A Different Kind Of Charter School

There is a plan afoot to open what may be an altogether different sort of charter school down in Florida:

Local and state officials Wednesday are to share their vision of a new charter laboratory school in the Tradition community in St. Lucie West, even though the school won't open for another two years.

Local taxpayers will get the benefit of a 1,600-seat, school with kindergarten through the eighth grade without fronting the $35 million cost of construction and land, said Tim Bargeron, chief financial officer of the St. Lucie County School District.

Tradition developer Core Communities pledged 45 acres for the school and the state has set aside $15 million for the project.

Because it will be both a charter school and a laboratory school, the school will be unique in Florida and possibly in the nation, said Florida Atlantic University Vice President Gerri McPherson.

A charter laboratory school must be anchored by a state university, in this case, FAU, and could have professors conducting research and using state-of-the-art education philosophies.

The students must be economically, ethnically and racially diverse.

The school, expected to open for the 2007-08 school year, will be required have an enrollment that reflects the demographics of the state, getting as specific as percentages of low-income white females and high-income Latino males that mirror state averages, said Glenn Thomas, an FAU executive director.

FAU professors will have the chance to work with teachers at the school to test their research. If students are struggling with math, for example, a professor might introduce part of his or her research to try to help.

This sounds like a win-win situation to me... ---------------------------To view the latest edition of The Carnival of Education (as well as entry guidelines) click here.

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