Talk about a holiday treat.

It's good news for the Northfield School of Arts and Technology, also known as ARTech, and Prairie Creek Community School, both of which are area charter schools.

The Minnesota Department of Education late Tuesday afternoon announced that Northfield Public Schools, which has served as a sponsor for both ARTech and Prairie Creek in recent years, has been approved until 2015 to continue as what is now called an authorizer. The announcement comes about two weeks after an initial rejection from the state.

ARTech Director Simon Tyler applauded the effort of Northfield Superintendent Chris Richardson and school district officials for achieving the authorization.

"It's great news," Tyler said Tuesday. "I think it's a good partnership."

The state last year changed its law regarding requirements for sponsors of charter schools. The law places more responsibility on the sponsor—now authorizer—requiring greater oversight of administration.

The Northfield district was notified earlier this month that it had been initially denied as an authorizer, saying its 297-page application needed more details.

Northfield School Board member Julie Pritchard said the district received approval on Tuesday because of the work by Richardson. Following the denial, Pritchard said Richardson produced about another 40 pages of documents to support the district's case as an authorizer.

"He worked very, very hard on the reauthorization process, which was rigorous to say the least," Pritchard said.

According to the Education Department, of the 19 organizations applying to be authorizers, Northfield is the 11^th approved.

"These charter school authorizers meet the highest standards of quality charter school oversight in the nation," said MDE Commissioner Alice Seagren in a press release. "We recognize the commitment and dedication of these organizations seeking to become charter school authorizers in Minnesota."

For Pritchard, she says she's happy the matter is settled for now.

"There was a lot at stake for our two charter schools in Northfield," she said. "It was important we pursued it."