Monday, May 12, 2014 New charter schools popping up in New Hampshire, but not without struggle By TINA FORBES Staff Writer Staff photo by Tina Forbes. Thomas Frischknecht standing beside an image of the floorplan for The Founders Academys proposed facility at 5 Perimeter Road in Manchester, on April 30, 2014. The Founders Academy, a new classical charter school due to open in Manchester September 2, is the brainchild of a small group of people, some of whom had a hand in creating the popular Academy for Science and Design. The Founders Academy is one of 22 New Hampshire approved charter schools, several of which will debut this fall. In Nashua, the Gate City Charter School for the Arts is exploring a location at the former Dartmouth-Hitchcock medical building on West Hollis Street. Gate City is also aiming to open in September with a K-8 program focused on the arts. While charter schools are popping up around New Hampshire, it has been a struggle to open the doors to some of these new schools. For Founders Academy, the organizers spent the last couple of years developing and advocating for charter approval. Thomas Frischknecht, chairman of the academy’s board, said the journey was challenging. “The moratorium was a real problem,” Frischknecht said, referring to the State Board of Education’s limit of charter school funding between September 2012 and June 2013 based on budget constraints. Frischknecht and his team had nearly finished preparing for approval when the moratorium went into effect. “After it was lifted, we were the first ones to be heard because we were the most mature application that they’ve received, probably because we put the hours behind it,” he said. “As a foundation, we’ve put in 2,500 hours of work to research and develop everything around what our charter needs; the framework, the concepts of what the school is going to be about.” Founders Academy is unique in its focus on business and leadership, said Thomas Frischknecht, chairman of the academy’s board. “There’s an entrepreneurial component in the school. For the senior project the student has to come up with a business idea … and they have to create a business plan and present it to a panel of faculty, parents, and members of the business community. After that, we don’t stop there, we have them execute it … they will create a business and they will try it out.” Frischknecht said charter schools are special not because they’re trying to attract the highest achieving students, but because the students choose to be there, “It creates an incredible environment of learning ... when you have a school of students that want to be there.” However, the plans Founders Academy encountered more friction with the state Board of Education when it was finally given a chance to present its application. “We were grilled for one hour and 20 minutes. Which is almost unheard of,” said Frischknecht. He noted that in contrast, the application after theirs took about 20 minutes. “The Board of Education is frankly overstepping its authority to set legislation,” Frischknecht said. He explained that a charter application either meets its merits, or does not and is sent back. Instead, he said the board asked questions about statutes that were outside of the school’s responsibility, such as providing a bus service for students living outside Manchester. As it stands, students living in Manchester will have a bus service provided by the city, but students living in other areas will need to coordinate their own transportation, Frischknecht said, an arrangement that is typical for charter schools. For example, the Academy of Science and Design, a Nashua charter school, which Frischknecht also chairs, enrolls students from 39 districts. However, busing is provided by the Nashua school district only for students living within the Nashua school system. “I think what we have is a group of people appointed to the state board that really don’t understand what charter schools are,” said Frischknecht. “That was a big fight,” said Frischknecht of his hearing with the BOE, although there was a silver lining, “for the first time, the charter school movement really came together.” Although Founders Academy will begin enrollment with grades six through eight, Frischknecht said, “Every year, we will organically grow one grade to 12th grade. So the children that join us in sixth, seventh and eighth grade will be able to graduate with us.” Now that more than half of the 100 total applications for its first school year have been received, the school is on the look out for the final students. The academy also sought out and funded the purchase of a 60,000 square foot facility for the school at 5 Perimeter road. The sale will be finalized Friday. For more on the academy, attend an informational meeting: • May 12, 7 p.m., Manchester City Library. • May 16, 7 p.m., Kelley Library in Salem. • May 20, 7 p.m., Merrimack YMCA. Or visit thefounders academy.org. More facts... Who are the members of the Founders Academy Foundation? Thomas Frischknecht – Founder, Chairman Sarah Frischknecht – Founder, Board Member Kimberly Lavellee – Founder, Treasurer, Board Member Cathy Duffy Cullity – Board Member, CEO Girls, Inc. of NH Patricia Humphrey, M.Ed – Founder, Board Member Charter School Facts Independent public school governed and operated by a board of trustees Publicly funded Authorized by the State Board of Education Founded by parents, educators or a foundation Accountable to the state Department of Education, and the community Mission-driven and focused on a specific philosophy or purpose Facts on The Founders Academy: Tuition is free for New Hampshire residents Admission is open to any interested students Applications are still being accepted The 2014/2015 school year enrollment will include up to 100 students for grades 6, 7 and 8 The school will eventually include grades 6 – 12 The curriculum emphasizes classical learning, core knowledge and leadership skills The Founders Academy will ultimately enroll up to 650 students
Posted on: Mon, 12 May 2014 11:33:34 +0000
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