NHPR —Proposed charter school would focus on sciences

(January 30, 2006) — Founders of the proposed Academy for Science and Design want to create the state’s premier charter school for science, math and engineering.

At full capacity, the school would serve 450 students in grades seven through 12 – making it the state’s largest charter. Matora Fiorey is co-coordinator for the charter school and a former adjunct chemistry instructor at Keene State College. She says what she saw at Keene State proved to her that students need this training.

“I found that most students were under-prepared for the math aspect of chemistry and that was very disturbing, it didn’t make any sense for me why kids who were freshman through seniors has trouble with math, simple kinds of algebra things that are needed for a lower level chemistry class. It was shocking to me”

The Academy of Science and Design would allow kids to take subjects like Algebra and Physics in seventh grade. Fiorey hopes it would jump start their interest in science, math and engineering fields, and prevent students from becoming discouraged. "When I was in high school I felt like a nerd, but this place science engineering and math would sort of be cool."

Daniel Webster College in Nashua is sponsoring the proposed Academy.
The four year private college offers degrees in such subjects as aeronautical engineering, computer science, and information systems.
But Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Michael Fishbein says fewer students are choosing those fields, so the college got involved to spark student interest.

"We went into it because we believe it’s important to our future and to the future of the state to produce more students who are interested in science engineering technology and design to feed into all of those industries that we so desperately need to maintain our prominence in the country and around the world."

By state law, a college or university can sponsor a charter school – but Daniel Webster would be the first college in the state to do so.
Fishbien says they would help establish the charter’s board of directors and potentially help the school raise money.

While charter schools receive $3,500 per student from the state, it’s often not enough to keep the school operating.

"A portion of the funding comes from the support that normally would flow to the local high schools, that’s part of the law, the rest of the funding we hope to draw from philanthropic and other development sources, we would hope to see Daniel Webster’s contribution be more of the nature of in-kind, with faculty consultations and other kinds of support that we can provide. "

There’s no location chosen for the school yet, but founders want to locate it either on a college campus or along the I-93 corridor from Nashua to Concord.

Co-founder Sue Hollins, with the New Hampshire Center for School Reform, says she hopes the school would be near science and engineering industries — so those businesses could be involved in the school’s immersion program.

"Part of the program isn’t just the array of courses one takes in high school, it’s ongoing immersion opportunities, either a seminar for an hour or a daylong program where people are coming in that are in sciences and engineering saying, here’s what I do, here’s what we’re about."

Jobs in those fields are in high demand in the state. UNH professor Ross Gittell, with the Livermore School of Business and Economics, says unemployment in high tech fields is virtually non existent right now. He says that trend will likely continue in the future.

"I definitely think there will be jobs out there, I can’t predict in which occupations but students with broad knowledge and interest in science engineering technology and computer systems are going to do well in the future economy."

The state board of education only recently received the proposed charter’s application. If approved, the school would open in the fall of 2007. Founders hope to make a presentation to the Board of Education at its next meeting.

For NHPR news, I’m Amy Quinton.