Charter schools give progress reports

Terry Webster

Friday, Feb. 11, 2000 | 10:05 a.m.

Instead of focusing on public schools, the Clark County School Board Thursday turned its attention to charter schools, an area the board oversees but has sketchy guidelines for doing so.

Principal Vee Wilson of Odyssey Charter School and Dawn Haviland, chairwoman of the board of Keystone Academy Charter High School, gave the board progress reports on their schools, both of which opened in the fall of 1999.

Although both principals said the schools are performing well, School Board members asked for specific data in some areas, including test scores.

Odyssey, a computer-based kindergarten-through-grade-eight school, allows students to work from home on their computers, accompanied by an in-home visit from a teacher for about an hour a week.

Wilson said Odyssey has 313 students enrolled, with 62 on a waiting list to move into the program.

Keystone was built in response to the long bus ride high school students had to endure from the rural Sandy Valley to Durango High School in Las Vegas.

"Over 50 percent of our students would not be attending school right now if we were not there," Haviland said.

The school currently has a total student population ranging between 45 and 50 students. It has only about 14 students per classroom.

"This makes our 24 credits for graduation very realistic because we can concentrate that effort with the 14 students in the classroom," Haviland said.

Haviland also reported that large donations from various businesses and foundations has allowed for the school to pay off the cost of its land and the building.

By definition "charter" reflects the agreement between the charter school and the agencies overseeing it. In Nevada, the state department of education reviews charter schools and local school boards approve them.

The School Board also approved the hiring of Robert McCord as a consultant for the government relations program at a cost of $16,000. School officials reported the money will come from an existing salary in that area, which has two vacant positions.

On another matter, Marzette Lewis announced that the Westside Action Alliance Korp -- Uplifting People (WAAK-UP) is holding a public forum on renaming Madison Elementary School to the Wendell P. Williams Elementary School as part of a reconstruction project the state assemblyman helped secure funding for.

Lewis said she does not want the school named after Williams, whom she calls a deadbeat dad.

The forum is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22, in the multi-purpose room at Madison Elementary School, 1030 J St.