Description

Small (target around 240 students).  Elementary K-4 or 5.  Rural.   Charter School = public, but owned and operated by a community based non-profit organization (501c).  A Title One school.  Located in Putnam County. 

Where Reading is recognized as the foundation.    Where no child will be left behind.  Where struggling readers and great readers learn to love to read.  Where content counts.  Where science, math, art, music, social studies, PE and even Spanish are important parts of the curriculum.  

Where each child is an individual, but each child is in uniform.  Where parents are considered partners, not clients.  Where teachers are empowered to bring their best efforts both in creating and executing the school curriculum.  Where good teachers are given the resources to become master teachers.

Where student, teacher and school performance is constantly undergoing evaluation and consideration of how we can exploit the flexibility provided by state law to do things better.  Where everything we try does not have to be average, traditional or approved by higher authorities. Where a failure or the development of problem is recognized as an opportunity to learn how to become better students, teachers, parents, and part of a better school.   

Lastly, let us admit that we have an ambition to be a model of what can be done irrespective of the location, the limited financial resources and the challenges of our history.  We believe our students and our school can be the best.  We hope to show the way to others who share our will to make education fulfill its promise. 

Currently we have 2 kindergarten, 2 first grades, 2 second grade, 1 third grade, and 1 fourth grade, and 1 fifth grade   Our principal has a Phd in reading instruction and curriculum development.  We currently have one teacher with a Masters Degree.  (Three of our former teachers have either received or are about to receive their masters degrees or are continuing on to higher degrees, and have returned to the regular public school system.)