Community Group Hosts Information Meeting to Discuss Plans for Charter School

Community Group Hosts Information Meeting to Discuss Plans for Charter School

Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser

A small but determined group of community members have been laying the ground work for a charter school in the Village of Holden for the past five months.

On April 7, members of the group held their first community information meeting online. Karla Janzen, who heads up the group, said 17 people listened in on Zoom and another 23 were listening in on its Facebook page.

The proposed Grade 7-12 charter school is to be called the Holden Rural Academy that will offer place based education.

In just over two weeks the group will soon be submitting its preliminary application to Alberta Education.

Janzen explained, “The preliminary application outlines the particular teaching philosophy, vision, and purpose of the charter school. It includes goals, improved student learning outcomes, and independent research supporting the proposed charter program.

It also states the grade distribution and school building requirements on the proposed opening date.

The last part that we are working on now is gathering parent declarations. This is a form signed by parents indicating their intention to enrol their children in the charter school. We hope to gather these over the next few weeks, and be able to submit our application by May 1.”

She went on to say, “The minister must make a decision in respect of a preliminary application within 60 days of receiving it. The minister must inform the applicants and relevant school jurisdictions with 15 calendar days of making a decision.”

If the preliminary application is approved, members will begin working towards satisfying all of the requirements for its final application that has to be submitted by November 1.

Janzen outlined some of the requirements that would have to be completed before they could submit the final application. For example, the group would have to register as a society, write up a charter, create a policy development plan, set a budget, include indications of significant community support, and conduct further research.

She added that, “Charter schools must have the potential to improve the education system as a whole and enhance education research and innovation. For the preliminary application we have to present research about Place-Based Education. For the final, we have to demonstrate collaboration or engagement with a post-secondary institution or a school authority.

After the final application is submitted, the minister again has 60 days to make a decision. If approved, the school would be able to open in the fall of 2022, providing that it met all the commencement requirements.

Charter schools must have at least 100 students enrolled, or the number of students that, in the opinion of the Minister, is required to ensure that the program offered by the charter school is educationally and financially viable.”

However, “There are charter schools that have less than 100. We think that 100 students in Grades 7 - 12 is a realistic goal. We have no plans to expand to K-6, as this population is served by Ryley School. Ryley and Holden have been sister schools, in various configurations, since 1984.”

On March 19, 2020, the Battle River School Division Board of Trustees voted in favour of reallocating 35 high school students from Ryley School, and consolidating Holden School and Ryley School into one school site in Ryley to serve students in Kindergarten to Grade 9. Holden School closed on June 30, 2020.

In the fall of 2020, the Village of Ryley spearheaded an initiative to bring back a local high school. A group of parents and community members from the Ryley and Holden area researched the possible options and decided to apply to open a charter school for Grades 7-12 in Holden.