Monadnock School Briefs Department of Education
SchoolChoice
Keene Sentinel
Jessica Arriens
Boston University Washington News Service
2/15/07
WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 —Emissaries from Monadnock Community Connections School briefed U.S. Department of Education employees Thursday about their alternative high school.
“We can get feedback, share experiences and hopefully spread some of the practices,” Kim Carter, director of the school, said. “It’s also an affirmation for our students and our parents. They have been so invested in this school, and are somewhat beleaguered by the constant criticism.”
Since the school opened in 2002, funded by a five-year grant through the federal Voluntary Public School Choice program, controversy about what it would cost taxpayers when federal funds ran dry generated “mixed press,” according to Carter. She said that the only reason the school originally received publicity was because of the grant.
“Having that federal support made a huge difference,” she said. “We’ve just began educating people about the value of choice.”
Voluntary Public School Choice, first authorized under No Child Left Behind, allows children attending low performing schools to switch to other public schools within their district or to magnet or charter schools. The five-year grant, awarded to 10 school districts and three states, allowed schools to establish or expand a public school choice program.
Carter said the school has filed a letter of intent to apply for another five-year federal grant.
According to Iris Lane, director of the Voluntary Public School Choice program in the education department’s Office of Innovation and Improvement, having public school choice is an important aspect of education because of the opportunities it offers both students and parents. “It really empowers parents, so they can make informed choices.”
The briefing was designed to “share information about the program, and to educate employees about what programs we’re funding,” said Lane.
In addition to Carter, Cassandra Carland, a 19-year-old student at Monadnock, and Elizabeth Cardine, a teacher at the school, spoke at the briefing.
“It’s a tough choice to stay at our school,” said Cardine, citing the standards placed on students. “Just because you got accepted, it doesn’t mean you won’t wrestle with the decision…at least once a month sometimes.”
Classes are designed with “a la carte dining in mind,” said Cardine, allowing students to focus their studies on career paths. The school combines internships with community and parent partnerships to provide individualized teaching for each student, she said.
Out of all schools receiving federal funds from the Public School Choice program, Monadnock Community Connections is the only rural school, with students traveling from four school districts and 14 towns. The Voluntary Public School Choice program, Lane said, is “a range of all types of districts. It’s not just for one type of school.”
Carter said the reason many people are wary about the school’s funding once the federal grant runs out is because they only look at “bottom line appropriations, and don’t see the revenues.”
“I think we’re doing some really great things,” Carter said of Monadnock Community Connections. “If we can make a difference in students’ lives, then we make a difference in all our lives.”
“People worry about the cost per student,” Carter said. “That’s about scale.” Carter said until the school, which now has 42 students, meets its goal of 100 students the true cost of the school cannot be determined. “The school needs to operate within the same cost per student as other high schools.”
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