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THE ALEXANDER River Heights Charter School COMPANY, Focus on the EnvironmentINC and the Arts Reusing and Revitilizing
THE MAG A ZINE FOR CH ARTER SCHOOL EX ECU TIVES
River Heights Charter School passion and strength. This not only empowers students to, in a sense, define their own education, but also gives them many more opportunities and activities that have come to define the River Heights community. Reaching Goals
Focus on the Environment and the Arts Produced by Eric Gunn & Written by Jim Barlow In a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood of West St. Paul, Minnesota, is a project-based charter school of 75 students -- a mix of suburban and big-city kids whose education centers on environmental awareness and the arts. “I am very proud that we have a very eclectic group of kids here who are from a wide socioeconomic range and find connections despite their diversity through their academic projects,” says Jane Davin, now in her second year as director of River Heights Charter School. The school has four eighth-graders, with the remainder spread through the 9th to 12th grades. Davin taught music and art history for 14 years in private and public schools in the south Minneapolis suburbs. When the charter school where she had been teaching closed, she accepted the River Heights position; 25 of her former students found River Heights to be their best public school option. As a theme-based charter school, River Heights is unique in their student-centered and project-based curriculum. Students work closely with advisors to research and work in a chosen
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A recent school-wide accomplishment was meeting Adequate Yearly Progress in all five assessments last year, even though River Heights doesn’t receive a title grant under the state’s NCLB funding. “We met AYP,” she said. “We were a minority in our region that did. There’s a laundry list of schools that didn’t.” She cites “a disconnect” between the expected outcomes of NCLB and actual academic progress of students. “It is a flawed indicator.” “We’re a project-based school,” Davin said. “When parents bring a child to us, we try to let them know that this is a school that encourages kids to think independently, to learn how to create and innovate projects, based on what they love to do -what they have a passion for, or perhaps what they hope to do when they go off to college or consider careers.” Not Your Parent’s Public School River Heights Charter School is a member of the EdVision Cooperative, which was founded in 1994 by educators in the Minnesota River Valley. The 13-school cooperative is based on educational entrepreneurship as an alternative to formal, highly-regulated agreements with traditional school districts. Initially, EdVision also sponsored River Heights. “I appreciate the atmosphere of the EdVision Cooperative,” Davin said. “It encourages innovation in the schools, rather than replication and standardization. We want our school to be a green school and more of an arts-and-music-minded school.” The school today has a $750,000 budget overseen by a sevenmember board, which includes three parents. About $525,000 comes from the state based on average daily attendance; the remainder comes from lease funds, state money paid based on facilities and student numbers, as well as from grants and fundraising.
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The school is on the second floor of an office building shared by other businesses, including a physical therapy center and an insurance company. Office-open partitions separate River Height’s classrooms and offices, which include an arts and presentations studio, advising areas and administrative space. The student body, more than 15 percent Hispanic, many of whom enjoy the luxury of living nearby, fits comfortably in the facility. The school’s nine-member staff includes five licensed teachers, including Davin, who teaches language arts, two educational aides, a student-staff liaison, and an administrative assistant. Since 2007, River Heights has been sponsored by the Audubon Center of the North Woods, which serves in an overseeing position, financially and strategically, and it is a partner in mission definition for the school’s emerging environmental focus.
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Educating the Mind and Soul When typical discipline problems emerge, one of the consequential options Davin’s staff uses is restorative justice, in which involved parties meet around a table to clear the air and find solutions. A recent success story: two students, a junior and a senior, “diverse in personality and background,” worked on a musical recording project. “The respect and appreciation for the other’s perspective was a great learning experience in itself, and the music they produced was impressive,” Davin said. Impressively, one of River Heights’ seniors serves as the school’s own on-site IT expert. Another student helps others with autism and other emotional disabilities, and recently completed her senior project in Early Childhood Development.
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As part of their projects, students learn appropriate educational concepts and material that prepares them for not only assessment tests but also for life after they graduate. “We are working really hard to communicate to kids the importance of being college-bound, at least to a two-year college, hopefully, a four-year college,” Davin said. “We encourage students through their projects to create a portfolio so that if they go to check out different colleges and sit down with a dean or anyone in an interview process they won’t just have a transcript -- they will be able to bring a portfolio that will show some of the important projects they worked on through their high school career that really describe even more about what their skill sets are.” This spring, the school launched a “hope study” to seek new ways to assess things that are important in every student’s life. “It’s not just academics we are interested in,” Davin said. “It’s not just GPA [grade-point average]. There is more to a student’s academic assessment necessary for recording than simply their GPA, important as that is. Who the student is emotionally, socially, and as a whole person is also vital to becoming a productive member of society.” The independent nature of the school’s approach, she said, sometimes allows students to complete graduation requirements before senior year, allowing them to enroll in college courses offered free through the state’s Post-Secondary Enrollment Options program for eligible students in high school. As a true innovator, River Heights
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Charter School enjoys trying new methods. With proof that their new strategies are successful, students in their neighborhood are lucky to have such an exciting option for their education. “We have a caring community of learners. Kids are not numbers here,” Davin said. “Teachers care about them and we love them. When they don’t perform, we are able to speak to each situation individually and effectively and they respond. Kids want to be here. We are creating a great learning atmosphere. We are an experiment…which means we need to pay attention, try new things, and be willing to adjust and recognize when a new and helpful dynamic emerges. Often, the students themselves ignite these new ideas and practices. I see our school as very unique. I just know that if you have the right atmosphere, creative, innovative students and a bright and supportive staff who are not afraid to ‘think outside of the box,’ a lot of really great things can happen.”
SCHOOL AT A GLANCE Established : 1994 Staff : 5 Students: 75 Leading the School: Jane Davia
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River Heights Charter School 60 Marie Ave E, Ste. 220 St. Paul, MN 55118 United States