Would it possible to post something to ask all of the momma's [and dadda's] out there to take our survey (5-minutes tops) to garner support for our effort in creating Emerald Charter School? I welcome your comments and thank you for your consideration.
Happy New Year - and here's to education choices!
Here is the letter we've sent out:
Hello friends, fellow parents, and community members:
For nearly a year, we, the Emerald Charter School Development Team, have worked to open Emerald Charter School in North/Northeast Portland, offering inquiry-based education and community-based learning with a science focus. Emerald is scheduled to open in 2010 with kindergarten through third grade class levels and each year will add additional grade levels, growing to a K-8 school. As the children grow, the school will grow. Many of you have supported this effort from it's inception. We continue to need your support. For some, this may be the first you have heard of the school. We have been trying to expand our outreach beyond the core volunteers who started the project. Portland Public Schools denied our initial application, in part on the grounds that we did not demonstrate a wide enough underpinning of public comment and support. Regardless of your opinion of this charter school, public schools, or private schools, we are asking for your feedback!
Please take a few minutes to fill out our revised survey. If you have filled out a survey for us in the past, thank you; please also fill out this survey as well. The Emerald Charter School development team will be resubmitting an application to PPS on January 7. In order to compile the data Portland Public School District is requesting for our final 2009 application submission in time, we need all survey responses by Friday, January 2.
Please forward this survey on to individuals you know who seek additional educational options for their children, or to community members who might support Emerald's mission.
Link to Emerald Charter School Survey
We have been awarded Oregon Department of Education grants to apply for Emerald and then an additional $400,000 once the Portland Public School District approves our application. We applied to open Emerald through the Portland Public School Distinct, but PPS has denied our application for three primary reasons:
1) Innovation: The district wants a program that is not offered anywhere else in the district. Elements of Emerald's educational program are offered in select schools in the district; however, there is not one school that offers all of the components: an integrated inquiry-based curriculum that is science focused and community-based with looped multi-grade classrooms.
2) Location: The district recognizes that schools in N/NE Portland are not meeting the needs of all children, yet they are hesitant to open another charter school in N/NE Portland because they are afraid it will have an adverse impact on neighborhood schools. As a charter school, however, Emerald will be open to all students in the district and will have very little overall impact on any particular neighborhood school.
3) Demand: The district has requested that we gather more information regarding the demographic make-up of the students who would enroll in Emerald and the members of the community who support our efforts. This is where we need you.
If you believe in educational options for children in Portland, fill out the survey and email it to friends, co-workers, family, siblings, fellow parents, or any one that you know that would also support our efforts.
We value your input and thank you for your consideration. If you have any additional questions or comments, please feel free to email us at this email address, emeraldcharterschool@gmail.com.
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