It's Hard to Start A School

I've been through a couple of school startups.  It is danged hard work--and closer to rocket science than you would think.

Charter schools are startups in a way that a newly-opened conventional public school is not.  (BTW, Joanne Jacobs' Our School gives a good picture of a charter startup.)

Out in Colorado, a charter in its first year of operation is short-changing some of its students.

And look, saying "charter school" is like saying "car" -- you know it has 4 wheels, an engine, and a transmission--but is it a sports car?  A coupe?  A sedan?  A station wagon?  4 -cylinder or 8?  All-wheel-drive, front wheel, or rear wheel?  Does it have 1,000 on the odometer or 100,000?   -- the simple designation "charter" doesn't tell you anything about the school's mission, how it is organized to meet the mission, and the resources it brings. 

Two parents of special-needs children enrolled at Ross Montessori have hired lawyers to get the school to follow legally required standards.

"We had a hellacious year," said one parent, who asked not to be named. "They are faltering on special-education needs."

The parents are claiming that their children had Individual Educational Plans (IEPs) that the school failed to follow.  The school, Ross Montessori, claims (a) the IEPs do not specify daily requirements, but weekly requirements, so if a child misses one day of tutoring, for example, that can be made up another day.

This does not make sense to me--autistic children, for example, need routine.  Kristina Chew is eloquent on the need for routine.

One part of the recent difficulty stems from the need for an occupational therapist, required by a disabled student at the school. The school has been unable to hire one.

"We've tried, certainly," said Lu McDaniel, the director of exceptional student services for the Charter School Institute who oversees special education for Ross Montessori. "If this article could help us find somebody, that would be really great. It's not money or the lack of willingness. It's not finding someone."

Public schools in the valley are able to share professionals such as occupational therapists and speech language pathologists who may not be needed at any one school for 40 hours a week. As a charter school, Ross Montessori cannot borrow a special education professional from a public school in the valley, even though both are publicly funded.

"When we opened the school we didn't have a Xerox, we didn't have phones. Getting everything in place has been a challenge," Grice said.

Parents did acknowledge the difficulties a new school faces, though that doesn't change how important they feel their child's education is.

"It was [Ross Montessori's] first year of school, and I don't think they made [special education] a priority," said a parent who asked to not be named. "It's pretty important. It's federal law. I think they're beginning to realize. But it took a lot of pressure and energy. It cost me money to finally get what I needed to get done."

The parent said Ross Montessori is trying to compensate for lost special-education time with summer tutoring.

"It's taken a lot of emotions, a lot of fights and it's ridiculous that it's come to that," the parent said. "It better happen next year."