Charter School proposed for area by DWC

Charter school proposed in region
MICHAEL BRINDLEY
Telegraph Staff

Academy for Science & Design www.asdnh.org

A "premier" high school focused on math, technology and engineering is being proposed for southern New Hampshire.

The proposed Academy of Science and Design wouldn't be a regular public school, but a charter school, operating outside of local school boards. With 450 students in grades 7 through 12, this would be the largest charter school in the state. Admission would be open, with no tuition.

Students would be allowed to start algebra and physics in the seventh grade, allowing them to take higher-level math and science classes in high school.

An application for the charter school was submitted to the state board of education Friday. Daniel Webster College in Nashua, which specializes in engineering and technology, announced over the weekend its intent to sponsor the charter school. The proposal says the school would have links with other tech colleges and companies.

The location has not yet been determined, but the plan is to build it somewhere in the corridor from Nashua to Manchester to Concord. Admission would not be competitive: Anyone could apply, and if there were more applicants than the school could hold, a lottery would be held.

If approved by the state board of education, the school could open in the fall of 2007.

Charter schools are still a relative rarity in New Hampshire. The state board of education has approved seven charter schools, and can approve up to 20, said David Ruedig, board chairman. This is the first time a college has been the primary sponsor of a proposed charter school, Ruedig said.

Matora Fiorey, co-coordinator of the project, said the school would be open to any New Hampshire student. Juniors and seniors would select an area of focus from aeronautics/aviation, chemistry and bio-medicine, space and celestial science, environment and sustainability, architecture and engineering (mechanical, civil and electrical), math, computer science, systems and simulations.

"This is still an idea, a project," Fiorey said. "It's not something that's tangible yet. We're still looking for space. It could be on the Daniel Webster campus. It could be somewhere in the middle of Manchester. You never know what's going to happen."

The original plan was to put the school in Keene, but another school was being proposed in that area.The planners say that New Hampshire is one of the few states without a high school for science and technology.

Susan Hollins, founder and director of New Hampshire Center for School Reform, which supports charter schools, has been working on the project since 2003 and is coordinating it with Fiorey.

Money, Ruedig said, is a critical part of the process.

"It's a complicated process. You don't just snap your fingers and start a school," Ruedig said. "Fundraising is one of the big parts."

Also important, he said, is that the presenters have some sort of plan to keep the school going once its federal funding runs out. Schools receive a per-pupil grant from the state, plus some federal funding, but that is only available for a certain amount of time, Ruedig said.

Fiorey said fundraising and money are in the works, but in many instances, she has to wait until the school is approved to apply for grants for computers and other resources.

Although not yet familiar with the proposal, Ruedig said that "there is certainly a need for science" education in the state. Though that is not to say Ruedig is expressing support. Several charter proposals have not been approved, he said.

"We're certainly not rubber-stamping them," Ruedig said. "But we're always interested in hearing new ideas."

Fiorey got involved with the project in the spring of 2005 and has traveled to see similar schools elsewhere in the country. She visited High Tech High in San Diego and said this proposal would be similar to that school.

"One of the projects the students did was developing a field guide for the San Diego Harbor," Fiorey said. "They do a lot of project-based learning. They really incorporated their surroundings."

Fiorey, who taught chemistry as an adjunct instructor at Keene State College, said many of her students did not have the kind of math and science backgrounds they needed to succeed their respective courses.

"The academy would pretty much guarantee all the kids would have the mathematical background that seems to be lacking in a lot of kids' education," Fiorey said.

Fiorey said she hopes the group can make a presentation soon at a board meeting. The next meeting is Feb. 7.

"I would like this school to bring a lot more positive feelings and advertising to charter schools," Fiorey said.

Jane O'Hearn, a former Nashua senator, is a member of the Department of Education's charter school advisory committee. O'Hearn, a Republican, has spoken in the past of her support of charter schools and said this proposal would be especially beneficial to the southern part of the state, home to many technology businesses.

"This is something that this particular tier, from Manchester to Nashua, even from Salem to Portsmouth, can really benefit from," O'Hearn said.

Critics of charter schools argue that funding them takes away from the already dwindling pool of money available to the public schools. O'Hearn doesn't buy that argument.

"What everyone is missing is that a charter school is a public school," O'Hearn said. "It's still serving our children, but with a specific need."

The high schools in Nashua, even with all of their facilities, can't give everything that this one school could give to a small number of like-minded students, O'Hearn said.

Charter schools get about $3,700 per student, O'Hearn said, which she said isn't enough. She said the Legislature should look at providing more funding.

Michael Fishbein, provost and vice president for academic affairs of Daniel Webster College, wrote in his letter of support for the project that the academy "will embrace a special dedication to the quality of science education."

The academy, Fishbein wrote, "will allow local high schools to reconsider and redesign science education, even as it prepares a small portion of the school-going population."