Charter school makes switch
Academy for Academic Excellence becomes classroom-intensiveBy EMILY BERG/Staff Writer
APPLE VALLEY — The Academy for Academic Excellence at the Lewis Center for Educational Research built its name on a program that mixed home schooling with innovative in-classroom teaching.
But in August, the science-focused charter school started a new year with a new education program requiring most students to be in the classroom full time. While some parents still prefer the freedom of independent study, most chose to conform. Only 16 percent remain on the combined classroom and home schooling or hybrid program.
There are about 820 students on the school's two campuses each day, as opposed to 350 last year. Enrollment grew from about 600 to 880 students with another 800 on a waiting list, said Craig Campbell, the vice president of general administration.
Continual heat on charter schools from Sacramento prompted the change. Each year the school was having to transition to jump through the new legislation hoops.
Officials feared they wouldn't be able to operate the program they set out to do under cost constraints from the state.
"It got to the place where it was too difficult for us," said Rick Piercy, president and CEO.
Piercy and the school officials decided to roll with the punches and offer a full-time program. They spent the previous year building new classrooms, doubling the teaching staff, while rewriting their charter and meeting accreditation standards. They received the full three-year accreditation.
One thing that hasn't changed was the desire to have parent involvement. Parents are still welcome on campus and in the classrooms at any time.
It's one of the reasons Sandy Reigel keeps her fourth-grade daughter at the school when she would prefer independent study.
"I have several schools around me, and I won't put her in any of the public schools around me," Reigel said.
Al and Olaya Mendoza were one of the few families approved for the school's hybrid program. Their sixth-grade daughter, Kimberly, goes to the campus once a week for violin and sign language classes, and the rest of her education is at home.
They considered moving from Hesperia to be closer to the school, because they would like Kimberly to finish high school there. If the hybrid program is removed they will go, too, Al Mendoza said.
"It's the home schooling we prefer," he said.
Olaya Mendoza was a teacher and knows the difficulties of teaching a full class of 20 students. They want the one-on-one education at home for their daughter, Al Mendoza said.
The changes have opened doors for new research possibilities, said school officials. They now have a unique opportunity to compare students' success in home schooling and in the classroom.
"This is kind of groundbreaking research we can do," Piercy said.
So far, students' scores on statewide tests have pleased Piercy and the other school officials.
AAE students outperformed most High Desert students on the High School Exit Exam last year. About 81 percent of the high school students passed the English portion of the test compared to 69 percent the year before. They saw a decline from 45 to 33 percent in the number that passed the math portion, but the decrease was smaller than what most schools experienced, Piercy said.
Starting with the class of 2004, all California students must pass the exam before they receive a high school diploma.
Gordon Soholt, the middle and high school principal, expects academics to improve with the new full-time program. The class schedule is set up more like college classes with 80-minute class periods. Core classes are held three days a week and electives are twice a week. This allows teachers to get more done than collecting homework and taking attendance, Soholt said.
Although the students don't like getting up in the morning to go to school, many say they are learning more, Soholt said.
"Even they recognize that this structure gives them more than they had in the past," he said.
Used with persmission by Daily Press, Freedom Communication, 2002