another waiver for this year and "it's highly likely that the State Board of Education would approve this waiver."

But that doesn't mean the school board will allow the school to continue to operate.

"Our school board will want to have proof that (SCAFA) will be in the black this year," Drakulich said. "We don't have dollars to augment them."

Board Chair Christine Jones told The Nugget, "we've asked the lawyers what is feasible in shutting it down, but it's not going to shut down immediately."

The law requires 60 days' notice, and the school can't be shut down in the middle of a term.

Schneiderman is offering a plan under which the academy charter might be revoked but the program continue under the auspices of another district charter academy, the Sisters Web Academy (now Sisters AllPrep Academy). That academy is thriving' and Schneiderman said that SCAFA's program would fit under AllPrep's umbrella as a "learning site."

Schneiderman is also principal of Sisters AllPrep Academy.

"The whole-child program that we have over here at the arts academy would be part of the AllPrep," she explained.

Jones isn't so sure. The financial viability question remains in play and "the Web academy was originally chartered to be an online school," she noted. "SCAFA is a brick-and-mortar school, so that's something we have to grapple with."

Drakulich also put up a yellow flag.

"I think there's definitely very legal ways, very appropriate ways for AllPrep to do that," she said. "But legal and appropriate and being comfortable with it are two different things."

On the other hand, Drakulich has some concerns about what happens to the students if the charter academy is shut down. She noted that many people assume that students would simply integrate back into Sisters schools, but "that's not necessarily true."

Students at SCAFA come from a variety of backgrounds, from home school to private school as well as public school, and their current program is different from that going on in Sisters schools.

Drakulich is concerned that a transition out of SCAFA "could be (a) traumatic" adjustment.

"There is a human side with these children and these families and continuing their education," she said.

For her part, Schneiderman says staff and parents want to keep the school going.

"I think we're committed to keeping the program here," she said. "I mean, it's a great program; I think it's the way for children to be taught. And I think it's great for parents to have a choice."

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Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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