Parents Informed of Possible Charter School in Loudoun County

About a dozen local parents attended a public input meeting at the Thomas Balch Library Wednesday night where they were informed about the possibility of a charter school coming to Loudoun County.

Hosted by Imagine Schools, a national family of public charter schools, headquartered in Arlington, the meeting helped get a sense of the desired elements of a charter school option as well as learning what local parents value most when it comes to a new school.

“Our meeting in Leesburg tonight is simply a continuation to hear from parents and gather their thoughts,” said spokesperson Charlie Jackson, who added that similar meetings have been held in Lansdowne, Ashburn, Dulles South and Lovettsville.

Regional Director Michael DePass said the idea to bring a charter school to the local area has been in the works since 2010. Representatives from Imagine Schools have already discussed the possibility with members of the school district and board members. They began reaching out to parents last November.

“Imagine Schools has been looking at a series of charter schools in Loudoun county and we've spent the last few months meeting with parents to see their interest in starting a charter school and what's most important to them, while educating them about what a charter school is,” DePass said.

Ryan MacMichael was among the group of parents who came to Wednesday night's meeting. He said the more choices he and his wife have the better, especially when it comes to an option that focuses more on the individual.

“Our daughter is going into kindergarten next year and so at this point we're just exploring all of our options,” MacMichael said.

According to a fact sheet that was handed out during the meeting, Charter schools work the same way as a normal public school would and meets all state and county academic requirements.

Each school has a strong focus on individual student learning gains, character development and shared values and has a tailored positive character development program for each child.

All Imagine schools are tuition-free public schools of choice and has the largest enrollment of any US charter school organization. Currently, there are 72 school within 12 states, including DC, serving 40,000 students nationwide.

“A lot of parents are choosing charter schools as an alternative to education. And it gives parents a choice,” said Steven Robinson, who has been teaching at the Imagine schools for five years.

“Charter schools are all across the country. They're very, very successful and I think with our schools we're very character education based," Robinson said. "It's not only just educating students on the arithmetic, writing and those kind of areas but also building mature young students who have good and strong qualities that they can use in the future. So it's just a different alternative.”

Students are provided with a challenging, effective program of academic study and strong moral development in a safe, nurturing environment, Robinson said.

Each school includes a number of themes such as science/technology and environmental schools along with classical academies and International Baccalaureate programs, among others.

DePass said each program is determined depending on the programs offered by the local district and what local families are seeking.

“It has to fit what parent want or there is no point in doing it,” DePass said. “If parents don't like the school it basically ceases to exist. What we're hoping to do is use collected data to come up with the initial theme. But not every school could be the same. But that's something that we're still sort of exploring. We're not going to build a design if there isn't going to be a need.”

DePass said the advantage to having a charter school in Loudoun County is the opportunity for more diverse school offerings, while meeting all of the Virginia Standards of Learning.

Each teacher would be a Loudoun County employee and because Imagine Schools is responsible for financing, the county could open new locations without needing to use the County's already limited capital budget.

The charter school could also augment the county's expansion plans, providing capacity to help ameliorate and prevent overcrowding.

“Over population is a big issue within the county,” DePass said, who added that more than one school would be needed to help with this issue. About six to nine schools could be built within just six years. “At this time the idea is to propose something small enough that could eventually grow into something bigger down the road.”

Until then, DePass said that Imagine will continue to meet with interested parents and community members to help develop plans responsive to parent priorities and community needs.

The next step would be to send an application to the Virginia Board of Education for review before going to the Loudoun County Public Schools for a final decision. DePass said he hopes this will happen by January or February of next year.

The soonest a charter school could be developed and open to the public, DePass said, is August 2012. One possible location, which has been discussed in the past, is near the Route 7 corridor where DePass said there seems to be a lot of need. Other charter schools would follow in the areas of the county with greatest capacity needs.

“We're still ironing out how long the process will take. We think there is a chance it could be as early as 2012, maybe 2013, we really don't know for sure,” DePass said. “We've looked at a lot of areas that could be used as a site but most of the schools that I've opened we've designed to build. It moves fast.”

To learn more about Imagine Schools, including school theme definitions, updated statistics and meetings, visit www.imagineschools.com.