Cesar Chavez May Not Open Till Fall 2008
By SHARI CHANEY GRIFFIN THE GAZETTE
The first of two Colorado Springs charter schools run by the Cesar Chavez School Network might not open until fall 2008.
The network runs Cesar Chavez Academy in Pueblo, a school known for high test scores and a student enrollment that includes many minority and low-income children.
CEO Lawrence Hernandez said financing for a building in the Springs has not been finalized because of a major capital project at the Pueblo school. The two-month delay could mean the Colorado Springs school would open in fall 2008 instead of this year.
Officials will make the decision by the end of March.
“We don’t believe in rushing things,” Hernandez said. “We believe in doing things right.”
Cesar Chavez School Network plans to buy part of the old KMart building near South Circle Drive and Airport Road, near the southern boundary of Colorado Springs School District 11.
“I think it will really draw from all the surrounding districts,” Hernandez said.
About 250 families are interested in enrolling, he noted, “and we haven’t even marketed at all.”
Hernandez said he is interested in using a D-11 school building if one was available. He previously contacted the district about using an underused D-11 school, such as Hunt Elementary School. Hunt Elementary has about 185 students in a building built for 350.
There’s also interest in East Middle School, but only if Cesar Chavez officials were allowed to put their program in place, not just take over an existing school, Hernandez said.
Cesar Chavez Academy, a K-8 school, uses a variety of curricula and concepts, such as Core Knowledge, high expectations and a mariachi music program, to motivate students.
Cesar Chavez School Network is approved to open a second charter school in Colorado Springs for the 2008-09 school year.
Other charter school applicants are moving forward with enrollment or regrouping after being denied charters:
Transition 2 Success, a proposed charter high school, was approved by the state Charter School Institute with certain conditions, including having a signed agreement or lease for the facility and providing an updated budget that also offered “worst case revenue scenario.”
The institute was created by the Legislature as a way for charter schools to be approved without approval from a local school district.
In December, CSI decided Transition 2 Success had not complied with the conditions and voted to deny the proposed charter. Transition 2 Success appealed to the state Board of Education, which on March 8 upheld the institutes’s decision.
Organizers are deciding what to do next. Support for the school “continues to grow,” said organizing board chairman Ray Wallander, “even with the setbacks.”
STAR Academy was approved during the 2005-06 school year, but couldn’t find a building in time to open in 2006. Officials plan to open this fall and will break ground May 1 for a building at 4140 E. Bijou St., between Academy and Murray boulevards.
The school is enrolling students in kindergarten through fifth grade and will eventually serve students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
For more information, visit www.staracademycolorado.org.
Colorado Springs Early Colleges will open this fall. The high school will be located at Colorado Technical University, 4435 North Chestnut St.
The school’s next informational meeting is at 7 p.m. April 13 at the school. For more information, visit www.csec914.org.
Trailwood Academy, a proposed charter school in Banning-Lewis’ Village Two, was approved unanimously March 8 by the Falcon School District 49 board. A contract must be negotiated.
The school, similar to Banning Lewis Ranch Academy in Banning- Lewis Village One, should open in fall 2008.
CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0394 or shari.griffin@gazette.com
New charter schools
School Location
Opening
1. Cesar Chavez Academy
Circle Dr. and Airport Rd.
2007 or 2008
2. STAR Academy
4140 E. Bijou St.
Fall 2007
3. Colorado Springs Early Colleges
4435 North Chestnut St.
Fall 2007
4. Trailwood Academy
Banning-Lewis Village 2
Fall 2008
(c) 2007 Gazette, The; Colorado Springs, Colo.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.