Wednesday, June 27, 2012
In two months, the new school year begins. But will the students at Montgomery County's first charter school have a building?
Montgomery County Public Schools and Crossway Community are opening a Montessori charter school together. The first day of school is August 27. However, the building plans have hit a snag, as the Parents Coalition of Montgomery County points out in a recent blog post. Montgomery County's Department of Housing and Community Affairs is now saying that MCPS and Crossway do not have approval to modify the building blueprint for the new charter school on the old Pleasant View Elementary School site in Wheaton. According to the deed, as the Parents Coalition also points out, if Montgomery County chooses to use the elementary school property for anything other than the Pleasant View multi-family development, then the property reverts to the …
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Decision brings proven Montessori school methods to county public school students.
The Montgomery County Board of Education recently approved, 6-2, a proposal by Crossway Community Montessori to open the county’s first public charter school. This is big news. Not only will this be the first charter school in the county, it will also be the first public Montessori school in the county. Other surrounding jurisdictions have had public charter schools for years, with results ranging from spectacular to dismal. While Montgomery County is arriving late to the charter-school party, there is every reason to expect this particular proposal to be on the positive side of that spectrum. For one thing, this proposal went through a lengthy review process, with significant revisions the second time through, to win approval from the …
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
After its contract is negotiated, Crossway will become the county's first charter school.
The Board of Education voted to approve Crossway Montessori's charter school application at its meeting Monday, paving the way for Montgomery County's first charter school. "We're very excited for this opportunity," said Kathleen Guinan, CEO of Crossway Community Inc. "We're looking forward to this partnership with the board and with (Montgomery County Public Schools)." Now that Crossway's application has been approved, Superintendent Joshua Starr has 30 days to negotiate a contract with the school. After that, the board and the school will begin a one-year planning process before starting the four-year charter, Guinan said. The measure passed 6-2, with Judith Docca (District 1) and Michael Durso (District 5) opposing it. Patricia O'Neill…
Monday, July 25, 2011
If approved, Crossway would become the county's first charter school.
Crossway Community's Montessori school could become Montgomery County's first charter school if the Board of Education approves its application tonight. The meeting is at 6 p.m. at the Carver Educational Services Center in Rockville. The board postponed the decision at its last meeting, after Superintendent Joshua Starr recommended the board work to define the proposed school's catchment area and how to deal with the possibility that there will be more applicants than spaces. Before leaving office, former Superintendent Jerry Weast recommended MCPS approve Crossway's application.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
If approved, Crossway Montessori would become the first charter school in the county.
Crossway Montessori could be on track to becoming the first charter school in Montgomery County if the Board of Education votes favorably on the school's application today, during the Board's first meeting of new Superintendent Dr. Joshua Starr's administration. Former superintendent Jerry Weast recommended the school, run by local non-profit Crossway Community, Inc., be approved by the Board of Education in late June. Crossway Montessori's first application, in the 2009-2010 school year, was rejected by the Board of Education. The State Board of Education ruled on an challenge to that decision that the Montgomery County Board of Education needed to show its work on why they rejected Crossway's application. The updated application gained …
Esther French
8:23 am on Thursday, June 28, 2012
Thank you for the helpful comments, Jacob and ED. I will look into this issue more and do a follow-up story. more ›