Nevada receives grant for charter schools

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2005 | 9:41 a.m.

Nevada has received a $2.5 million federal grant aimed at encouraging new charter schools, a windfall that comes as new state statutes increasing oversight and controls of the programs take effect.

The funds will be awarded to both existing charter schools and groups still in the planning stages, said Tom McCormack, the state Education department's charter schools consultant.

Charter schools are eligible for the start-up grants for the first three years of operation. Older, more established programs may apply for "dissemination" grants, which provide funds for sharing techniques and success stories.

In order to start a charter school, organizers must have sponsorship from either their local school board or the state Board of Education. Charter schools are given greater freedom in hiring staff, as well as in developing curriculum and instructional methods.

Nevada currently has 18 charter schools operating. Clark County has seven charter schools, six of which were sponsored by the Clark County School Board. The seventh program, Nevada State High School, received state sponsorship.

Two charter schools closed their doors during the last year: Clark County Team Academy had its charter revoked by the School Board. And in Fallon, Gateways to Success closed voluntarily at the end of the 2004-05 academic year

Currently the state has received seven letters of intent from organizers interested in starting charter schools, six of which aim to operate in Clark County, McCormack said.

This year, for the first time since Nevada's charter school law was passed in 1997, organizers will be allowed to seek sponsorship from the state at the outset without having to first be turned down twice by a local school board. The change was approved by the 2005 Legislature.

At the same time, lawmakers approved giving the state Board of Education the authority to reject charter school applications, changing the statute's wording from "shall approve" to "may approve."

The state Education Department has also revised its charter school regulations, setting stricter guidelines for financial oversight of programs that are forced to close or cease operating voluntarily. The governing body of a charter school must turn over financial and student records immediately in such instances and may not remove materials, supplies or equipment from the facility.

Joan Sando, executive director of Explore Knowledge Academy charter school in Las Vegas, said she hoped some of the grant funds would help prospective programs find suitable facilities. Raising enough money to buy -- or even rent -- appropriate buildings is the biggest single hurdle to starting a charter school, Sando said.

Explore Knowledge, which opened in 2003 with 250 students, has already doubled its enrollment and is looking for more room than it currently has at its leased site on Sandhill Road at Tropicana Avenue.

"The (state statute's) red tape isn't a difficult as finding a building," Sando said. "It has to meet safety codes, you have to pay first and last-month rent and pay insurance up front. It's extremely difficult for schools to come up with that kind of money."

Explore Knowledge was fortunate to have secured both grants and private donations to pay those bills, Sando said.

The charter school offers "project-based learning," where students devise individualized education plans for themselves. Students receive the same number of instructional minutes as they would at a regular district school but it is scheduled over four days. Teachers spend Mondays at the school preparing lessons, correcting homework, meeting with other staff members or in conference with parents, Sando said.

"It's worked really well for the teachers and most of the parents," Sando said. "Our families drive in from all over the valley and that's one less day they have to spend the money on gas."

Explore Knowledge's middle school was rated "high achieving" by the state earlier this month after posting strong student scores on standardized tests. The elementary school was put on the state's "watch list" after its third-grade mathematics students did not meet the federal No Child Left Behind requirement for "adequate yearly progress." The high school program made AYP.

When asked what advice she might have for fledging organizing committees considering launching charter schools of their own, Sando suggested staff training as a key priority. That would be federal grant money well spent, Sando said.

"We paid our teachers to come in for three weeks over the summer before we first opened and I don't know if that was even enough," Sando said. "They need time for collaborative planning and to learn to work together if it's going to be successful when the kids get there."