New charter school receives state approval, expects to draw students from four counties

By Lynn Hotaling

Mountain Discovery Charter School, a regional school approved Feb. 7 by the N. C. State Board of Education, will open this fall offering a curriculum based on the New American Expeditionary Schools Learning instructional model. This plan emphasizes hands-on learning, team teaching and reinforcing school skills with real-world experiences, said Mary Ellen Hammond, chairman of Mountain Discovery's board.

"Classes will be small, and there will be equal emphasis on all subjects including science, music and art," Hammond said. "Students at this charter school will learn not only by listening, counting, reading and writing but also by building, drawing, singing and moving."

Mountain Discovery will be located in the old Whittier School near the Jackson/Swain county line. As a public charter school, it will be funded by the state, and no tuition will be charged.

The new school will operate independently of local boards of education and will be governed by a separate board made up of parents, local bsiness people and other community members. Parents will be actively involved in the school, Hammond said.

Mountain Discovery's board will be accountable to students, parents and the state, not only for student growth and achievement, but for fiscal expenditures as well, she said.

Parents interested in enrolling their children in the new school are invited to an informational meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19, in the gymnasium of the former Whittier School. Board members will answer questions about enrollment, curriculum and school policies. Enrollment forms will be available at the meeting or by calling (828) 488-4406. Forms will also be available at public libraries in Sylva, Bryson City, Cherokee, Robbinsville and Franklin and via the Internet at www.mtndiscovery.org.

Figures sent to the state school board with the charter application indicate that 44 percent of Mountain Discovery's students could come from Jackson County.

"We had a strong response from Jackson County," said Hammond. "But of that 44 percent, 15 percent are home-schooled."

Mountain Discovery is limited by the state to 144 students during its first year. Should the new school receive more applicants than it has spaces, state regulations require a lottery to determine enrollment. The school will serve students in grades K-6 during its first year and will add grades seven and eight during the following two years.

Charter schools are deregulated public schools operated by non-profit corporations approved by the state. Such schools do not have to pay teachers a state-set salary, provide breakfast or lunch, or follow certain other state and local guidelines.

North Carolina's Legislature in 1996 passed the Charter Schools Act, which authohrized a system of public schools to provide opportunities for communities to establish and maintain schools that operate independently of exising school systems.

Superintendent concerned about new school's impact

By Lynn Hotaling

The county already has one such school, Summit Charter School in Cashiers, which draws most of its 169 students from Jackson County. During the current school year, the local school system paid Summit $177,000, or $1,324 for each of 134 students from Jackson County, said David Steinbicker, finance officer for Jackson County Schools.

Figures sent to the state board of education with Mountain Discovery's charter application indicate that 44 percent, or some 63 students could come from Jackson County. Of that 44 percent, 15 percent are currently homeschooled.

If those projections hold up, Steinbicker said, the new school would receive about $83,412 from Jackson County based on this year's local budget. The school system would also lose about $4,800 per student in state reimbursements for each Jackson County student who transferred to Mountain Discovery, he said.

Jackson County Superintendent Mack McCary expressed some reservations about the impact of charter schools like Mountain Discovery on rural school systems in a Feb. 5 letter to the state school board.

"My concern is that without careful planning and dialogue, charter schools can tend to further divide these rural communities by class, and inhibit rather than draw together the diversity and scarce resources of these communities," McCary wrote.

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