4.09.20 SPECIAL MEETING
Question 1: Does the contract allow the addition of a grouping of students without approval from the Governance Council or the School Board?
Question 2: Does the proposal require an amendment to the contract?
Question 3: Does the Governance Council need permission from the School Board?
3 - CHARTER SCHOOL PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
3.1 - Educational Program:The CEC is so named in direct parallel with the SDW vision to develop our students’ capabilities and confidence to achieve their dreams and make the world a better place. The CEC will provide choice for parents and students as to the means for students to achieve their dreams through projects that contribute to our world.
The name reflects the school campus, which sits on Silver Lake, one of the northernmost lakes in the Waupaca Chain O’ Lakes. Half an acre of our 25.5-acre campus provides lake access and a dock for student projects. Twenty-five acres, zoned agricultural, was previously farmed, and is available to the CEC for gardens with an orchard, animal husbandry, prairie plantings, forestry, outdoor art projects, and community events. Exploration of this site shall be abetted by trails that lead to an outdoor classroom. [See Appendix 2 - Aerial Views of CEC Campus.]
The CEC’s main building, constructed in 1954 and most recently renovated in 2000, has 48,300 square feet. In addition to classrooms, the building has a large performance stage, a gymnasium, a library, and art and music/practice rooms, and has broadband internet access.
The CECwill open as an elementary level charter school serving no more than 54 students of the SDW in multi-age classrooms with students from three elementary grades, providing an optimal student-to-advisor ratio of 18:1. In subsequent years, a student-teacher ratio of 18:1 shall be followed for the addition of two grade levels each year, with a goal of providing a K-8 project-based school by the 2021-2022 school year:
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2018-19 - grades 3-5 - optimal student population: 54
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2019-20 - grades 2-6 - optimal student population: 90
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2020-21 - grades 1-7 - optimal student population: 126
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2021-22 - grades K-8 - optimal student population: 162
Students focus on the promotion of successskills (e.g.,collaboration and teamwork, creativity and imagination, critical thinking, and problem solving) to find solutions to challenges that they meet. The coursework is integrated into a project-based learning model, utilizing community and global partners, as well as technological resources. Emphases for projects will draw from the fields of Agriculture; Environmental Education; the Fine Arts; and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (S.T.E.M.).
The mission of the CEC is to be a place where children explore their passions and gain a strong educational foundation through project-based learning in a collaborative community.
7.3 - Admission Requirements/Lottery Process:
The CEC is open to all students of the SDW, as well as to students applying through the Wisconsin Open Enrollment process. Application to and attendance at the CEC is voluntary, and no tuition shall be charged. SDW students who do not wish to attend or are not admitted to the CEC may attend another SDW school.
Parents/guardians shall apply for enrollment for their child(ren) by a written or online registration form. A parent/guardian is encouraged to attend at least one informational meeting or otherwise visit the CEC in order to ensure an understanding of the nature and work of the CEC.
The enrollment period for the CEC shall occur during the Open Enrollment period for the SDW. For the inaugural year of operation, the first enrollment period (limited to residents of the SDW) will open on February 1 and will close at 5:00 p.m. on March 15. The second enrollment period (open to all new local applicants and open enrollees) will commence on March 16 and will close at 5:00 p.m. on April 30.
In the first year, the enrollment maximum will be 54 students. In subsequent years, a student-teacher ratio of 18:1 shall be followed for the addition of two grade levels each year, with a goal of providing a K-8 project-based school by the 2021-2022 school year. Numbers of students will be distributed evenly throughout the grade levels to the extent possible. If a grade level is undersubscribed, students will be added, starting at the highest grade level.
Question 4: When is the lottery necessary and why?
Question 5: How is preference given to students enrolling?
118.40 Charter schools.
(3) Contract.
(g)
1. Except as provided in subds. 2., 3., and 4. and sub. (4) (ar) 1., a contract with a school board, an entity under sub. (2r) (b), or the director under sub. (2x) shall require that if the capacity of the charter school is insufficient to accept all pupils who apply, the charter school shall accept pupils at random.
2.
a. A charter school shall give preference in enrollment to pupils who were enrolled in the charter school in the previous school year.
b. A charter school other than the charter school established under a contract with the director under sub. (2x) (cm) shall give preference to siblings of pupils who are enrolled in the charter school.
3. A charter school may give preference in enrollment to the children of the charter school's founders, governing board members, and full-time employees, but the total number of such children given preference may constitute no more than 10 percent of the charter school's total enrollment.
