By Aurelio Huertas, Jr., NCREL
In less than one year, student enrollment at Toivola-Meadowlands Charter School has increased from 162 students to 197, a 22-percent student increase, says Dick Raich, parent and board member of this recently established Charter School in Minnesota. He attributes the increase to the school's "flexibility" and its ability to bring local businesses and community expertise into the school. "I think under the present structure of education, this is one thing where small school districts fail. They don't have this type of flexibility to move within the structured system."
According to Raich, Charter Schools allow in-house decision-making, which eliminates "all of the bureaucracy of getting things done" and leads to better communication among parents, students, and teachers. Decisions are made by the teaching staff, paraprofessionals, community members working in the schools, and licensed educators, who meet several times during the week. "If a problem arises and you want to change something or bring in something new, you can do it right away," Raich says.
The Toivola-Meadowlands Charter School's open-door policy encourages parents to become more involved in their children's education, which Raich says was not the case several years ago.
Today, teachers at the school promote and solicit parental involvement as much as possible. "Teachers welcome parents in. They welcome ideas. They want to exchange ideas. The one thing they have worked on so much is communication within the community." Not surprisingly, Raich attributes much of the school's success to the community.
However, Raich is careful to point out that Charter Schools are not right for every community. "Why would you want to change something in a community where education is acceptable? They have the outcomes they want. They see what they want coming out of the public schools."
Moreover, Raich warns that the process of setting up a Charter School is very strenuous. He believes that the biggest problem is meeting the legal requirements for establishing a Charter School. "It takes a long time to set this up. Your letters of intent and the contracts - these sorts of things can be made easier." He points to the experiences of other districts that are in the process of setting up Charter Schools: "I know of several other schools that have been working on this for two and three years. They are having a heck of a time."
The Toivola-Meadowlands community has adapted so well to its Charter School that Raich finds it difficult to imagine not having a Charter School. "If Charter Schools fail, I really don't know how we are going to adapt back to the public education in the sense that it was before. Once the programs are set up, they have a track record, and everyone is comfortable with the direction, it can really take off."
Posted on March 3, 1995
URL: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/go/94-2int1.htm