Published the week of 3/13/05

What's behind the dramatic 72% increase in Minnesota charter public school enrollment over the last 4 years? It's good ideas, and hard-working people like Joy Carlson, Daniel DeBruyn, James Steckart, Isabelle Olson and Melissa Martyr-Wagner. So the number of Minnesotan students attending free, charter public schools increased from 10,162 in the 2001-2002 school year, to 17,441 this year. In that same period, district school enrollments declined from 831,355 to 809,787, about 3%.

Joy Carlson helped start North Lakes Academy, a charter middle school in Forest Lake. She describes what moved parents and teachers: "We started NLA to meet needs¿it began with what we saw in our own children. We looked at traditional, large public junior highs and saw students getting lost in the shuffle. Our group of parents and educators wanted a learning environment where children would thrive, not merely survive." www.northlakesacademy.org

Melissa Martyr-Wagner is one of the Forest Lake parents who has looked at research and believes youngsters will be better off if they know English and Spanish. The best time to learn a language is in the elementary grades. So Martyr-Wagner joined others to create the Lakes International Language Academy, an elementary school where students are learning English and Spanish. www.lilacademy.org

As she explained, "we went for what we wanted and needed¿we did not want to be told we could not give our children the education we perceived as best."

Dan DeBruyn is the administrator of the PACT Charter School in Ramsey. PACT stands for Parents Allied with Children and Teachers. PACT's founders wanted a small, college prep k-12 school with a real family atmosphere. They clearly have succeeded, with 540 students, and a waiting list of approximately 800 students. The school opened in Anoka, in 1994, and is one of Minnesota's oldest, and most successful charter schools. www.pact.charter.k12.mn.us

Monticello parents like Isabelle Olson recognized the value of hands-on Montessori education. So, starting this fall, the SWAN River Montessori charter will be available for families. It's a unique partnership between families and the city of Monticello. Students will be able to use physical fitness facilities at the Monticello Community Center, and Monticello residents will be able to use the historic, restored, Little White Church, which has been moved next to the center, and will be used for classrooms. 763-271-SWAN

James Steckart, director of the Coon Rapids Learning Center, uses student comments to help describe his school: "CRLC exists to serve students who do not have a face at the traditional school¿(CRLC is for) students who got lost at the big school." 90% of the schools classes are team taught and interdisciplinary. The school has scheduled 11 field studies with outside agencies." This is a small, personalized school featuring active learning. www.crlc.charter.k12.mn.us

Judy Hinck, director at Odyssey Charter in Brooklyn Park describes it as "a small, tight-knit and supportive community for kids and parents. Odyssey charter is about meeting individual student needs and accommodating individual learning styles."

Recently parents from south metro communities like Burnsville and Lakeville have called to ask about the kinds of schools described below: small, focused public schools where family involvement is welcomed. New charters are starting in Grand Rapids and other NE Minnesota communities, serving families seeking small, focused public schools where family involvement is welcome.

Nationally, research is very clear about small, focused public schools. When students from similar communities are compared, smaller schools do better. They are safer. Students learn more. There is less violence. Attendance, achievement and graduation rates are higher. And smaller schools are NOT necessarily more expensive. For more information on Minnesota's charter public schools, please see the Profiles of Minnesota Charter Schools on the Center for School Change website - www.centerforschoolchange.org

Meeting needs. Using the best available research. Parents not being satisfied to complain, but doing the hard work to create. It's not hard to understand why charter school enrollment increased by more than 3000 students in just the last year.